Rabbits raised on "forage?"

[triplepurpose]

I'm interested possibly in raising meat rabbits. But I'd be more interested in raising them on vegetable scraps, cut forage like grasses, clover, weeds, legume leaves like cowpeas, etc., and fallen fruits, etc. than on buying feed pellets for them. I don't care about growing out HUGE rabbits as FAST as possible, just on growing out some tasty meat with as little feed expense as possible. Does anyone have experience raising rabbits on only or at least primarily forages and scraps? I'd be very interested to know your thoughts on this.

Or perhaps would guinea pigs be a better choice, even though they are a bit smaller?

Thanks!
J

 

[triplepurpose]

Anybody...?

 

[Blessedchickens]

Check out thedancingfarmer.com blog. She raises Silver Foxes (we got ours from her, love them) and she talks about raising rabbits on grass etc. You may have to look back a bit in her blog. Monica is pretty awesome.

 

[Tammy N]

Squash is a gret one for Rabbits

They can not have
Cabbage ,Broccoli,Cauliflower, ir lettus .
It causes Gastaion and can cause bloat and can kill them . Good luck Tammy

 

[Bunnylady]

It can be done, of course. Pelleted feeds only became available in the 1940's, prior to that, people had to rely on what they raised and bought locally. One thing that you will need to know about with a non-commercial diet is the nutrient content of the various feedstuffs. You will need to learn to recognize the signs of nutrient deficiency, and know what to feed to balance it out. Some deficiencies and their effects can be subtle. An example of this would be selenium. Too much selenium causes birth defects, but a lack of selenium in the diet causes problems with fertility. The soils around here are deficient in selenium, if I were to try to raise all my own feed, my own animals might wind up with a selenium deficiency if I didn't supplement.

 

[MiniatureCochin]

I try to do a mix with my rabbits. I just put 2 litters in tractors (2'x6') on the ground to eat grass, BUT they also have pellets. I have noticed in our frequent escapee rabbits that roam about the yard that they do get fat fast. However, I cannot provide unlimited grass/scraps to my caged rabbits, due it being time consuming. Usually, they get moved 1-2times a day (depending on weather).
My adult rabbits usually just get pellets, with some scraps from the garden when possible. Not as much as I'd like, and I hope to improve that, but when the weather is dry, I can't just go around plucking nice bunches of grass and weeds to feed them, and I'm can't spend hours 'foraging' for the rabbits.
Anyway, I think it is a good idea, and can improve the rabbits' growth--if you feed enough. Just make sure you check the rabbits' condition from time to time---it's easy to think a rabbit is at a healthy weight even though its not (been there, done that!).


Good luck!

 

[triplepurpose]

Thanks!

In practice, I'm not opposed feeding a little bit of pellets, if it helps, but I want it to be a minor component, even if that means not using a "meat breed." Which I suspect it will! In THEORY it makes no sense to me to buy feed for animals--livestock should eat off the land by foraging or grazing, or consume scraps, otherwise they aren't really ideal for the situation. Examples: cows where there is rich grass, goats where there is scrub and brambles, chickens where there are leaf litter, manure piles, and food scraps, and pigs where there are plenty of slops and dairy byproducts.

I have a lot of vegetable gardens and orchards in yearround production so I have plenty of lettuce, greens, fruit, as well as the space to grow special fodder like cowpeas or something. I'd love to know specifics, in a basic sense--ratios of green matter to fruits, how much carbohydrates to protein to fiber, that sort of thing. In other words, what is a rabbit's "natural" diet?

I'll check out that blog for sure, Blessed, thanks!

 

[Bunnylady]

Wild rabbits are more browsers than grazers. They eat a lot of twigs, buds, and leaves; while they do graze, they are also exposed when they do it, and they prefer to have cover nearby. The proper diet for a rabbit is high in fiber, and low in carbohydrates. While rabbits like sweet things like fruit, you have to be very, very careful when giving anything like that to a rabbit, because too much sugar upsets their digestive system and can lead to diarrhea. The odd strawberry or slice of apple won't do any harm, but you can't feed a steady diet of that sort of thing. Cruciferous vegetables contain an enzyme that inhibits the absorption of iodine, so you need to limit intake from that family, or your rabbits can develop goiter due to an iodine deficiency. Cabbage and its relatives are also known to produce gas, so you will need to keep an eye out for bloat.

How to feed a rabbit is a hotly debated topic even among those who aren't trying for self-sufficiency. A lot of pelleted feeds are alfalfa based, some will insist that alfalfa is poison and a pellet should be grass hay based. Some act like all pellets are evil, and go for a hay/fresh veg diet. They say that if you ask 4 horsemen about something horse related, you'll get 5 opinions; I think rabbit people may be twice as bad!

 

[ruby m w]

Dont give too much lettuce cabbage.
Would need a big grass pen hay would be good but no loads.Just try and reserch!

 

[Barred Rocks forever]

this is what Whitmore farm did there very smart when it comes to letting there animals range they also somtimes fed garden scraps if you wanna learn more about them check out there site http://www.whitmorefarm.com/content/5065