what about greens?

[Janet Pesaturo]

I've always wondered about folks saying that about rabbits......what do wild rabbits eat? Don't they eat greens? What else do they eat? I'm not a rabbit person, so these are honest questions. We were just over at a friend's who has some domestic rabbits that live wild in the yard, they don't feed them any other feed. I can't imagine they have constant diarrhea?

You're right. We used to have rabbits and fed them greens and let them free range in our fenced chicken yard, and they ate any grass, weeds, and greens they wanted, and they lived to a ripe old age. I think the problem with feeding domestic rabbits greens and other veggies occurs when people keep them in cages so they have no choice but to eat only what is put in the cage. If you raise a rabbit on pellets and then one day throw a bunch of lettuce greens or carrots into the cage, the rabbit will go crazy and eat too much of those nice fresh foods. Sudden change in diet like that can result in GI problems, not to mention long term nutritional imbalance if available food is not a balanced diet most of the time. If, on the other hand, rabbits free range and have many foods available to them, they will self regulate by picking and choosing what they need. If they are kept in cages and fed only pellets and a few other foods in balance, and with no sudden dramatic dietary changes, that will be okay too.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Chickens are omnivorous and will eat most anything we eat - just no processed foods - which should include bread as it is processed.....

Well in that case you can't feed your chickens grower crumbles , laying pellets, or starter mash, not even scratch grains, hulled oats, or cracked corn, because all commercial chicken feeds of all descriptions is industrially processed out the yang-yang. As the scientific paper in the following link proves it is a good thing that chicken feed is as processed as it is today because without processing no one could keep their back yard broiler flock healthy.
http://www.zootecnicainternational....ue-and-hygienic-status-in-broiler-feeds-.html

It is my experience that chickens generally hate pellets with mega amounts of green stuff in them, like alfalfa meal and that chickens may well starve before they will breakdown and eat said meal or pellets.

 

[Janet Pesaturo]

I think by "processed" they meant like refined foods that we humans eat. Examples would be white bread, salty crackers, deli meats, cookies, etc. Not great for chickens nor for us.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If processed food was bad for our feathered friends then none of us could feed laying pellets, grower crumbles, or starter mash. The reason being that all commercial chicken feed regardless of the description has been industrially processed out the yang-yang. Even cracked corn, hulled oats, or scratch feed have been processed. If you will read the following link it seems to be a good thing to because as the following scientific paper says, without extensive industrial processing you would be unable to keep your back yard chicken flock healthy and happy.
http://www.zootecnicainternational....ue-and-hygienic-status-in-broiler-feeds-.html

 

[Janet Pesaturo]

Yes but that's not what people mean when they make say in common parlance that processed food isn't good for chickens.

 

[donrae]

You're right. We used to have rabbits and fed them greens and let them free range in our fenced chicken yard, and they ate any grass, weeds, and greens they wanted, and they lived to a ripe old age. I think the problem with feeding domestic rabbits greens and other veggies occurs when people keep them in cages so they have no choice but to eat only what is put in the cage. If you raise a rabbit on pellets and then one day throw a bunch of lettuce greens or carrots into the cage, the rabbit will go crazy and eat too much of those nice fresh foods. Sudden change in diet like that can result in GI problems, not to mention long term nutritional imbalance if available food is not a balanced diet most of the time. If, on the other hand, rabbits free range and have many foods available to them, they will self regulate by picking and choosing what they need. If they are kept in cages and fed only pellets and a few other foods in balance, and with no sudden dramatic dietary changes, that will be okay too.

Thank you, that makes sense. I guess I wasn't think so much of a sudden dietary change, even if it's good stuff that can be bad. Just like a horse from hay to spring grass can mean bad things if all of a sudden. I just like to try to make sense of what folks say animals can eat, I try to break it back down to what the animal would eat in it's own environment.

 

[Janet Pesaturo]

Just like a horse from hay to spring grass can mean bad things if all of a sudden.

Yes, in fact it is often said that rabbits are more closely related to horses than to rodents. I don't know taxonomy well enough to say how true that is, but people who work with both say they are struck by certain similarities, especially GI disorders.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Well in that case you can't feed your chickens grower crumbles , laying pellets, or starter mash, not even scratch grains, hulled oats, or cracked corn, because all commercial chicken feeds of all descriptions is industrially processed out the yang-yang. As the scientific paper in the following link proves it is a good thing that chicken feed is as processed as it is today because without processing no one could keep their back yard broiler flock healthy.
http://www.zootecnicainternational....ue-and-hygienic-status-in-broiler-feeds-.html

It is my experience that chickens generally hate pellets with mega amounts of green stuff in them, like alfalfa meal and that chickens may well starve before they will breakdown and eat said meal or pellets.

Yes but that's not what people mean when they make say in common parlance that processed food isn't good for chickens.

thank you

I used to program feed mills and know what is in the food. There is no high fructose corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, sucralose, aspartame, MSG, BHT, aluminum phosphate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, propylene glycol alginate, polysorbate 60, red dye #40, yellow dye #5, blue dye #1, artificial flavor, et. al..

Sure, it is processed in that the grains and legumes are ground, slightly cooked and with added nutrients missing in the grains essential to the health of the chicken for which it was formulated. Things like vitamin A and D, essential amino acids like methionine and lysine, and minerals like selenium.

 

[lovie chick]

thankyou so much for letting me know about the chart some of the things I knew but not all. The picture of the chicken with the lobster was awesome thanks again!

 

[grandwake]

thankyou so much for letting me know about the chart some of the things I knew but not all. The picture of the chicken with the lobster was awesome thanks again!

No problem

and yes the lobster picture is priceless!!