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Hay and Hay feeders

6/25/2020

0 Comments

 
Hay.... love it or leave it, a lot of people love to feed hay to their bunnies.   There are so many viewpoints on the feeding of hay. 

The house rabbit society would have you believe that a rabbit must eat it's weight in hay every day to stay healthy. 

Many rabbit breeders simply don't feed hay, finding it a messy waste, ergo a waste of money, and unnecessary as their rabbits stay healthy. 

Both maintain healthy rabbits.   Don't you find that incredibly intriguing?   Completely opposite thought patterns, yet rabbits that are hale and hearty. 

My approach is to use hay as the gut stabilizer that it is.  Giving hay during times of transition and potential stress.  Otherwise I find alternative sources of fibre (which is why people use hay, for it's long fibre content). 

Black oil sunflower seed is one source of long fibre, as are weeds, grasses and various plants.   

For people who are allergic to hay but not to grasses and various plants as well as black oil sunflower seeds, it means they can also keep a rabbit.  They could also feed straw, corn stalks, and hay cubes. 
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Use a feeder or not?

Whether you are a daily or occasional feeder you'll find yourself feeding hay.  You might choose to use a hay feeder, or simply put the hay in with your rabbits.  Both have their advantages or disadvantages. 

Homemade or purchased, hay feeders require rabbits to pull their hay out of the feeder.  This of course means you need to stuff the hay in.  I've never found a hay feeder that that didn't result in some waste simply in the process of filling it. :) 

The advantage to a hay feeder though is you can put what the rabbit needs in it so they can nibble over the course of the day.  Assuming that unlike MY rabbits yours will nibble over the course of the day.  Anytime I give my bunnies hay they gobble it all up as fast as they possibly can. They then sit on (if they get full) and poop on any remainder.   Rabbits are rather silly aren't they?  :) ​

The advantage to just tossing it in the pen is that you don't lose hay trying to stuff it into the feeder, but rabbits are more apt to sit on it immediately.  Doing so can cause them to foul it fairly quickly. 
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What type of feeder?

I have made loads of feeders out of those wire cutlery baskets.  Just ziptie securely to the side of the cage, preferably over their litter box. 

I do not recommend those wire ball feeders that are often sold inexpensively.  Some rabbits are silly enough to get their head stuck in them and if that happens while you are away, your rabbit may perish due to strangulation or shock. 

To be honest though, I'm not sure, outside of the 2 in 1 feeders that I would recommend most of what they have on amazon.  And those ones I'd want to put up on a brick so the rabbit is eating higher up.  I find they waste less feed that way. Even to hang it up beside a rectangular litter box. 

The best hay feeders I've ever seen are the simplest ones.  Cutlery drawers, kleenex boxes hung outside a wire cage, circular wire ones built into a corner of the cage, etc.   Something that is less fancy and more functional. 
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Poisonous Plants List

6/14/2016

 
Here is a Poisonous plant list.  

Seems an interesting list.   One surprised me as occasionally my rabbits will nibble on catnip with no ill-affects.    Though I wonder... maybe I have the catnip wanna around instead?  

​Just makes me wonder. :)

How I Feed Rabbits and Why

5/22/2016

 
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There are as many ways to feed rabbits as there are ways to house them or breeds of bunnies in the world.  It's amazing to me at how versatile rabbits are.

It must be mind boggling to the average pet rabbit owner to sort out what is best for their bunny.

Therefore I thought I would tell you what I do with my bunnies in an effort to help you make some wise decisions.
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Pellets

This is the basis of my feed regime.
As much as i would prefer to feed my rabbits a completely natural diet I have no room or time for such an endeavor.   Figuring out the balance of salt and nutrients along with protein and fibre content is something I simply choose NOT to do, plus most of my bunnies move into pet homes where they will be fed pellets, so it makes the transition easier for them if I simply feed pellets.

What to look for in a pellet?   Green colour, just pellets, no grains or colourful bits.

Why no grains?
It's like giving your rabbit main course plus dessert.   Rabbits (with the temperament of many toddlers) will say DESSERT!!!   I WANT DESSERT!!!  and forget about eating their main course.

Why no fluffy colourful bits? 

Well frankly who needs extra food colouring, fat, oil, and flour in their diet???   Honestly most rabbits DO NOT need that stuff.
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Hay

I am not as driven as some about giving hay.   I give it (in the winter every other day and daily during times of stress/change) and in the summer once a week (again daily during times of stress/change).

I only give a good solid handful and it changes depending on the rabbit involved.   Some rabbits if I give too much hay won't eat their pellets, and others will eat ALL their hay and their pellets and act like starvation is just around the corner.

My reasoning is this...
1. Rabbits need fibre in their diet and a good quality pellet will provide that needed fibre.   
2. Variety is the source of life, health and enjoyment.  If I feed hay daily, how can I give other variety?   How can my rabbits learn they can survive without hay (for those with a hay allergy who still want to own a bunny)?
3. hay is fed primarily for the enjoyment and stabilizing factor.

The type of hay does matter.. rabbits do best on a horse quality hay.. a grass hay.   I buy mine by the bale, one slice last my herd for a day for the most part.  Depends on who baled it. 

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Grains

I talk about the grain mix I use My Grain Mix and My grain mix part two.

I want my rabbits to be as balanced and capable of surviving regardless of how a person chooses to feed their rabbits.   For those who feed a more natural diet, grains are an important part of the type of feeding regime.   I've purchased rabbits who simply WON'T eat greens.  They just say NOPE, never seen it, won't eat it.   

I strongly desire rabbits who won't do that type of stuff as it's much less worrisome to the new owners.  

In winter, every other day, in summer twice a week.

I find feeding grains really helpful in the heat of summer when the rabbits are too hot to really want to eat.  They will eat oats if they are used to do so.  Just a scoopful in the evening when it's cooler and they will do just fine.
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Green Feed - also known as veggies, grasses, fresh food etc

I DO NOT buy greens for my rabbits. 
In Ontario it is SO easy to find greens for your rabbits.   It's the lawn to put up signs if uses sprays on your lawn, and most places it's rather restricted to businesses only to treat, so its usually not that difficult to find greens or even to grow them in your house/apartment.

I focus on GREEN feed, thinking like a rabbit as best I can.  

REMEMBER>>> start slowly.  Give their guts time to develop the proper flora needed.  Mixing some fresh grass in with some hay to start and gradually increasing how much they get.

In the spring I'll feed dandelions, parsley, young leaves from GREEN leafed maple trees, young thistles, clovers, various grasses etc.

In the summer I'll add produce from my garden (lettuces, kale, swiss chard, turnip and radish greens etc).  Along with plantain, prickly lettuce etc from my yard.

In the fall, maple leaves again are a favourite mixed with grasses, bean plants (without any dried beans on the plant), sunflower leaves, pumpkins or squashes I'm not using, etc.   I'll pick up corn leaves and silk from vendors.  Melon rinds are always a favourite.. water, honeydew, and cantelope.. YUM!

Every day they don't get grains or hay they get a big handful of greens, starting them off VERY slowly in the spring until their gut flora adjusts to having greens again until they are the full course.

What Don't I feed my rabbits?

Very little in the way of sweet food.. carrots, cucumber, apple, strawberries and the like.  They will get the husk, tops or rinds, but rarely the fruit itself.   Too much sugar is as bad (or worse) for rabbits as it is for people.    Keep your rabbits gut healthy.. avoid foods it doesn't need.

I also feed very little in the way of cabbage family plants.  Some rabbits will bloat from these plants and since I cannot predict by looking at them which ones might do that, and there are SO MANY other options out there.. feed the safe foods and leave the questionable ones behind.

​If you've any questions.. just ask!  
​I'll do my best to answer them.  :)

Wheat Fodder System For Rabbits

4/2/2016

 
Providing wheat fodder for rabbits is a good way to add protein to a rabbits diet, as well as the joy of eating fresh food.     If I could I'd set up a system for going greens for rabbits all winter...   Need warmth, compost or dirt  and a way to keep it moist without mould.. you could let it grow and then cut it back to let it grow again.  :)  
If you just have one rabbit, it would be so easy to grow a bowlful of wheat seeds, letting them sprout out to a good four inches and then using it with your rabbit.. if you top the soil with a wire grid the rabbit couldn't pull the root out of the soil.  
It's good to see how different people do things, helps one to tweak the system as needed for themselves.

Christmas treats for Rabbits

12/15/2015

 
The above video is specifically for how to make a christmas treat for your rabbit, below is for general homemade treats for your rabbits.   

Growing Wheat Fodder

5/24/2015

 
This is a good feed for rabbits as long as you can grow it without mould.   This is just one system.   Other systems I've seen use a running water that drips from one tray to the next.  This system is different.
Experiment found here.  The results:
Normally our rabbits weigh between 2-2.5kg live weight and 1-1.5kg carcass weight at 14 weeks. After feeding sprouting fodder the rabbits took only 12 weeks to reach this weight.

In addition when previously feeding pellets to the rabbits it would cost $760 to feed 50 does and 70 kittens for 3 weeks. We now feed 90 does and 250 kittens for the same price.

However the real surprise was the increase in birth rates. As stated previously a set of babies is normally 6-8 kittens. After being fed fodder this average increased to 8-12 per set with one mother giving birth to 15."

Not everyone is sold on the idea.

According to this PDF sprouted fodder bumps up the protein amount 4.8%

Midwest organics tells us that it is "highly digestible and nutritious".


Feed for meat rabbits - one method

5/24/2015

 
i have to admit, I've never thought of feeding turnip to my bunnies.   I feed the greens, never thought to feed the root.  Wonder if that would go over well with the buns....

Cat's Ear - rabbit food

5/24/2015

 

    Author

    I have been breeding rabbits for a quite a few years.  I thoroughly enjoy them as animals and think they make great pets.  I also like to take some of them to rabbit shows to see how they measure up to the standards.

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    You can find me on Facebook and instagram. 
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    For the BEST rabbit forum I've ever found.  Go to Rabbittalk.com.  Good for the pet rabbit owner as well as the breeder for meat or show. 
    Follow A Net In Time's board Rabbits on Pinterest.

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