07/25/2025
It seems I tend to get busy with work and other life things I just have to pick a day to make a bunch of posts on things Ive been brewing about 😆 this is one of those days!
I’ve recently been seeing many posts about feeds again and how much trouble the rabbitry industry may be in with sourcing good local products to feed these animals we care so much about. I reckon feed companies and other businesses forget that we rely on a quality, reliable, and consistent product to feed. Yes even rabbits need good nutrition!
Outside of this page and my love for rabbits, I work in cattle research and we focus heavily on nutrition for good reason! What goes in their mouths must be of good quality and we rely heavily on feed in order to make beef to feed our communties just like any other meat animal industry. Another part of this is coming up with feeding routines and practices that will help make a difference in how they consume the product and how they utilize it to make quality beef we can put in stores to feed our communities.
I take my animal science background and apply this to my herd on daily basis. I watch behavior closely and monitor their intake and make changes where they are needed. In this post I want to highlight some important things I do that I feel make a huge difference in how my rabbits handle stressful situations like heat, moving to new locations, shows, etc
• Quality feed: finding a consistent quality feed is a hard feat right now. I highly suggest looking at local mills in or close to the area you live and seeing what they offer. Commercial feeds are great if they are milled close. Some are not and have to be transported to you which ultimately adds to the cost. Cost is a huge factor but so is quality. Id much rather pay a few extra $ for quality ingredients vs saving it and ending up with major issues in my animals
This is where learning to read feed tags can help you decide what to go with. Looking at the first few ingredients on the tag is going to tell you what the main ingredients are of the feed, everything after is in small increments of the ration and are still important but usually consist of added supplements, vitamins, and minerals.
I look for a forage based pellet (alfalfa or another grass, alfalfa is most common) some grain is ok in my opinion. Where I get concerned is high quantities of corn or soy. Rabbit digestive tracts are closely related to a horse. Horses have a sensitivity to a lot of grain unlike cattle. So when feeding rabbits, forage is a huge deal. (Ill come back to this later when I go on my hay rant🤣) I do not recommend a protein percentage higher than 16%. 18% is over kill unless you are really running your does and bucks heavy throughout the year with back to back litters (which I also don’t recommend). I find it puts too much internal fat on them harming your fertility rates.
I feed ADM 16% complete rabbit and there is some grain products in it. It is $19 a 50lb bag and milled relatively close to me. I’ve never had an issue on this feed and I think if you can find it it’s a great one to use at a decent price point.
•Forage: Hayyyyy😆 hay is a HUGE deal. Idc what anyone has said about not feeding it and they don’t need it and it’s simply not true. Rabbits absolutely DO need some sort of forage in their diet outside of a complete feed. The way we keep domesticated rabbits in cages up off the ground is not natural. Rabbits are meant to move and graze and we keep them put up with less movement and no grazing. Their guts need fiber and fiber comes from hay. These complete feeds are high in nutrients but they don’t burn them off unless they use it to breed and raise litters. I find I can keep my does in prime condition by feeding less pellets and more forage because they don’t put on more fat than needed.
Feeding a grass hay (not alfalfa it’s a legume) is exactly what I think every breeder should do. There have been studies with calves (they are ruminants but it still holds true) the introduction of forage along with milk consumption helps boost gut bacteria and the calves grow faster. Forage is huge for building a good gut flora and in my work we find big correlations with gut health and immune health as well.
I feed orchard grass as I find they really love it and it’s a super soft bladed grass that works well for nesting material for does. My recommendation if you can’t find it is head on down to your local feed store and ask for the best horse quality GRASS hay you can find. I do not suggest alfalfa as it is messy and high in calcium which can cause urinary issues.
•Supplements: I honestly don’t feed many supplements unless I see an issue with weight gain or babies and mommas need some extra nutrients. Black oil sunflower seeds and calf manna are my main supplements I offer for these issues. I give it in a mix with oats as well sometimes. Juniors and litters get it once a week to help boost growth and help with heat/cold stress in the environment.
I know this is super long but I hope it can help anyone confused or concerned with feeds and feeding! I may do another pretty in depth post on my routine and how I feed everyone as well because that is also a whole system that I change regularly depending on what I observe.
Thanks for following our page!☺️
HRR
