The Homesteader's Way of Feeding Rabbits

[tortoise]

The only poisonous garden plants are green parts of tomatoes (fruit and vine) and green parts of potatoes (fruit and vine). I don't feed onion either.

Mine LOVE to eat green bean and pea plants after the season is done! They are addicted to apples (keep those sweet things to a minimum!).

And they like their yogurt covered raisins. Yup. Spoiled rabbits!

 

[BarredBuff]

Okay good!! Got some brocoli in the fridge thats been there for a little while. Not rotted but old.

 

[CrimsonRose]

Something I've been wondering and wanting to try... is dehydrating extra garden stuff.... to save and feed them in the winter... anyone do something like that??? I may have to research it more or maybe just try it and see if they will eat it... I wouldn't do it as a main source of their diet... but I always like to feed my does some extra fruit after they kindle since they need the extra calories to make milk... I thought of dehydrating some apple slices and see how they do with that... Since it's for the rabbits you could leave the peel on and not have to do much work... just slice it and dehydrate it... hummmm

Oh I also do some sprouts for them in winter... but since I have so many buns I just can't keep up with the whole SS diet in winter and they end up eating mainly pellets... but I'm hoping to change that by next winter... I was thinking of saving the grass clippings... and the dehydrating extra stuff...

 

[BarredBuff]

Luckily I dont have that many to keep up. 4 is the most permanent residents Im going to keep. I will have some meaties next fall though. The buns loved the brocoli btw. And crimson rose that sounds like a great idea!

 

[tortoise]

My rabbits lived on cabbage for a few weeks, lol. Loved it. I got bags full from my neighbor, plus a community garden was open at the end of the season for take-what-you-want. I was the only one out there I think. Fed them for a quite a while off that.

 

[BarredBuff]

I got my sprouting seeds in!! I got wheat, oats and alfalfa. Im not going to give themvery many sprouts to start off with. But should any of these varieties be rationed?

 

[tortoise]

I got my sprouting seeds in!! I got wheat, oats and alfalfa. Im not going to give themvery many sprouts to start off with. But should any of these varieties be rationed?

Alfalfa is too high protein to be the main food source for MAINTAINING rabbits. No problem for growing rabbits. Make sure your girls don't get chubby or they won't get pregnant.

 

[BarredBuff]

I will give them wheat mainly and some alfalfa. Thanks tortoise!!!

 

[CrimsonRose]

alfalfa is great for nursing and preggo mama's... and growing babies as well since it's high in protein... Full grown bucks and non breeding does I would give them more oats and wheat till breeding time!

 

[FarmerDenise]

Don't forget to give your rabbits lots of timothy hay. It is high in silica, which helps keep their teeth ground down.

My rabbit lives primarily on weeds and grasses from our field. We also give lots of timothy hay. That is the only hay we buy on a regular basis for the rabbit. He gets pellets once in a while.

We dry all sorts of stuff from the garden: persimmons, the shells from beans, leaves of all sorts, peaches, zucchini, plums, carrot tops. I gather dried leaves in the fall. I dry basil. All of it gets fed to the rabbit as well as the goats and chickens.

I feed the rabbit twigs and sticks from persimmon, apple, pear and grape.

We also grow assorted grains and we feed whatever we grow to the rabbit as a treat. He mostly gets greens. Occasionally he will get a small piece of dried bread. He loves all parts of sunflowers. We give him the flowers, the leaves, the stalks and the smaller full seed heads.

We do not feed our rabbit much alfalfa, because our vet told us that is not good for adult male rabbits.

For several years he got an annual check up with a vet who specialized in rabbits. Our rabbit is in ecellent health