Feed for Rabbits
- Hay. This should be the basis of the rabbit diet. It is the most important food for rabbits because it is high in fiber.
- Vegetables. As mentioned earlier, rabbits are herbivorous animals, so they can benefit greatly from a diet that also...
- Granulated Feed (Pellets). Up to 6 months of age, the pelleted feed can be provided. But in adult rabbits, it...
What do you feed a baby rabbit?
What to Feed Your Rabbit. Use a good quality, high fiber alfalfa or timothy based pellet as a small part of your rabbit’s diet. Feed a minimum of 1 cup vegetables for each 4 lbs. of body weight. Select at least three types of vegetables daily. A variety is necessary in order to obtain the necessary nutrients, with one each day...
Is it possible to breed rabbits for meat?
Breeding Meat Rabbits. If you want to breed rabbits for a sustainable meat supply, there’s a few things to take into consideration. Rabbit meat is popular among homesteaders because rabbits are easy to raise, and they breed easily and birth in less time than other traditional homestead livestock like sheep, goats, pigs, and cows.
How to raise rabbits for meat?
When raising rabbits for meat there are many options for food. You can purchase rabbit pellets from a feed store. These pellets are filled with protein and will help add the necessary weight to your rabbits in a short amount of time.
What is the best food for rabbits to gain weight?
These pellets are filled with protein and will help add the necessary weight to your rabbits in a short amount of time. If you choose to buy commercial dry food, here’s a good article that compares the nutrition for every dry food brand. Fodder, hay, and vegetables are more natural feed options if you prefer organic meat.
How do I encourage my rabbit to breed?
4:176:21What To Do When Rabbits Won't Breed - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThat they get every day can have an effect on their breeding schedule. Again they're not asMoreThat they get every day can have an effect on their breeding schedule. Again they're not as sensitive. As other animals but adding additional light to get them up to about 14 hours a day a light.
How do you prepare rabbits for breeding?
0:126:14How to Breed Rabbits In a Cage System - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipTake the female to the male. Don't ever take the male to the female. And we're talking about a cageMoreTake the female to the male. Don't ever take the male to the female. And we're talking about a cage setup here of course not a colony setup females can get very territorial of their cages.
How much do you feed a breeder rabbit?
You do not want fat rabbits it will reduce the does fertility and make lazy bucks. Adult rabbits will eat about four ounces a day, and does with young need about eight ounces. For a meat breed, about 1/2 to 1 cup a day (depending on each individual rabbit).
What do you feed baby meat rabbits?
2:417:42Meat Rabbit Diet, What, How Much, and When to Feed - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipBut they get as much hay as they want to get. Now. As far as the pellets go you're going to feedMoreBut they get as much hay as they want to get. Now. As far as the pellets go you're going to feed probably roughly about 6 ounces of pellets a day.
How long do you leave rabbits together to mate?
They may also fight. Always take the female to the male. Leave the breeding pair together for half an hour. You want to give the rabbits time to mate, preferably 2-3 times.
How many times do female rabbits mate a day?
Young bucks are able to breed from 5 or 6 months old, but they should only start mating gradually. It is recommended however, that not more than one mating be performed per day for each male as usually, the second ejaculation often contains much more sperm.
What can you feed rabbits instead of pellets?
Rabbits can get by without pellets as long as hay and fresh green vegetables are given every day. Avoid cereal/grain mixes (such as rabbit mix muesli) as these can encourage selective feeding, nutritional imbalance and obesity [1, 4]. Providing other objects to chew on is also a good idea.
What vegetables can rabbits eat daily?
Vegetables that can be fed to a rabbit daily:Bell peppers.Bok choy.Brussels sprouts.Carrot tops.Cucumber.Endive.Escarole.Fennel.More items...•
What should I not feed my rabbit?
Cookies, nuts, seeds, grains, and bread should not be fed to rabbits. "Cookies, nuts, seeds, grains, and bread should not be fed to rabbits." Fruits can be fed in very limited quantities – no more than 1-2 tablespoons of high-fiber fresh fruit (such as apple, pear, or berries) every 1-2 days.
Which food make rabbit grow fast?
They will also need free access to a quality grass hay, some alfalfa (lucerne) hay and some grains – barley, oats and wheat are all good options. What is this? You can raise rabbits very well on barley fodder. With free-choice hay always available to them.
How do you make homemade rabbit food?
My Homemade Natural Grain Based Rabbit Food Recipe:6 cups rolled oats.3 cups golden wheat berries.3 cups pearled barley.3 cups hard red wheat berries.3 cups split peas.3 cups black oil sunflower seed.
Which rabbit breed grows faster?
New Zealand Rabbits One reason may be that this rabbit breed puts on weight quickly and has an exceptional meat-to-bone ratio. New Zealand rabbits grow rapidly as well. By 8 weeks old, kits have reached 8 pounds, with adults maturing to 9 to 12 pounds.
How do you know when rabbits are ready to mate?
1:133:37How to Tell if a Rabbit is Ready to Breed? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIf it's a purplish color a pinkish color that is a good indicator that she's ready to breed. If it'sMoreIf it's a purplish color a pinkish color that is a good indicator that she's ready to breed. If it's a white kind of a grayish. Color then that's a good indicator that she's not ready to breed.
What is the best time of year to breed rabbits?
3:587:45What Time of Year is Best for Breeding Rabbits - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipBut it's quite often that when Bucks. You're your male rabbits your Bucks get over about 80 degreesMoreBut it's quite often that when Bucks. You're your male rabbits your Bucks get over about 80 degrees 85 degrees that they can go sterile for a short period of time until the weather cools.
Is it OK to breed brother and sister rabbits?
Any time you breed related animals together it intensifies genetic strengths and weaknesses. Siblings are the most genetically alike of any relatives, so any weakness in your rabbits would become more pronounced.
What can I use for a rabbit nesting box?
You can substitute a cardboard box. Choose one just a little bit larger than the mother, so she fits inside snugly. Cut a small doorway in one side that's sufficient for the rabbit to enter and exit. Leave a space of at least 1 inch from the bottom of the box to the doorway so tiny babies can't fall out.
Choosing Meat Rabbit Breeds
Not all rabbits are created equal. Some breeds are much larger than others.For beginners, I highly recommend raising New Zealand rabbits. They are...
The Basic No-No’S to Keeping Meat Rabbits
Rabbits require bedding in the rabbit hole sections of their hutches. This is where rabbits will sleep and have their babies.Do not use straw in th...
Basic Health Needs of Rabbits
Rabbits require very little maintenance.The most important things you can do to ensure you raise healthy rabbits is to prevent ear mites and keep t...
Proper Bedding For Rabbits
The easiest bedding for your rabbits is paper. Old, shredded paper.When you go through your filing cabinet, receive junk mail, or when you toss the...
Mama Bunny’S Behavior After Giving Birth
So your rabbit had babies, now what?First of all, don’t go loving all over the babies.This will upset your mama rabbit and might discourage her fro...
Vegetables
As mentioned earlier, rabbits are herbivorous animals, so they can benefit greatly from a diet that also includes leaves and vegetables that are healthy for them. In the appropriate amounts, vegetables provide new flavors and textures, as well as nutrients, to the rabbits’ diet.
Granulated Feed (Pellets)
Up to 6 months of age, the pelleted feed can be provided. But in adult rabbits, it should always be offered rationed. The recommended amount is 2-3% of the animal’s weight.
Fruits
You can also give fruits to rabbits but they should be in very small portions. Fruits are foods high in calories and sugars. In the wild, rabbits can only access them for certain periods in a year.
What is the best feed for rabbits?
Fodder, hay, and vegetables are more natural feed options if you prefer organic meat. Fodder is sprouted wheatgrass. It is extremely inexpensive to raise and provides all of the nutrients your rabbits will need. Learn more about growing fodder which can provide the nutrients needed, affordably.
What do rabbits need for shelter?
Rabbits require a hutch for shelter. A rabbit hutch is basically a wooden box divided into two sections. One section has wire mesh on all sides, and the other section is closed in with wooden sides with only the bottom being mesh wire.
How to treat ear mites in rabbits?
If your rabbits get ear mites, one way to treat their ears is with 2-3 drops of oil in the infected ear every other day for 30 days. Then clean their hutches out with a diluted bleach mixture to ensure all mites are exterminated. 2. Hygiene. Secondly, you must clean your rabbits’ hutches weekly.
How much meat can a rabbit give?
They may seem small, but because they reproduce so quickly one rabbit can give anywhere from 125-250 pounds of meat per year (depending on how frequently the doe is bred and how many kits per litter.) There is much to learn about raising rabbits for meat, but they are a perfect fit for any size homestead.
What is the best bedding for bunnies?
The easiest bedding for your rabbits is paper. Old, shredded paper . When you go through your filing cabinet, receive junk mail, or when you toss the morning paper don’t discard that waste, invest in a shredder, and shred it! Then fill your rabbits’ rabbit holes with shredded paper.
How long does it take for a rabbit to have a baby?
If you are raising meat rabbits, learning about rabbits’ birthing habits is one of the most important aspects. A rabbit’s gestation period is only 30 days. This means you can have a new litter of baby bunnies in a month’s time. It will usually take a rabbit 1-2 pregnancies to figure out how to keep her babies alive.
How old do rabbits need to be to butcher?
It is important to know that when raising rabbits for meat that the older the rabbit gets, the tougher the meat becomes. The perfect butchering age is around 8 weeks of age. This means you will need a larger breed so it will be a decent size by the 8-week mark.
How to get a rabbit to protrude?
Using your middle finger and forefinger apply pressure to the vent to force the genitals to protrude just slightly. Observe the protuberance: Does have a narrow slit, lined with pink, while bucks have a tube. 2. Mating Your Rabbits. Once you have placed the doe in the buck’s cage, the breeding process will begin.
What are the complications of breeding rabbits?
Check out this list of common complications, and how you can handle each one: 1. Eating Babies. It’s a horrific sight, and I want you to be prepared for it because if you plan on breeding rabbits longterm, you will witness at least one of your does consume her young.
How to tell if a buck has bred a doe?
You can tell if your buck has bred your doe if he falls off of her…yes, it’s actually pretty dramatic. He will often squeal or grunt and just roll to the side of her. He’s ok, so don’t worry! For good measure, we often let our buck breed our does at least 3 times in a breeding session.
How to prepare a buck's hutch for breeding?
How to Prepare The Buck’s Hutch for Breeding. When it is time to breed your rabbits it is best to do so on solid ground. Cages with wire bottoms can catch rabbit toenails or even feet, and cause serious injury if the rabbits are rambunctious.
Why do rabbits miscarry?
Miscarriages happen for countless reasons including poor nutrition, weather, illness, stress, and more.
What is in line breeding?
This is called in-line breeding. Most in-line breeding is done to amplify the desirable traits of the 2 rabbits chosen to breed. Always keep in mind, however, that inbreeding can also magnify undesirable traits, so choose carefully.
How to make a bunny relax?
Here’s how to do it: Hold your rabbit gently by the scruff of its neck and lift it up, supporting its weight with your other hand or arm. Lay the rabbit upside down while supporting its back (cradle your rabbit in your arms). Your rabbit will relax if held securely.
What percentage of protein pellets should I give my goats for milk production?
It has been shown that lactating does (especially with the size litters Mary talks about), need a good 18% protein pellet to support adequate milk production.
Is hay good for rabbits?
Agreeing with Mary, hay is a must in the rabbitry. It keeps the digestive system in good tone. I feed a good quality grass hay. (There’s plenty of alfalfa in the pellets already.) I think Mary’s New Zealands are trying to do a good job (with 9-10 in a litter).
Is it easy to raise rabbits for meat?
Learn How to Raise Rabbits for Meat — It's So Easy! Rabbit meat is more nutritious and lower in fat than beef, pork or even poultry. If you’re interested in raising rabbits for meat but don’t know where to start, this guide will help you understand all the basics.
Is raising rabbits a hobby?
Raising rabbits is a great hobby or even a good small business . I also hope this helps answer the question “what to feed meat rabbits” for anyone who is new to raising meat rabbits. Published in Countryside May / June 2004 and regularly vetted for accuracy.
Do bunnies need water?
Water is the single most important element required to keep rabbits healthy and producing well. No matter what you feed the doe, if she doesn’t have adequate water she will fail to produce properly.
Can rabbit pellets be cut with other grains?
Mary also mentioned she felt a vitamin E deficiency was involved. Possibly. Again, it is not recommended that pellets be cut with other grains or feed. A lot of research has gone into formulating rabbit feed in order to provide the best balance for all stages of a rabbit’s life.
When can I breed meat rabbits?
Rabbits are able to breed at around 7 months of age, and we also prefer to wait until that age to harvest them because they are nearly full grown.
Why are rabbits good for homesteading?
Rabbit meat is popular among homesteaders because rabbits are easy to raise, and they breed easily and birth in less time than other traditional homestead livestock like sheep, goats, pigs, and cows. Rabbits also produce lean, healthy meat that’s low in fat, and is a culinary delicacy in many countries around the globe. It’s just one reason why rabbits on the homestead are a great idea.
How long do rabbits live?
When looking for parent stock, look for rabbits that are robust and large, and have healthy-looking coats. Although rabbits can live 10 years or more, choose breeding stock that’s on the younger side, and look for a reputable breeder in your area. If they will not let you see photos of the rabbits before purchasing, avoid that breeder.
Can you put a male rabbit in a female's cage?
When actually breeding meat rabbits, the male should be put in the female’s cage, not the other way around. Because we keep more than one rabbit in a cage, we temporarily remove the any extra females for the duration of the “date.”. Once the male has bred the female twice, he is removed, and her female companion put back into the cage.
Can you keep rabbits on a homestead?
Image courtesy of The Frugal Chicken. Best of all, for non-traditional and suburban homesteaders, most city ordinances allow you to keep rabbits, so in areas where chickens and other livestock are not allowed, meat rabbits make a great alternative.
What can I feed my rabbits?
You can give your rabbits dried scraps of bread and crusts; also any kind of vegetable parings and tops they'll eat. You can feed them lawn trimmings and weeds. But don't leave what they fail to eat in the pen. Take it out next day and pretty soon you'll find what they like best and how much to feed.
What can I do with rabbits on my homestead?
Raising rabbits is one of the simplest things you can do on your homestead. Not only do they require little attention, but they also provide a great amount of meat.
How long does it take for a fryer to breed?
You breed about every 90 days. Gestation only takes 30 to 32 days. The young nurse for five or six weeks, learning to eat as they go along. At six or seven weeks you put the young fryers in another hutch or two and eat them between then and ten or twelve weeks.
What breed of rabbits does Wally like?
Choosing a Rabbit Breed. Wally picked a variety called the Chinchilla. You can take your pick of several good meat breeds. Wally favored the medium sized breeds, which weigh around eight to 10 pounds grown. You could go in for the Flemish Giants, for instance, that sometimes weigh 20 pounds.
How much does it cost to raise a chinchilla?
Here's what he learned from them. A Chinchilla weighing three pounds, live weight will cost you from 25 to 35 cents or a little more to raise. You'd pay a dollar, at least, in the market for him. Wally figured out how much time it took him to raise a three pound fryer.
How to cook rabbit meat in a jar?
Cut up your rabbit meat and put it into a jar. Cover with vinegar or wine and water, equal parts. Add one sliced onion, salt, peppers, few cloves, bay leaves. Let this soak in a cool place for two days. Then remove and wipe the meat dry and brown it thoroughly in a frying pan, in hot butter, turning it often.
Is rabbit easier to dress than chicken?
No other meat is easier, quicker, or as inexpensive for the homesteader to produce as rabbit . . . and it's easier to dress than chicken.
Why Breed Rabbits?
There are several reasons why raising rabbits at home might be a good idea. You may already have a motive for starting a rabbitry but if you don’t, here are some reasons:
How to Breed Rabbits?
Now that you have a good reason for starting a rabbitry you should learn how to mate rabbits.
When to Breed Rabbits?
Once you have the two rabbits that will serve as breeding stock, it’s time to decide when to mate them. As you know, rabbits are prolific breeders, but they don’t actually mate at all hours of the day, every single day in the year.
What Age Can a Rabbit Begin Breeding?
Although rabbits become sexually mature early, you should wait until they are old enough to breed. Keep in mind that small breeds mature faster and can be bred earlier than larger breeds of rabbits.
Breeding Process
When your rabbits reach maturity, it’s the perfect time to start breeding them. While the actual act doesn’t last long, you should understand what is happening and what to expect, to know if the breeding was successful.
Signs of Rabbit Pregnancy
After successful breeding, the biggest question is whether the doe is pregnant or not. While there are no outward signs of pregnancy, there are a few things you can do to determine if your rabbit is indeed pregnant.
Rabbit Gestation Period
A rabbit’s gestation period typically lasts between 31 and 33 days. During this time, the doe shouldn’t be handled often and her nest box shouldn’t be touched either.
