Got Rabbits?

   August 28, 2015

So, you are looking at raising rabbits for meat?

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What do Rabbits eat?

Every day our rabbits get a helping of greens from our garden along with carrots. They also get to eat alfalfa pellets and a helping of Bermuda grass. During the winter time, we also grow wheat fodder so that they can continue to have fresh greens daily.

There are many different things that you can feed your rabbits. Here is a list that we use regularly.

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS USUALLY TOLERATED BY ADULT RABBITS

HRS Classification I – Higher in oxalic acid, only one per day and avoid sticking to one kind, best to rotate.

HRS Classification II – Lower in oxalic acid.  Fine to feed a variety every day as a staple of your bunny’s diet.

Bolded are high in vitamin A. (Can feed more than one kind a day UNLESS they double as a class I)
  • Alfalfa sprouts
  • Anise Hyssop
  • Apple twigs, leaves, and fruit, but not the seeds!
  • Arugula (II)
  • Asparagus
  • Banana
  • Basil (II)
  • Beet Greens (I)
  • Bell Pepper, Sweet Green
  • Bell Pepper, Sweet Red
  • Blackberry fruit, stems, leaves
  • Blueberry fruit
  • Bok Choy (II)
  • Borage
  • Calendula
  • Carrot roots
  • Carrot tops (II)
  • Catnip/catmint
  • Celery
  • Chamomile
  • Chicory (II)
  • Cilantro/Coriander (II)
  • Clover
  • Collards
  • Comfrey
  • Cranberry
  • Cucumber peels
  • Dandelion greens and flowers (II)
  • Daylily flowers
  • Dianthus
  • Dill (II)
  • Eggplant
  • Endive (II)
  • English Daisy
  • Escarole (II)
  • Fennel (II)
  • Frisee Lettuce (II)
  • Grape fruit, leaves, and vines
  • Honeysuckle
  • Jasmine
  • Jerusalem Artichoke
  • Kale (II)
  • Kolrabi
  • Lemon balm
  • Lemon grass
  • Lettuce, green leaf (II)
  • Lettuce, red leaf (II)
  • Lettuce, romaine (II)
  • Lilac
  • Lovage
  • Mango
  • Marigold
  • Marjoram
  • Melon
  • Mint Varieties (II)
  • Mustard greens (I)
  • Nasturtium
  • Okra
  • Orange (no peel)
  • Oregano
  • Pansy
  • Papaya
  • Parsley (I)
  • Parsnip
  • Peach
  • Pear
  • Peas, snow (no dried or sweet peas)
  • Pineapple
  • Purslane
  • Radicchio (II)
  • Radish tops (I)
  • Raspberry leaves (II)
  • Rose
  • Rosemary
  • Sage/salvia
  • Spinach (I)
  • Sprouts (I)
  • Squash fruit and flowers
  • Strawberry
  • Sweet woodruff
  • Swiss chard (I)
  • Tarragon, french
  • Thyme
  • Turnip Greens (II)
  • Viola
  • Violet
  • Watercress (II)
  • Wheat Grass (II)
  • Willow
VEGETABLES USUALLY TOLERATED, BUT MORE LIKELY TO CAUSE SOME PROBLEMS IN VERY SENSITIVE RABBITS
  • Beet root
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Cauliflower
  • Green beans
  • Radish root
  • Turnip root
VEGETABLES TO AVOID
  • Avocado
  • Bamboo shoots
  • Beans, dried
  • Beans, raw: lima, kidney, soy
  • Bracken Fern
  • Cassava
  • Coffee beans and plant
  • Whole corn kernels (can get stuck in intestines)
  • Grains
  • Lettuce, Iceberg
  • Millet
  • Nuts
  • Onions
  • Peas, dried
  • Potatoes, including peels
  • Rhubarb
  • Sweet peas
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Tea leaves
  • Whole seeds
OTHER FOODS TO AVOID
  • Most house plants (toxic)
  • Chocolate
  • Refined sugars
  • Yogurt drops
  • Honey/Seed sticks
  • Breads / crackers
  • processed people foods
  • ANYTHING MOLDY!!!
NOTES:

  1. Try to serve a mix of three or more vegetables each day.
  2. Any food that is high in sugar, such as fruit, should be served as a treat only: one serving per day, no larger than your thumb.
  3. Flowers from the local nursery probably have pesticides on them. Don’t serve them unless you know they’re organic.
  4. Most rabbits can handle vegetables that are high in calcium or oxalates, as long as the vegetables are served in moderation, and the bunny doesn’t have kidney or urinary tract problems. If you have a healthy rabbit, do not hesitate to serve her wonderful vegetables such as kale, just because they are high in calcium.
  5. Any food that causes diarrhea should be removed from the diet immediately!

IMG_20150807_201553292Rabbits are very easy to raise.

They are due 28 days, or 4 weeks from the date that you bred them.

Here is an online gestational calendar for them: http://www.gestationcalculator.com/other/rabbit-pregnancy-calculator

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Tips when breeding:

  1. Take the female to the males cages. The does can be quite territorial and attempt to hurt your buck if you introduce him into her cage.
  2. Any day is a good day to breed a rabbit. They do not go “into heat” until your breed them.
    Let your male join with your female at least 3 times before your remove him.  You will know that he has been successful after he mounts because he “eeeks”, stiffens and then falls off.
  3. Once your breed your two rabbits, put the male back to his own cage. Return him to your female 6-8 hours later to rebreed again.

On day #27, put a breeding box inside your does cage. She will begin plucking chest fur to make a nest for her babies.

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