How To Feed Meat Rabbits: The Complete Series Parts 1-3

[@fyell]

Looking forward to the Beginner Meat Rabbit series next week. Thank you.

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Thanks!

[@LadyMaryanne]

Thanks a bunch 💐 for these series! Great job 🏆! Please continue them 🐇

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Thank you!

[@WhitedewValley]

Thanks for info. Learning about rabbits before I make a go and build my beginner rabbitry. Cheers and greetings from Croatia. PS. I was trying to find info about chestnut leaves are they good to feed to the rabbits, but only managed to find info about Horse chestnut. In my area there is a lot of sweet chestnuts.hmm

[@ronmetz9172]

Excellent presentation. Thank you for sharing

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Thanks!

[@whosthatguy8396]

Kitchen scraps Clover, comfrey, celery, dandelion and leaf waste from veggies like radishes and carrots make up the bulk of my rabbits diet. They grow fast and healthy and im almost entirely self sufficient in my front and back yard gardens. During the winter i supplement with purchased hay and pellets but usually i have such a surplus of greens that it still makes up the majority of their diet. I need to get better at drying my own hay.

[@whosthatguy8396]

Oh and sunflower seed micro greens is a big part of their diet too. Especially in the winter

[@westmeadowrabbits]

That's the way to do it!

[@sebastianpacurar8350]

Hi and greetings from Romania,very good channel

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Thanks!

[@texasmimi3019]

Thank you very much for these videos!! I just found your channel and I am learning much!!

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Thanks for watching!

[@andypanda4756]

❤ Subscribed. Your videos are an Oasis in a desert of videos directed at 'pet' rabbits.

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Thanks and welcome!

[@bajavolvo]

The wild rabbits seam to love the leaves from my plum tree

[@westmeadowrabbits]

If the wild rabbits eat it, then it should be good for domestic as well!

[@modee-b9s]

Excellent video - Thanks!

[@westmeadowrabbits]

You are welcome!

[@naomiyshua9914]

Question...I am new to breeding rabbits. I feed them organic just like my chickens since my family will be eating them. I was only able to get 2 until the other kits are weaned. My doe and buck are almost 9 weeks now. I feed them the head size amount of pellets (1/2 c), body size amount of Timothy hay, and tail size amount of sweet potato greens, etc. My concern is that the New Country Orangic pellets are only 15% protein. I do grow comfrey among other herbs along with moringa trees. Could I supplement the comfrey as protein to get to 18% because I don't believe 15% is enough. I started out mixing the pellets they came with (non-gmo) adding my organic pellets gradually so not to upset their stomachs, but they now eat the organic ones and leave the non-gmo ones. I guess they taste better, lol. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[@westmeadowrabbits]

I get this kind of question a lot and unfortunately it's tricky to answer. To start, I always free feed hay as it's a great buffer. 15% is on the low side for mature (non breeding rabbits0 and is to low for kits and nursing does. The best year round high protein supplement is of course alfalfa, but there are many high protein plants you could feed, them, it just depends on your region. Where I am, I use black locust instead of alfalfa to boost kits and nursing does. I also feed lot's of comfrey and fresh feeds when possible, and in the summer this can be up to 60% of their diet. The most important thing is to monitor their condition and weight. What metrics you should shoot for depend on the breed, but if they aren't performing, increase feed. I hope that helps!

[@marthabowser501]

Awesome video!

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Thanks!

[@rockitrocket]

This is so underrated! I love the idea of a leaf hay! We are moving, and our new property is huge with a ton of leaves. Do you know if fall leaves make good hay too?

[@westmeadowrabbits]

They do! As long as they aren't wet the rabbits love them. i have a few videos on using them.

[@rockitrocket]

@@westmeadowrabbits Okay, thank you so much! And you were so quick to respond! I really appreciate it 😁

[@jesseherbert2585]

Excellent information, thank you! Question: when do you start feeding what? Say it is winter and a doe just kindled....perhaps you harvest grow outs at 10 weeks. Do you start hay after weening, perhaps around a month? Can you feed leaf hay after that at all, or just breeders? What about a nursing doe? I'd love a video of what exactly you feed at each stage, and based on the time of year. Feel free to use a flow chart or white board ;-). I'm an educator who lives in Southern Vermont and am keen to see this entire movement expand. I use to teach sustainability classes pre-covid, and fully support prepping, distributed agriculture, etc. You deserve all success, again many thanks.

[@westmeadowrabbits]

@@jesseherbert2585 Thanks! I will add that to the topic list! But to answer you're question, the kits get the same things the does do! They'll start nibbling at hay in their nest around two weeks of age when their eyes open. Shortly after they'll be hoping out of the nest eating what their mom eats. This phase is critical! By being exposed to a variety of natural foods when young, they'll develop the gut biome for this kind of food early on. This will eliminate all kinds of issues you'll hear about people having when they feed rabbits fresh foods.

[@janiteeter4896]

Funny, I don't know if it is because I raise silver fox, but I find even my breeding does get easily overfat if i feed any more then 16%. So I go to great lengths to GET that, and purina is all I can find sadly that low within driving distance here. But, I never thought of maybe feeding my grow outs the higher concentration stuff, hmmm interesting! Maybe I should try that so they grow out a bit faster. I like to keep pelts so I find I prefer to dispatch around 20 weeks anyway, if if I could get a bit more weight on them faster, maybe I could cut a few weeks off? What do you think?

[@westmeadowrabbits]

You would probably get them bigger faster, but if you're saving pelts, I wouldn't harvest under 16 weeks. Now matter how big a rabbit is at that age, it's pelt will be thin.

[@puddleglummarshwiggle4236]

Do you need to supplement your rabbits with idione ect? Like mineral licks?

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Not if you feeding a balanced diet or if you're giving them even a small amount of commercial pellets regularly.

[@veen88]

What do you think of Azolla plant ☘️ for feeding Rabbit 🐇

[@westmeadowrabbits]

You should be able to fee it to rabbits. Start slow and see how they like it!

[@walterisaac6506]

How about guavas? I have two a buck and a doe and they love guavas scrapes I give them from my trees. I hope I'm not killing my rabbits?

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Guavas don't grow in my climate but if you're feeding them regularly and you aren't noticing any health issues then it's probably fine! When in doubt check with other local farmers and/or the agriculture department with your local government or university.

[@matthewhurst6718]

Hi, What about using hay cubes vs loose hay? Does it matter? I find it to be a easy way to avoid a lot of waste. I am also feeding a pellet diet.

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Despite some waste, I think you would save a lot of money feeding regular hay. I get a 50lb bale for around 10 bucks or less from the feed store. With mangers, maybe 10-15% is wasted, but that just turns into compost.

[@isaaccutlip5815]

I got meat rabbits and just breed them for my first time. Im feeding nutrina 16 percent. I dont want to buy the 18 percent feed because its expensive and i already have 16. Will i be ok or shouldi get the 18

[@westmeadowrabbits]

@@isaaccutlip5815 16 is fine, but you'll get more meat and faster growth if you feed 18 to growing kits and mothers with litters. Adult bucks only need 16, and does without litters are also fine with it.

[@isaaccutlip5815]

@@westmeadowrabbits OK thanks

[@jamesofallthings3684]

You could just feed your rabbits your cover crop cuttings.

[@westmeadowrabbits]

If you've got them you sure can! Although for larger fields it would make more sense to use goats and sheep to harvest the cover crop.

[@noah786]

Do you know if sumac, leaves and roots, are edible? Also vining roots? Thanks

[@westmeadowrabbits]

I'm not sure to be honest, that sounds like something more suited to goats than rabbits. Roots are usually the most toxic parts of plants so I would avoid feeding to rabbits.

[@BraxtonMapson]

I had a question, I gave my rabbits nature wise green bag 18% protein and they all got bloat and started dying off almost like it was to much for there stomachs. I have 16% mana pro now and supplementing it with alfalfa should be good right?

[@westmeadowrabbits]

I'm not familiar with the brands, but that seems odd. If you switch rabbit foods suddenly they might have issues, but ideally they shouldn't. Were you feeding the rabbits hay (not alfalfa) regularly?

[@BraxtonMapson]

@@westmeadowrabbits I was feeding Timothy from a feed store compressed bale

[@westmeadowrabbits]

@@BraxtonMapsonVery interesting. Could be a lot of things, but as general rule introduce new foods slowly.

[@LorraineKrueger-o3b]

Do you need to remove the seeds from the apple core before giving them to the rabbits?

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Good question! I don't, they seem to be pretty good about avoiding them.

[@LorraineKrueger-o3b]

@@westmeadowrabbits You may want to research that. The seeds contain amygdalin a form of cyanide. Please remove the seeds from your rabbits apple cores before they eat it.

[@westmeadowrabbits]

@@LorraineKrueger-o3b I'm aware. Animals that aren't starving are very good about avoiding thins they shouldn't eat. The seeds are extremely bitter and rabbits will avoid them. If a rabbit has lost the ability to avoid toxic foods, I don't want those genetics in my herd anyways.

[@LorraineKrueger-o3b]

@@westmeadowrabbits I love my rabbits and don't eat them so my goals are different as far as their care. Also don't forget. You are what you Eat Ate.

[@BlessedBeesHomestead2019]

Yes, when I was pregnant I carved ice 24/7. It's all I could think about!! Turns out I had very low iron 😅 that's why 😂

[@westmeadowrabbits]

That's so crazy how that happens!

[@BlessedBeesHomestead2019]

@@westmeadowrabbits craved** ohmygosh 😂 I was not carving ice while I was pregnant, nor any other time in my life 🤣

[@martijohnson2096]

Plantain is also medicinal!

[@jessicab9147]

VERY, I make my own plantain salve and haven't bought bag balm, neosporin, chapstick or petroleum jelly since

[@creadsyoutosleep.7268]

What about acorns?

[@westmeadowrabbits]

I wouldn't recommend for rabbits.

[@rjmonfilm9550]

My rabbits love banana and papaya leaves

[@westmeadowrabbits]

That's pretty cool!

[@faegrace7313]

What would you say to people who claim feeding greens from your yard is dangerous? I think they are concerned about parasites/bacteria from the dirt or from wild rabbits. Do you think there's anything to that, or is it just fear-mongering?

[@westmeadowrabbits]

Its a fair, if exaggerated point. The primary reason I raise rabbits in cages is to avoid parasites and disease. That being said, the risk is only moderate with grasses, and nonexistent for leaves form plants growing more than a few inches off of the ground. If I was in an area with an active outbreak of RVHD and a large wild rabbit population, then I would be cautious. Otherwise I think its mostly fear-mongering.

[@faegrace7313]

@@westmeadowrabbits Okay, that makes sense. Thank you for your insight!

[@becca318]

😊👍🏻

[@levispeaksloud]

Since we started feeding dogs pellets they lost 40% of their lifespan on avg... food for thought

[@westmeadowrabbits]

I don't feed my dog pellets! But my rabbit's are for meat so I'm not really concerned about their natural lifespan.