# corn will this work for rabbits



## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

we have been feeding meat chickens 50/50 mix of chickstarter with a finely ground dent feed corn.they are growing fast and they free graze all day in the tractor we move weekly.
the question is can i feed ground corn to my rabbits?i grind it in a cheap coffee grinder it is like corn meal.not really flour size but close.
if so how much?i have nz and cali.they eat veggies pellets grass hay.
i grow a few acres dent corn every year for deer as well as a cracked corn for my neighbors so the corn is here just wanna know if i can utilize it for buns?


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

you will get varying opinions on it...lol Just make sure that it is not the whole diet. I have two out on DH's chicken lot that sometimes eat the chicken feed which is whole corn and scratch grain. The whole corn comes from a farmer down the road. Good, nice, really clean corn. DH buys it by the 55 gallon drum. This is not my normal feed for my buns in pens. I feed rabbit pellets and hay occasional treats. The two that eat the chicken feed are doing fine.

We do have HT members that do feed cracked corn with mixed rabbit grain, and we have members that are totally against.

It is one of those things that you have to decided what YOU want to do for your crew..:happy2:


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

i guess i will just have to raise a test subject then i would think a teaspoon at night over pellets would be a good start.just trying to lower pellet cost with things im already raising here on the farm.since i have kept them an a nice steady run of hay they have cut back 25 percent on pellets.if i could get it to 60 percent pellets and the rest hay corn and veggies i grow i would be so happy.


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## Hillfolk (Apr 12, 2013)

I dont feed any of my livestock corn as most animals do not have the digestive enzymes to break it down. Its a personal preferance for me I also do not eat GMO's which i think last number i saw was 70% of all corn is GMO. With a rabbits GI tract being the way it is i would not do it myself but good luck.


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

Hillfolk said:


> I dont feed any of my livestock corn as most animals do not have the digestive enzymes to break it down. Its a personal preferance for me I also do not eat GMO's which i think last number i saw was 70% of all corn is GMO. With a rabbits GI tract being the way it is i would not do it myself but good luck.


hmmm good point i guess my question is dont most pellet feeds contain corn?


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Fireman and I both feed corn. I am not a corn fan, but I acknowledge that it has its uses. Corn is HARD-ER to digest but in many animals is not as undisgestable as people think. Wild rabbits will gladly eat corn if you let them and many rabbit feeds include some corn. The trick to corn is it is like eating hamburgers. Lots of tasty fat and hard to digest and not actually much real nutrition. Fireman feeds ground corn year round and has for a long time. I feed cracked corn in the winter because the heat from their digestion will warm them up and the corn gives them extra fat in the winter. I avoid it in the summer because they don't need the fat and they could overheat. The general rule is feed no more than one part corn to 5 parts feed.


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

Why grind it? They don't eat powders and it'll go to waste. Cracked or whole corn they will eat easier. But rabbits can be highly picky.


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

ChocolateMouse said:


> Fireman and I both feed corn. I am not a corn fan, but I acknowledge that it has its uses. Corn is HARD-ER to digest but in many animals is not as undisgestable as people think. Wild rabbits will gladly eat corn if you let them and many rabbit feeds include some corn. The trick to corn is it is like eating hamburgers. Lots of tasty fat and hard to digest and not actually much real nutrition. Fireman feeds ground corn year round and has for a long time. I feed cracked corn in the winter because the heat from their digestion will warm them up and the corn gives them extra fat in the winter. I avoid it in the summer because they don't need the fat and they could overheat.* The general rule is feed no more than one part corn to 5 parts feed.*


thank u that is exactly what i was looking for.my plan is to feed the corn more winter and fall as there are so many sources of feed in summer.i will also grind it very fine to offer easier digestion and easier to pass ect.

do u also feed it to your preg bunnies?


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

secuono said:


> Why grind it? They don't eat powders and it'll go to waste. Cracked or whole corn they will eat easier. But rabbits can be highly picky.


for digestion generally i will put pellets in bowl and put 1 oz over top of pellets.i may have to go to cracked though.either way i grow the corn so i can make it however iwant.i see your point though


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## Hillfolk (Apr 12, 2013)

pips said:


> hmmm good point i guess my question is dont most pellet feeds contain corn?


Pips i wasnt trying to call you out or anything like i said its a personal preferance the pellets i buy doesnt not contain corn but many pellets do in some capacity.Like i was saying im trying to get away from corn not only in my diet but in the diet of livestock that at some point ill be eating.

One thing to remember is that corn is high in Calories and sugar its used to fatten animals up quicker the natural feeds. What ChocolateMouse said makes alot of sense it would make a good winter feed as animals use more calories to stay warm! They will not digest it all so like you said grinding it up will give you the best results they less surface area the better their flora will break it down. =D


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

Hillfolk said:


> Pips i wasnt trying to call you out or anything like i said its a personal preferance the pellets i buy doesnt not contain corn but many pellets do in some capacity.Like i was saying im trying to get away from corn not only in my diet but in the diet of livestock that at some point ill be eating.
> 
> One thing to remember is that corn is high in Calories and sugar its used to fatten animals up quicker the natural feeds. What ChocolateMouse said makes alot of sense it would make a good winter feed as animals use more calories to stay warm! They will not digest it all so like you said grinding it up will give you the best results they less surface area the better their flora will break it down. =D


i know you where not calling me out and im glad for your input.i see where u are going with moving away from corn and i have some local amish checking with family in illinois for a strain that has not been altered but as u said it is almost impossible.corn being the only reasonable and easy thing to grow where i stand makes it a necessary evil.not to say im not open to finding new ways to feed.thats kinda why im here always willing to learn new ways.:bouncy: def would make a good winter feed but i just wonder if i couldnt grow a diffrent crop that could promote better results.granted the supplier i get corn from says its not altered i think we all know thats unlikely.
always chime in i want the input and the push it makes us all better!


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Are peas ok for rabbits? Those are pretty darn easy to grow everywhere I think


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

snow peas is only pea they can have if i remember right.


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## Hillfolk (Apr 12, 2013)

Where where you from again pips?


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Rabbits can eat snow peas just fine, and maybe snap peas too but I am not sure. Someone tried to tell me recently that peas and corn will kill rabbits and that SHE knew a guy whose feed accidentally got peas and corn mixed into it and most of his herd died. So it is all kind of up for debate. I suspect that the sudden introduction of a large amount of peas, corn, or just about anything would cause issues in rabbits...

I do feed corn to pregnant does. It is just fine. Grinding it is fine too. Some bunnies will just eat the dust and it makes it easier to break down. It is just lots of simple sugars.


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## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

Sugar snap Pea vines are loved by buns here:gaptooth:...but they never get the sugar peas...most of those don't make them past my 3 year old into the house...lol,lol.


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

Hillfolk said:


> Where where you from again pips?


ohio hill area with high red clay land.lol


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

i think ill try the corn and report back with a detailed report.ill monitor the health and keep a log with weekly rate of growth ect.


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Pips, I am in ohio too, all glacial clay bed up north here! That and what once was swamps and is always trying to go back to being swamps...


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

ChocolateMouse said:


> Pips, I am in ohio too, all glacial clay bed up north here! That and what once was swamps and is always trying to go back to being swamps...


yep thank god for the rabbits or nothing good would grow lol


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

Corn is very poorly balanced. The amino acid profile is completely out of whack and requires other foods to balance it back out. Corn also promotes fat production instead of muscle production. Great for putting marbling in beef but rabbits don't marble. They just pack nearly pure fat around their reproductive organs until they stop breeding well. It's a cheap energy source so it's in a lot of feeds and maybe a small amount would be fine but personally I prefer a higher quality feed. We did use nutrena and kent when we couldn't get anything else and those do contain a little corn but now that we have a source for all the manna pro line which is corn free we are happy to pay a little extra for it. I would add oats or BOSS for extra energy and fat over corn.


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## bowbuild (Aug 2, 2008)

Hillfolk said:


> I dont feed any of my livestock corn as most animals do not have the digestive enzymes to break it down. Its a personal preferance for me I also do not eat GMO's which i think last number i saw was 70% of all corn is GMO. With a rabbits GI tract being the way it is i would not do it myself but good luck.


 
Gmo is one thing, rabbits not digesting it is another. Are you repeating something you read, or you have some facts to back that up?? I have been feeding corn for many yrs, and NEVER, EVER see residual in the feces. 

I hate, and I mean hate it when others repeat a folklore without fact, even more so no expirience.

This is not meant to jump you directly, but unless a person has factual real time expirience what's the point of continuing a myth.

Bowbuild


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Bowbuild, "most animals" is not nessicarially just herbivores. Most herbivores CAN break it down but it is harder to break down than other grains.

I have not seen residual corn in my rabbits poops... But my dogs and I both share the lack of an ability to break down corn. :/ I have no problems with other grains. It shows that corn is inherently different and SOME animals may have a hard time on it. I would feed some BOSS in place of half the corn I ad... If BOSS wasn't 3Xs the price.


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Bowbuild, "most animals" is not nessicarially just herbivores. Most herbivores CAN break it down but it is harder to break down than other grains.

I have not seen residual corn in my rabbits poops... But my dogs and I both share the lack of an ability to break down corn. :/ I have no problems with other grains. It shows that corn is inherently different and SOME animals may have a hard time on it. I would feed some BOSS in place of half the corn I ad... If BOSS wasn't 3Xs the price.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Can you dry the corn stalks and feed those to the buns instead of the grain? Wouldn't that be better for them and then you can save the grain to feed to something else.


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

ChocolateMouse said:


> Bowbuild, "most animals" is not nessicarially just herbivores. Most herbivores CAN break it down but it is harder to break down than other grains.
> 
> I have not seen residual corn in my rabbits poops... But my dogs and I both share the lack of an ability to break down corn. :/ I have no problems with other grains. It shows that corn is inherently different and SOME animals may have a hard time on it. I would feed some BOSS in place of half the corn I ad... If BOSS wasn't 3Xs the price.


ha funny u mention boss.i got 1lb of boss seeds for 4 dollars gonna grow decent crop of it this year
so in the end this willbe the feed schedule
4 oz pellets
1 oz corn <ground>
6 boss seeds
all the grass hay they want.does and fryers will get alfalfa hay 
will be fresh greens through the summer and fall.ill keep boss and corn stalks for winter treats.


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## bowbuild (Aug 2, 2008)

ChocolateMouse said:


> Bowbuild, "most animals" is not nessicarially just herbivores. Most herbivores CAN break it down but it is harder to break down than other grains.
> 
> I have not seen residual corn in my rabbits poops... But my dogs and I both share the lack of an ability to break down corn. :/ I have no problems with other grains. It shows that corn is inherently different and SOME animals may have a hard time on it. I would feed some BOSS in place of half the corn I ad... If BOSS wasn't 3Xs the price.


 
The way YOU descripe YOUR expririences is rational. From my expirience on this board and others boards.....people repeatably post corn is "bad" or "I would never feed corn because it is undisgestable, and can kill your rabbits." "Corn carries pathogens." These people (for the most part) have never fed corn, and are repeating things they have read....here, or on other boards, and they are flat wrong...period. To let perpetual repeating of inaccurate information is bothersome to me to say the least.

Now, can corn carry pathegens....I suspect molds "could" be a issue, but again I feed a rather heavy diet of corn.....for several yrs, animals adapt if they didn't none of them would be here today. Is a corn diet the best thing for the animal?....that depends on the adaptability of the animal you are feeding......

I feed for taste, and for as much as I hear rabbits don't marble wich is true in the sense of comparing beef to rabbits...... BUT rabbits will retain the taste, and yes a certain amount of fat to the meat wich I personally prefer.

I have two senior bucks that are 6 and 7 that have ate a rather heavy corn diet, and are just as vigirious today as when they were a yr old.

Last, if you are going to feed corn, like any other feed change it should be slow.


Bowbuild


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

So Many different opinions on corn. I fed my rabbits a fair amount of whole corn almost daily for years until I got on a couple of these forums-----"It Can Kill Them", "They can not digest it" "etc" I hear. I have seen wild rabbits eating fallen corn in my fields and I have joked on here that I hollered at them---trying to scare them away----telling then Do not eat that it can kill you---LOL.

What adds to this is for Years I Never fed hay---never. I can never remember having a rabbit to just die. No hay, a 5 gallon bucket of whole corn mixed with a bag of pellets for years. Guess I was Lucky.

Now I still feed corn but I grind it and I promice you they will lick the bottom of the container to get every little powered crumb. I do not mix it with the pellets any more. They Love it.

Let me add this-----No Way would I feed them mainly corn---I just give them a few ounces every couple days. I Do Feel that they would not get what they need from mainly corn. I also feel to much could cause problems.

Some of you know I grow corn stalks and sun flowers(during the gardening season) just for the rabbits. When these stalks get about 1ft tall I start pulling one stalk per adult rabbit every other day or so. I have put 3ft tall stalks in each adult rabbits cage and never a problem. I break whole ears of "green" corn for them, shuck and all and never a problem. I have put whole Big turnips(soft ball size) in their cage and never a problem. My Rabbit get greens almost daily, mainly collards during the winter. My 3 week old babies will get a small collard leaf to nibble on before they are jumping in and out their nesting box.

This is the way I do it, you do not have to follow me and my feeding ways, but you can not tell me that they can not eat corn or greens, mine have been eating them for years-----just limited amounts. I have done so many test----like giving them pellets----when everyone is eating them-----I put some ground corn or some greens in their cage and Every Rabbit will turn away from the pellets to eat the other before going back to the pellets. So "no One" can not tell me either that They had rather have pellets. 

I do feel that young rabbits eating greens are like young kids eating candy----I feel you can give them to much and they will eat so much that they can make themselfs sick. A sick Rabbit can and will Die quick if its stomach gets upset.

Always Feed Your Rabbits The Way You feel is Best---if You want to try something new-----start them out with it slowly!!


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Bowbuild; I sincerely dislike corn for many reasons but I acknowledge it's uses. I try to be practical and impartial. Corn is not the devil, corn is what corn is; a high-sugar grain that is difficult to digest and does not offer complete nutrition that is often GMO and pesticide filled. However, those may or may not be pros or cons to you. I feed it BECAUSE it is a hard to digest sugar filled grain and don't mind it being incomplete because I'm not being a dunderhead and feeding JUST corn... Much like rabbit meat is not complete and you can get very sick and kidney failure eating just rabbit meat! Why would any creature ever eat just one thing anyhow? It's all about balance.

I do note... Some of my rabbits dislike corn a lot. The weaned kits tend to eat all the corn first and finish off pellets later. The rest choose not to eat their corn sometimes and leave just cracked corn at the bottom of the bowl. It depends on the rabbits.


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## Hillfolk (Apr 12, 2013)

Bowbuild,
Its not folk lore, Corn is not natural and can not exist with out people which means that its only been around as long as human agriculture. Evolutionarily speaking its not even a blink of the eye. Take milk for instance for adults to drink milk is relatively new around 8k years and still one thrid of people are lactose intolerant because they dont have the enzyme to digest lactose (also not folk lore). As far as not seeing corn in droppings is because you are using dry cracked corn and a chemical reaction is happening so not seeing doesn't mean they are breaking down all the corn( I will admit some sugars get broke down.) BUT at the same time i also cant say 100% they are not. This kinda, for a lack of a better word, argument is one that cant really be proven either way and I think pip is doing the right thing deciding what is the best for him and his animals. So what it comes down too is choice which everyone is free to make for themselves. 

I replied to this post because i thought i could give a different view of this question. As im finishing my 3rd year of school majoring in biology(not sure which field to commit my self too yet) and i also did some of my own research into corn as feed as it extreme plentiful here in MI. As i have never personally feed corn to rabbits i found my post of people having problems but mostly with fresh corn or canned corn, but what made the choice for me was the beef industry. Learning about the beef industry in school about how corn effects cows made me decided that i was gonna try and say as close to a wild natural feed as possible which is not cheap choice if i dont pay in cash i pay in labor but like i said its my personal preference. 

Im sorry if i came off as judgemental and didnt want to imply that it would not work its just not my preferance. I agree with ChocolateMouse Corn is not the devil it feeds millions and millions of people who would not eat with out it. Balance is the key I think that discussions like this are helpful for people to be able to way the pros and cons for themselves and whats right for me is not the only way i just hope everyone remembers that! =D


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

this has turned into a great thread.thanks for all the info and opinions guys


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## bowbuild (Aug 2, 2008)

Hillfolk,

Hmm, don't recall I said exactly what I feed mine.....but I will tell ya now......I feed a combo of allstock (sweetfeed) that has rolled not cracked corn, and a 16% rabbit pellet that also contains.... corn. I never have fed hay, infact other than alfalfa compressed blocks they have never seen grass.

Being a pesticide applicator by trade, I think much different than a lot of people here I would guess.


Bowbuild


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## Hillfolk (Apr 12, 2013)

Bowbuild,

I think your 100% right that they can live with out ever seeing grass or eating unprocessed hay. In fact i dont feed much hay either i feed a organic pellet they do however get greens and if the snow clears soon enough im planning on building a new hutch/barn out of cob with a living roof planted with greens for them.

So yeah man rock on doing it your way, ill do it my way and when people ask we can help them find thier own way =D.


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## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

Hillfolk said:


> So yeah man rock on doing it your way, ill do it my way and when people ask we can help them find thier own way =D.


:thumb::clap:


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## bowbuild (Aug 2, 2008)

Hillfolk,

I in no way am trying to establish one way of feeding is better than another.......infact I could not agree with you more....that's the point of my original post. Yes, by all means I encourage people to feed what ever way they see fit. What sparks me up is the corn issue.....I thought I made clear why, what, and how I view comments about it, and how it can be misleading if you CHOOSE not to use corn. If a person asks about corn on this board the majority for reasons that allude me think it is a evil source of food. I only ask that people state fact.......to say I DON'T use corn because of these factors....is fine, but also to state there are people that use corn succesfully with no problems from THEIR apparent expiriences would be a fair statement as well. The internet how difficult some simple things can be to get across!

Bowbuild


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