# silage for rabbits



## JoshRonin (May 3, 2013)

I've been feeding the rabbits naturally since spring started and they love it. I was thinking about making hay for winter, but I've also wondered about making silage. Looking up information I see its good for cow and goats, but not ideal for horses. I know rabbits have a similar digestion as horses, but rabbits eat their first poop. 

I wondered if anyone has made silage for their rabbits and how it worked. What are some of your thoughts on this?


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

Botulism is a risk when feeding silage or baleage to horses, so I would also avoid feeding it to rabbits. If you can make hay successfully, I'd stick with that.


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

Silage (wrapped wet forage) and Balage/Haylage (wrapped wilted forage/fodder) is used all over the world for rabbits and other smaller livestock. I checked with our Co-op Extension, Dept. of Ag, SARE, and my vet... as long as the mix doesn't contain a plant the animal shouldn't eat and it has been fermented properly, ensiled feeds are safe for rabbits, poultry, hogs, and ruminants. I can't raise horses since DH is allergic, so I didn't ask about them.

Unlike hay that must be put up dry which may reduce palatability, silage & balage/haylage can be put up wet(ter) and is generally palatible and digestable for most livestock. So less worry about the weather and less rejection of feed.

The trick to proper ensiling is having the right amount of moisture, the right plants at the right growth stage in the mix, and maintaining the anaerobic conditions (kills _e. Coli_) so that fermentation proceeds properly and the resulting heat and acidity kills the _l. botulinum _spores while protecting from re-innoculation.

This is MUCH easier to do in small scale by ensiling only a day's portion in smaller bags rather than silos, large covered pits and huge wrapped round bales in the field. With those, you can't maintain anaerobic conditions to minimize re-innoculation because you have to keep opening the silo for daily feedings. They might work for a cattle or dairy farmer with huge herd, but not a homesteader with significantly less and smaller livestock. "Little Bag Silage" also lets you put up fodder in smaller batches as you go (whenever it's at the right growth stage, etc), so you can get more yield on smaller acreage... including cover crops, green manures and crop residues such as corn stover, sunflower stalks, and pea/bean vines.

Here are some links on ensiling small bales in bags, buckets & barrels:

http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADQ897.pdf
http://www.fao.org/AG/aGp/agpc/gp/SILAGE/PDF/8P2.pdf
http://teca.fao.org/sites/default/files/technology_files/Little_Bag_Silage.pdf

I did three tests last fall and had them tested at the Co-Op extension: grass/legume pasture mix in a 5 gallon bucket with a gamma-seal & O2 absorber; garden residues in a vacuum sealed mylar bag (a bucket liner), fresh brome hay in a 30 gallon poly barrel that I packed tightly. All of them passed contamination & toxicity tests, and they were all within acceptable nutritional limits. 

So I think it'll be the way I go once I can accurately gauge what a day's portion will be... probably not the 30 gallon barrel though, I won't have that many animals and it was awkward for me to work with.


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