# Alternative food for rabbits



## PakistaniFarmer (Aug 22, 2011)

I am planning to start rabbits. say in March when weather become good

but prior to that when i researched about the feed most of the people said the give rabbit pelleted food

In my area pelleted food is not available. What are the alternative ?

For fryers, pregnant and lactating does, and breeding and to cull rabbit


----------



## Millroad (Oct 15, 2010)

Hello PF - there are lots of people on this board who will have good advice, in the meantime you might want to look through the stickies at the top of the forum about feeding weeds to rabbits and feeding rabbits naturally (i.e., meaning mainly plants). Certainly you can raise your rabbits on the plants you have available - many do that as a first choice around here even though the pelleted food is available, both to save money and to give rabbits a more "natural" diet. The only tricky thing will be to figure out which plants in your geographic area will be safe and non-toxic to the rabbits. Also, I believe if you are raising them on plants solely, you will need to provide them with a mineral salt lick. Good luck!


----------



## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

As Millroad says, it is perfectly possible to feed rabbits well without commercial pellets. People did it for centuries before pellets were available. 

Where are you living? It is hard to help with this question unless you add your location (country, province or state) to your profile.


----------



## rabbitgeek (Mar 22, 2008)

Rabbits can be raised on many kinds of greens. 

Kathleen Blair writes about her rabbit project in Brazil:
"One day I happened to notice that about half the kids had disappeared. When I asked where they were I was told they had gone home for lunch. I asked why everyone had not - was the game that good? They looked at me puzzled and said âit is not our day to eat lunch. We will find some fruit in the forest or wait until supper to eat.â

My grandfather had owned a commercial rabbitry in southern Missouri that sold to Pel-freez, a commercial rabbit meat processor. I knew rabbits would fit into this terribly tight food web and put protein on the tables without competing with the kids (kids eat the beans, rabbits eat the pods; kids eat the corn, rabbits eat the shucks; kids eat the couve [kale], rabbits eat the weeds.) So I went to the local farmers and the weekly markets looking for meat-type rabbits."
See: http://rabbitgeek.com/breed/brazilian.html

They are raising rabbits in Haiti on greens grown locally. I just found this link this morning. Mission Manna trains health care workers, gives health care, and teaches people to raise rabbits and goats. This link shows hutches, rabbits and a garden. Remember that rabbit poop is very good fertilizer for gardens.
See http://missionmanna.org/2011/06/an-update-from-montrouis/

Rabbits will not grow as fast on greens as they would on pellets. That is okay. That is not a problem. You are looking for a system that will allow you to grow rabbits on a sustainable system that does not depend on a feed mill. 

So when you read the literature that says baby rabbits should weigh 5 lbs (2.25 kilos) at 10 weeks of age, that is the target weight for pellets. Your rabbits will take longer to reach that weight, but you can just harvest them at 10 weeks and they are good food.

Also check out the "Weeds for feed" topic on this group
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=261016

And "Feeding Rabbits Naturally"
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=211220


Have a good day!


----------



## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I just googled *common weeds Pakistan* and found this super government site:
http://npfs-minfa.gov.pk/WeedsofPakistan

You will be able to compare the botanical (Latin) names to those in the Safe Plants list (sticky at top) and find many that are safe and healthy for rabbits. Just at a glance, among the weeds of wheat fields, I see Chenopodium album (lamb's quarters) and Cichorium intybus (chicory), both good for rabbits. 

Malva neglecta (common mallow) is excellent. Sonchus arvensis, Sonchus asper, Sonchus oleracious are what we call sow thistles, all good. Portulaca oleracea (purslane) is very nutritious, though not a favourite with my rabbits. I see that you also have Stellaria media (chickweed), another good one.

Wanting to know if you also have Plantago major (common plantain), I googled *Plantago Pakistan* and found this useful site:
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200022050

It seems you can put in just about any weed name, common or botanical followed by the word Pakistan and get some results.

This should keep you busy this winter while you plan for your rabbits. But if you run out of reading, there is always the proceedings of the World Rabbit Congress to sift through:
http://world-rabbit-science.com/WRSA-Proceedings/Congress-2008-Verona/Verona-2008-a.htm

Have fun!


----------



## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

According to this site:
http://www.gardenguides.com/96803-countries-weeping-willow-trees-found.html
you should have willow trees in Pakistan. This is good news for rabbits. Willow leaves and twigs are an excellent forage plant for rabbits: highly palatable, fast-growing and high in protein. I have a big weeping willow tree and it provides a lot of greens for my rabbits.

In addition to greens, however, you will likely want to get a supply of hay for the rabbits. A good legume hay (alfalfa or clover) is the best to feed since you do not have access to commercial feed, but you can also use grass hay, although it is much lower in protein.

Hay and greens will provide most of your rabbits' feed, but you may also need to feed small quantities of whole grain. Wheat, oats or barley are all good.

Hope this information is helpful.


----------



## PakistaniFarmer (Aug 22, 2011)

ok I should have give u availible options

we have Oats, Wheat Hay, Maize and alfalfa


----------



## brandkelz (Apr 15, 2011)

I would think that with a mixture of alfalfa and wheat hay and supplementing with oats as a treat and even the maize if they like it, plus any greens like weeds that you may have you should do okay. They might take a little longer to reach good market weight but it is doable.....

Are these available because you grow it yourself? If that is the case, even better since you wont have to make trips to get feed which save time and money too....


----------

