We are on lockdown because of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
I had just bought a 50lb bag of rabbit feed and a 50lb bag of barley seeds from my local feed store. I use the barley seeds to make fodder for my meat rabbits. I see now that the feed stores are sold out of animal feed because people bought large amounts to feed their own animals.
How do I feed my meat rabbits if I can’t buy rabbit pellets or barley seeds to make fodder?
You have to feed your rabbits naturally. I had bought a book several years ago on amazon specifically talking about feeding rabbits naturally. The book Beyond The Pellet – Feeding Rabbits Naturally by Boyd Craven Jr and Rick Worden is a great source of information. I recommend you buy this book.
I had to develope a plan to feed my meat rabbits when I ran out of rabbit pellets and barley seeds. I live on a tiny urban farm with a front yard, side yard and backyard.
I have been raising meat rabbits for years. I used to have a commercial meat rabbit farm with over 150 breeding doe. I sold rabbit meat to restaurants, grocery stores, at farmer’s markets, and to personal chefs. I have fed rabbits all kinds of things to try and cut down on my feed bill. It took 4-5 50lb bags of rabbit pellets to feed all the rabbits daily.
I have fed rabbits fodder, almond hulls, duckweed, grass clippings, willow branches, tree branches with leaves. Basically anything I cut down on the 2.5 acre farm would go to the rabbits. They didn’t die or get sick.
Watch Fodder System Videos
Disclaimer. This is how I am feeding my rabbits. If you feed your rabbits the same way, they may die. It works for me but try at your own risk.
What are rabbit pellets?
Here are the ingredients of rabbit pellets from Modesto Milling. organic sun-dried alfalfa, organic peas, organic wheat millrun, organic stabilized rice bran, organic oats, organic sunflower seeds, organic flaxseed, Redmond Salt, Redmond Conditioner (clay), organic kelp meal, diatomaceous earth, monocalcium phosphate, limestone, Zeolite, hydrolyzed yeast & yeast extract, organic yucca schidigera, mineral & vitamin premix, organic garlic, organic thyme, organic anise oil, organic cinnamon, organic anise, organic rosemary oil. $40 per 50lb bag
Farmer’s Best Rabbit Pellets ingredients Sun Cured Alfalfa Pellets, Wheat Millrun, Soybean Meal, Cane Molasses, Whole Wheat, Dried Whey, Salt, Soybean Oil, Corn Syrup, Corn Distillers Dried Grains With Solubles, Glycerin, Vegetable Oil, Magnesium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Hydrochloric Acid, Sodium Bisulfite. $19 per 50lb bag.
Your yard can feed your rabbits.
You can create a backyard forage to feed your rabbits. Plant clovers, alfalfa, brassicas, and various perennial grasses. Till the soil and spread the seeds all over the place.
Safe Perennial and Forage Plants
alfalfa, apple tree, berries, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberries, clovers, comfrey for rabbits, crabgrass, crown vetch, dandelion, Kudzu, lilac, Mallow, maple tree, moringa tree, orchard grass, peach tree, pear tree, plantain, poplar, dock, fescue grass, grape vines, grass – most kinds, honeysuckle vines – whole plant, hosta, jerusalem artichoke, kentucky bluegrass, rye grass, sage, timothy grass, trumpet vine, willow, bush willow.
Can rabbits eat herbs?
Yes. Here is a list of herbs that rabbits can eat. Anise, Anise Basil, Arugula, Borage, Bouquet Dill, Broadleaf Sage, Caraway, Chia, Chives, Common German Chamomile, Common Thyme, Hyssop, Italian Large Leaf Basil, Large Leaf Sorrel, Leisure Coriander, Lemon Balm, Lemon Basil, Lime Basil, Lovage, Mammoth Long Island Dill, Peppermint, Red Garnet Amaranth, Cumin, Curled Cress, Dukat Dill, Dutch Corn Salad, Fenugreek, Florence Fennel, Garlic Chives, Genovese Basil, Greet Oregano, Rosemary, Roquette Arugula, Spearmint, Sweet Marjoram, Tarragon, Vera Lavender – No pregnant does, Vulgare Oregano, Winter Chervil, Wrinkled Crinkled Cress.
The following is a list of vegetables that rabbits can eat.
- Bean – pants only
- Beat – Entire Plant
- Broccoli – Entire Plant
- Brussel Sprouts – Entire Plant
- Carrot – Entire Plant
- Celery – Entire Plant
- Collart – Entire Plant
- Endive – Entire Plant
- Kale – Entire Plant
- Lettuce – Entire Plant
- Mustard – Entire Plant
- Parsley – Entire Plant
- Parsnip – Entire Plant
- Pea – Entire Plant
- Pumpkin – Entire Plant
- Radish – Entire Plant
- Salsify – Entire Plant
- Spinach – Entire Plant
- Summer Squash – Entire Plant
- Winter Squash – Entire Plant
- Swiss Chard – Entire Plant
- Heirloom Tomato – Fruit Only – No Plant
- Tomato – Fruit Only – No Plant
- Turnip – Entire Plant
Feed rabbits natural feed of 1/2 cup per 1lb of the rabbit's weight each day. 8lb rabbit needs about a quart per day. Split the feeding up between morning and evening.
Never ever feed rabbits iceberg lettuce, rhubarb, raw beans, apple seeds, peach pits, potatoes or raw corn kernels. This will kill them.
You can feed small amounts of fruit to meat rabbits. Peaches, nectarines, papaya, pineapple, apples, grapes, pear, banana – fruit & peel, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apricots and strawberries.
Feeding rabbit pellets is easy. All of the nutritional value is provided for the rabbit. Right now rabbit pellets are hard to find and this is how I am going to feed my meat rabbits. Just start out feeding your rabbits naturally slowly. Don’t give them too much too soon.
