Basics of a more natural diet

 I feel it is easy to raise extremely healthy rabbit, with a forage based diet. Rabbits are naturally herbivores, they have evolved to eat a wide variety of grasses, herbs, bark and plants. I should clarify by saying I am not anti pellet, I just feel you can provide a very healthy diet without commercial rabbit pellets. With most pellets I don't feel you get what you pay for (the exception being Sherwood Forest rabbit pellets, very high quality and when I feed a pellet, I choose this one.)  Commercial rabbit pellets are primarily composed of alfalfa, grain, some fat, salt, vitamins and minerals. All of which can be provided separately for less cost. A natural diet takes a lot more time and effort but I feel the results are worth it.

My buns get free choice grass hay year round as I've found this cuts down on a lot of digestive issues. I also feed alfalfa cubes to up the protein and there is less waste with alfalfa cubes versus alfalfa hay, although some people feed alfalfa hay in a hay feeder. Many rabbits won't eat alfalfa pellets, maybe due to the large size or taste. One day a week is a hay only day. The amount of grain I feed varies on season, they get a lot of green food in the summer and more grain in the winter. The amount also varies based on the rabbits condition, age, weather and if they are cleaning up their rations. This way of feed does require you to pay very close attention to how the rabbit's condition, attitude and health. Trace mineral salt block is very important, there is salt included in commercial rabbit pellets and your rabbit can get a serious deficiency if you neglect to provide a salt lick for them. I harvest a lot of fresh grass, weeds and herbs (primarily Nettles, Comfrey, Dandelion, Mulberry and Alfalfa, detailed here)

I feed whole grains, specifically oats and barley. The amounts varies with the season, in summer they get less grains as more of the rabbit's dietary needs are met by fresh grass, herbs and hay.  In the winter I feed more grain to maintain body condition and help keep them warm. Nursing does and growing rabbits get more, year round. My grain feeding is a little unusual, Initially I had a lot of issues with waste with a grain mix because the rabbits would eat what they liked and scratch through the mix. To solve this I started alternating grains, oats one day and barley the next. I often top dress the grain feed with some black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) or flax. This means more tubs in the feed area but less grain being wasted. The amount works out to about 1/4 to 1/2 cup a day per adult rabbit, depending on size, young rabbits get more and also get more alfalfa as they have higher protein needs. All bunnies always have mineral/salt licks, you can get blocks made for horses and knock chunks off.

So to recap I feed

1. grass hay and alfalfa cubes
2. oats, barley, boss and flax (alternated)
3. fresh grass and weeds (in season)
4. salt/mineral lick

Herbs for rabbits

I'm working on a post about natural feeding for rabbits but since I can only type when Smooshy is sleeping it is taking a bit. So here is a shorter post on my favorite rabbit herbs, these are the herbs I feed on a regular basis for general bunny health. This a short list of my favorites and I will do another soon because my experience is always growing and I'm branching (ahem) out into new territories all the time.

The amounts are not set in stone, an average sized rabbit will eat around a tablespoon of dried herb, which might be a small handful of fresh. Pay attention to the rabbit's appetite and preferences. Obviously use common sense in introducing new foods and feed herbs with a well balanced bunny diet.

This list is provided for informational purposes only. To the best of my knowledge, all the plants listed here are safe for rabbits when fed in moderation as directed

Nettles
(Urtica dioica) 
part used: leaves, dried

I love nettles and feed them to everything (including us, excellent spring green) They lose their "sting" when dried (or cooked, which is how I eat them) They are very palatable and full of vitamins and minerals.

The leaves are a wonderful source of nutrients, containing a number of essential minerals including iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium.

This year I am going to harvest lots of nettle and dry it to feed in winter.

Good for: General health, Healthy skin and fur, respiratory strengthener, digestive restorative

Comfrey
(Symphytum officinale)
part used: leaves, fresh or dried

Comfrey has been used for centuries, recently highly debated as causing liver issues. I feel when used in moderation (a leaf, occasionally) it is a useful and safe herb for rabbits. It is one of the rare plants that contains the vitamin B12 and also rich in minerals such as calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, zinc, selenium and germanium.

Good for: digestive aid, healing, bone formation, ill bunnies, stressed and weak bunnies. First herb I reach for when a rabbit has a gut imbalance.

Dandelion
(Taraxacum officinale)
 Part used: leaves, fresh or dried (do not feed wilted leaves as they can cause bloat)

Everyone knows dandelion but many don't know how wonderful it is for you and your animals,  it's an exceptionally nutritious food and bunnies love it! Dandelion is loaded with nutrients including substantial levels of vitamins A, C, D, and B complex as well as iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium, manganese, copper, choline, calcium, boron, and silicon.

Good for: Blood purifying, respiratory ailments, anti-inflammatory, bladder infections, diarrhea, milk flow of nursing does

Alfalfa
(Medicago sativa)
Part used : leaf and stem

I debated including alfalfa since many rabbits get alfalfa based commercial rabbit pellets but as a fresh herb alfalfa is good stuff. Alfalfa is naturally high in many essential vitamins and minerals, including A, D, E, K, and even the full family of B vitamins; biotin, calcium, folic acid, iron, magnesium, potassium and many others, as well as being very high in protein, especially when dried

Good for: very good at detoxifying, balancing hormones, increases immune system functionality.

If you are harvesting your own, make sure you know how to correctly identify the plants.

The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable by Juliette de Baïracli Levy is a good book, no info per se on rabbits but I feed them similar to my horses, some of the info is outdated but an interesting read.

A good place to buy dried herbs is Mountain Rose Herbs

Meet my new does!

Meet Cherry and Bluebell, our new Holland Lop does

Summer time :)

We have been pretty busy

Moon, one of my Silver Fox does seems to be pregnant, I bred her with my Mom's buck and I'm excited to see what she produces. It doesn't look like Amelia (Holland Lop) is pregnant after all, so she will be rebred soon and I am looking for a second Holland Lop doe.

The Silkie and Maran chicks are doing well, almost feathered out and spending most of their time in the outdoor baby chick cage. I feel it is important for them to get lots of time outside and the weather has been great for it.

The incubator is full again, this time with Araucanas, Blue Laced Red and Golden Wyandottes and a couple bantams. Hatch day is June 24th and we will be selling a few Araucanas chicks.

Hello!

heh. So I suck at posting.






This is going to be our farm blog, I post about more horse related stuff here: http://dangerbunny.blogspot.com/

Things are good, The Smooshy is a year old (where did the time go???) He is super fun, walking, talking and causing trouble. I love looking at pictures from this time last year because he was so tiny (relatively)

Recently my friend, Melissa and I went to our first rabbit show, took two of my Silver Fox kits, they did well. The show was really disorganized and I can't see myself getting super psyched about rabbit shows but it was interesting and the feedback I got on my babies was nice. Came home with three Holland Lops, I love me some Lop ears and since I'm finding the Angora's fur care too time intensive I really wanted a second breed. The Lops are perfect, cute and small with these really engaging personalities, plus the ears just slay me.

We once again have too many roosters, out of my 8 silkies we have 3 hens. I do love my silkies though they have such funny personalities. We have a lot of plans for our chickens this year and I just set up a farm facebook account!


Today I am setting up the incubators, it's a good idea to run them for a bit to stabilize the temperature and work out the kinks before putting precious eggs into them. I think I found some local Silkie hatching eggs and hopefully more Marans since we only got two Roos out of the last batch.

now pictures!

Lucky Dragon, My new Holland Lop buck

Lupin, my Silver Fox jr buck

Silver Fox Babies

cute little buff .Silkies

Hello world!

Gosh, time barrels by fast.

The Smooshy is over 9 months old, has three teeth, is crawling and pulling himself up on e.v.e.r.y.thing. Totally is gonna start talking any second and has a few little words. His interests include destruction and world domination, the latter will be accomplished through cuteness.

I'm doing well, most days I'm flying solo and that is a different experience, makes you appreciate having another adult around. I'm working hard to balance life and not get overwhelmed, some days are easier then others. Of course the weather is shite right now too, it's been super cold so I have been busy just keeping all the beasts fed and watered. Currently 18 degrees out and I'm trying to remember it for when it is so hot that I feel like I'm melting. I am taking a course on equine nutrition! it's free through this site, this program is from the University of Edinburgh and the website has lots of interesting (free) courses. Pretty excited actually.

My Silver Fox doe kindled! very excited to have little bunnies running about, I'm having to resist the urge to mess with them too much since she is a first time momma. I have a bunny room for my females, this is the first batch of babies born in a group setting and I was really surprised to see the other doe helping to build the nest, very cool. The other two females leave the babies alone.

I think most of my Silkies are male and the two surviving Copper Marans are definitely male, which is a bit of a bummer.

So that is us for now

xoxo

One step forward

You know, I'm learning to take each day at a time. Some days I feel like I am doing great and some days I feel like a total failure who stays in jammies all day and makes messes when my husband works hard to support us, but there is always another day to try to do better. I'm trying to look at what is realistically achievable for me and look at what my ideal is, then find a middle ground. By taking small daily steps towards what I want without beating myself up when I don't meet my ideal. It is easy to fall into a guilt trap but nothing really changes that way.

I think a important thing is finding balance but balance is not stagnant, it is a constantly changing and shifting thing. So you don't "achieve a balanced life" and get to hang out there, it is something you actively work at constantly, by making adjustments . You balance when you ride a bike or a horse, why would daily life be any different?

 Also no person is going to be able to be awesome in every area of their life, so you have to prioritize. For example I'm sure my husband would like it if I was more into cleaning but I am not so the house is usually fairly messy, not really dirty but messy. Cleaning is boring so gets a lower priority, feeding everyone is important to me so I always have good meals planned.

 In addition to the bare minimum of things I have to do on a daily basis I'm also drawing up a list of monthly goals to work towards so I feel like I am accomplishing things, this is not a thing to beat myself up over but something that encourages me. Some days are harder (today kiddo will not be put down) but I have also found if I am having a reeeeeeeeally hard time doing my chores it is usually because I am not making time for myself, often if I meet my needs (or just some of them) then everything else becomes easier.

I'm also learning to listen to my cravings, for example I recently got obsessed with expensive lingerie, like spending hours lusting over things I can't afford. I spent sometime thinking about it and came up with the word "luxury", I am craving luxury and my daily life isn't providing it, so I am making it a priority to do the things that make me feel beautiful and glamorous.