I've always fed my rabbit hay, alfalfa, different grasses, fruits and vegetables, but now she is a mother for two days. Is it still good to keep her eating these things or are any of these things bad for her or the milk for her babies.
2007-10-01 16:28:00 · 8 answers · asked by yeyi 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
none of that is bad for her- it is good to feed variety in the diet, and sounds like yours gets plenty.
I would suggest added free-choice rabbit pellets in addition to what you feed just because it is an all around feed and can supplement any vitamins or minerals you may be missing accidently with your diet.
Mother rabbits definately need to eat more, and nothing you said should hurt the babies.
2007-10-01 16:37:48 · answer #1 · answered by D 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Best Food For Rabbit
2016-12-17 07:34:56 · answer #2 · answered by ryann 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Keep on feeding her on what she has been used to. However you must know that the milk produced by rabbits is one of the richest in the mammal world and therefore it is very important that you feed her vegetables which are as rich in calcium as possible otherwise she might lack in calcium which can cause a condition which could be fatal but which is treatable by a vet with an injection of calcium. Anyway I don't know if it's available in your area but the best vegetable to feed her is fennel. they usually love it as it's nice and crunchy. Make sure you peel the fennel (a bit like you would with an artichoke) as some dirt might be behind and it's important to get it spotless and don't forget to dry everything you give her thoroughly after it's been washed. Some rabbit pellets would be good for her too. Good luck and enjoy the little ones
2007-10-01 17:46:45 · answer #3 · answered by Laurence B 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
WOW! You have been given a ton of bad advice! Even the veterinarian gave you bad advice!
The hay isn't bad to give your rabbit, but cut out the fruits and vegetables. The main diet for your rabbit should be the rabbit pellets. I've raised and shown competitively on a national level for 25 years and I've studied animal nutrition in college.
Fruits and vegetables can give your rabbit diarrhea if given in excess. That is due to the starches and carbohydrates in them. A rabbit's digestive system is made to digest mainly protein and fiber. Starches and carbohydrates can make your rabbit fat and can lead to an increased production of certain types of bacteria in the digestive system thereby causing diarrhea.
Rabbit pellets are formulated by animal nutritionists to provide a balanced diet to the rabbit. When you start adding stuff to their diet (especially if you don't know what you are doing) you can throw off that diet.
Since your rabbit is going to have babies and will be milking she will need a higher energy diet and a diet richer in protein. This means that you should be feeding a rabbit pellet ration that consists of 16%-18% protein. Giving your rabbit more protein will help it produce milk better and help the babies grow better. So for your rabbit pellets make sure to NOT feed a show ration rabbit pellet. Show ration rabbit pellets are lower in protein and higher in fiber. On rabbit feeds normally when the protein goes up the fiber amount goes down and vice versa. For a milking mother about 17% fiber will do. Show rations normally have about 14-15% protein and about 20-22% fiber. The type of rabbit ration you want to normally feed your rabbit when they are having babies is called a family ration or another you can used is called a baby ration. Baby rations normally have smaller pellets and slightly more protein than a family ration rabbit pellet will have.
One thing you can do to help is add 1 tablespoon full of Calf Manna per day to your rabbit's pellets. This will help increase the amount of protein and other essentials such as calcium and minerals that your rabbit will need when milking.
If you are going to feed your rabbit hay while she has a litter, stick to wide leaf hays such as alfalfa or red clover hay. Wide leaf hays have more energy and more protein than narrow leaf hays.
When my rabbits are not growing or having litters I normally prefer feeding narrow leaf hays because they are higher in fiber. The higher fiber helps prevent diarrhea.
Don't free feed hay. You want the rabbit pellets to be mainly what the rabbit eats and the pellets already contain alfalfa in them. Like I said earlier, if you add too much you can offset the balance of their diet. I recommend giving your rabbit no more than just a small half handful of alfalfa hay when they are milking.
A good sign that the rabbit is milking well is nice full round bellies on the babies. If they pee like crazy when you pick them up out of the nestbox that is another good sign.
If you can find any articles on the web by Dr. Terry E. Reed or by Dr Chris Hayhow these would be some good articles to read from very experienced rabbit veterinarians. Not all veterinarians know much about rabbit medicine or rabbit nutrition. Another good source of information are any articles on rabbit nutrition that are published by the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA).
One thing also to keep in mind is that rabbits like a consistent diet. Don't go changing their diet every day by feeding them something one day then something else the next day. Rabbits are an animal of consistency. They like eating the same food around the same time every day.
2007-10-03 06:03:21 · answer #4 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i believe both fresh and preprepared pellet food is needed to keep the doe (mummy rabbit) and her kittens (baby bunnies) healthy during pregnancy and after birth...what you feed them doesnt sound too bad actually, i dont think youll hav any problems. there are also some extra vitamins you can buy and add to the food to help throughout and to help the nutrition level of the milk be higher... there are even some foods you can buy that have these added and are made specifically for a mother rabbit to eat while pregnant and while rearing the babies...just look around your area or even contact a local breeder, they usually have some and can either sell you some or tell you where they get it...good luck :)
2007-10-01 16:48:05 · answer #5 · answered by tehelium 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They both are Just the thing for your health. If you eat both, you're better off. But yea, I'd personally choose fruits because they taste better.
2017-03-10 15:51:57 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will depend on the fruit or veggie associated with a comparison. In the event you compare a farreneheit to a carrot, the carrot is the better of the two nutritional. But since you compare an avocado to the carrot, then this avocado is better. Both equally the apple and avocado, are fruits.
2017-02-19 21:17:48 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, keep feeding her as you did before she got pregnant. Wait'll you see the babies in 2-3 weeks, their peak point of cuteness. You'll just die when you see how unbelievabley cute they are!!!
2007-10-01 16:43:15 · answer #8 · answered by lady3kgt 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋