Feeding rabbits naturally without using pellets | Raising meat rabbits
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- If you are looking to save money and raise your rabbits more naturally then here is what I know about feeding rabbits naturally without using pellets.
This answers the most common question on this video the tree I mentioned is called Tagasaste aka Chamaecytisus palmensis. Tagasaste/Tree Lucerne.
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I am so glad I found your channel on the channel Homesteady: Raising Rabbits 101. Enjoy each of your videos. - Big jack
Thank you for your encouragement!
I grow sunflowers although I an in the UK I would think NZ should be possible. I grow most of my chicken and rabbit feeds. Oats. grass. Hay vegetables and trees. It's lovely to know where every comes from and that no chemicals are involved.
Proud to be the 1k like on this video!
Great info, I’m looking forward to watching more
In the temperate northern hemisphere the mulberry tree has a very high protein level. There are many runners up in leaf quality. It might make a good way to combine thinning trees with animals on a homestead scale.
Oh that is good to know! My friend just gave me some mulberry cuttings that I am going to attempt to propagate :-)
Yes I feed Mulberry from Spring through Summer. They are not so keen on it dried though.
I am planning to raise some pasture raised and this video will be on my view again list when I can write down all the information. Great work. Thanks.
I'm gettting my silver fox rabbits this weekend, and your video was incredibly helpful. Thank you so very much!
Glad I could help!
This is the best video on rabbit diet I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Thank you, from Eden’s Angora!
So nice of you, thank you
Great info. Thank you!
Just purchased some seeds for the lucerne trees...
Love the vids.. thanks for all the info.
Brilliant! Let me know how you get on with them
Amazing info. Thank you so very much for sharing this info. It’s extremely important to find alternative food for rabbits in case pellets are not available for purchase.
Glad it was helpful!
Great information!
he's getting better
Hi Dana, thanks so much for all your videos. I am in South Africa and will be starting meat rabbits in tractors next month. Will get 2 Does and a Buck for starters. I want to try feed naturally and heard that the Willow tree branches are excellent too. I have a large vegetable garden and lots of other plants that they can eat. Trying to be as self reliant as possible!
Hi Kathy, that sounds wonderful! They do love willow too for sure!
We have yet to get into rabbits...it’s one animal that we are educating ourselves to seeing how they will fit into our farm...this was a great video from start to finish! Cheers! Can remember how we found you but we are fairly new to your channel. Greetings from California!
Thanks for the encouragment!
@@FantailValleyHomestead can you tell us how to spell the tree loosen or tegasseste? Prefer the species name if you have it. 😉
@@watchandpray8918 Cytisus proliferus, tagasaste or tree lucerne 🙂
@@FantailValleyHomestead Thanks, hon. 😉
Hi Dana, sorry if I spelt your name wrong. It is great to see someone from our neck of the woods talking meat rabbits. I live in central west NSW Australia and have had great difficulty getting pellets that don't cost half your salary for 1 20kg bag (not that much demand I guess) so I have been stocking up each time we go to Sydney 500km away to maintain a reasonable supply cost. Luckily I have family there and we make the trek twice yearly. So I have been doing a heap of reading, watching and experimenting with my little fluffle and everything you said was spot on except you missed a few absolute beauties that no one much seems to know about (other than Willow and Mulberry already mentioned by others) there is the Carob tree,(yes the chocolate sustitute... pods, branches and leaves), Old Man Saltbush and Moringa. Living in the Central West of NSW on the side of a steep hill, we planted Tagasaste all over the place as they were drought tolerant after establishment and fodder trees for everything. They have suffered in excess of 10 years drought, 140km phr winds, dust storms where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face and torrential rain where half the hillside ( not on our place thank god) ended up on the paddock across the road (neighbours place, no trees to stabalise).....and those Tagasaste just keep coming. Self seeding under the mother plants and providing to all. They weren't the best wind breaks however as their little leaf foliage was not thick enough. I wanted something else to help my chickens to not be literally blown away, when a willy willy came through. So I planted 6 carob trees. Carob trees have a specific sex. The nursery I bought them from was Daleys Nursery in Kyogle NSW (on the net). They suggested 6 trees as you cannot know what sex you have until they are mature. You need both for pods. So 6 years have passed and these trees were hand watered once. They are 4 metres high, 4 metres wide at present and forming a thick wind break. This dense wind block that has survived one complete stripping when the equivalent of a cyclone went through and deroofed 12 houses in town. Our chook pen kept its roof on, thanks to the Carobs that bore the brunt. They bounced back in no time. So I got meat rabbits OMG what can I use that I already have to cut down on costs. So I found the Tagasaste pretty quickly and that Jacaranda fronds and flowers are a great treat. The salt bush too was well received but I needed more as I did not want to pull grass at ground level as we do have wild rabbits from time to time and I don't want Calici virus contamination, so I harvest 1metre off the ground. So I investigated the Carob and found that yes they can do well on it. I then discovered (by accident) one of my 6 carobs had podded last year deep underneath it's dense foliage(had not noticed)A grandchild came out from under the tree after playing hide and seek, chewing on a pod. So we gathered two pillow cases full, (kids did ...I held the pillow cases) Washed them in boiled water and apple cider vinegar. Dried them in the oven on 90 degrees Celcius for 20 mins and read up on whether sheep could eat them...yes, pigs too and blow me down with a feather...one study showing rabbits fed on Carob, leaves and pod as part of their grow out diet reached their goal weight in an average of 12 percent faster.
So my buns have been getting one pod each, broken up (the pods snap easily) twice weekly. They will ignore sunflower seeds, tagasaste, saltbush, pellets, mullbery leaves, silvenberry leaves (non invasive blackberry), Jacaranda leaves, oats and go for the carob every time. They love it. Looking at your beautiful homestead I am sure Carob would thrive there. We go to 45C in summer to -5C in winter. Carob does not do well apparently in the tropics or below -10C. All of the above fodder trees and bushes do ok to well, depending on the rainfall. I do not water any of them ever, and our average annual rainfall is 490mm. Not this year, however, we had that much in 2 months. Australia is a country of extremes. So sorry I have blabbed on. Just thought you might like to try the carob it is a great addition to any homestead.
Post script...Daleys nursery was correct, I got 5 boy trees and one girl. Still she is a beauty and her pods will double every year till full maturity at about 12 years. She is bigger than the boys. They will grow to 10 metres and they all will live 100 years. Protein content of carob pod 21 percent.
Does not do well in clay soil or heavily bogged areas. Likes free draining soil and tolerates many extremes.
I am now looking into another lical fodder tree that farmers use out here for sheep and cattle in dry times... the kurrajong. Indigenous Australians used the pods and seeds to grind to make flour. They drank a tea of the leaves to settle stomach upsets and placed the boiled leaves on wounds to heal them. So far I have found nothing about rabbits being able to eat it except when the tree is juvenile it can be attacked by wild rabbit. So I suspect it will prove to be something that can be relied on too. Thankyou for starting this conversation... we definitely need to provide alternatives to the pellet for a host of reasons. Keep doing your videos, you are amazing.
Thanks for your tips for fellow Aussies. Will look into them for SW Vic! Happy farming.
ooh I just assumed it would be too cold here for carob, but I will look into it! THank you for your suggestion and for sharing your experiences
Thank you so much for this. I’m from Canada, and going to be getting a couple German angoras for fibre production soon, I can’t bring myself to feed them pellets. The ingredients are questionable and expensive! Fibre rabbits have the same protein requirement as meat rabbits which is great. 👍
There are a few feeding rabbits without pellets groups on facebook that are worth joining too. All the best!
@@FantailValleyHomestead do you have any recommendations for those Facebook groups?
@@gremlinchet it has been a while since I was in rabbit groups, there was a great one called raising meat rabbits in colonies, and this one is quite good too facebook.com/groups/452846908768833/ there was also one called raising rabbits naturally.
Can you spell out the tree you discussed in the beginning of the video that's considered a complete food for the rabbits?
Sure! We know it as tagasaste aka Chamaecytisus palmensis. Tagasaste/Tree Lucerne.
0:53 Super happy to know rabbits can do really well on grass but will get to harvest weight much slower. I honestly don't mind that as I'd feel guilty harvesting at 8 weeks anyways. Then again I can just get my wife to do the butchering because she's much colder than me ;>(
Great information thanks Dana. I've heard a comment regarding soaked grain and sprouted grain. When the grain is soaked the rabbits eat less of it so does that affect the amount of protein they get?
Sort of. Soaked grain is usually higher in protien due to the increase in microbiota growing in it, so they are unlikely to be lacking!
I been feeding my rabbit maple leaves and carrots ,oats , hay, and homemade treats.
Oh they will love that
How do you portion out how much of this to give?
Best video on raising meat rabbits. Good kiwi common sense! Just don't know if I'm up to slaughtering them!😫
You can do it!
@@FantailValleyHomestead You reckon? 😧 Do you have a video on it? I keep telling my myself "Girl, you eat meat. Don't get all hypocritical about doing the slaughtering!" But it's just the idea that I'm betraying a creature that trusts me...
@@BonesAndButtons i agree and use my rabbits for their Poop instead. Great furtilizer!
Cannot eat my furry friends!
Thanks for all the Golden information! Do you think rabbits can eat silage just like hay? I've been searching for this and can't seem to find someone that did that, even though i've seen some studies saying that yes, they can. I've been growing corn and beans, so if i could use the leafy parts of my production in form of silage, that would be a sustainable way for me to raise rabbits. I searched on the net, and i found the info that the Bean plant, like other leguminous plants, have high protein, ranging from 15 to 20%. Anyway, i really apreciate all the knowledge, thanks!
likely there would be no issue feeding silage if your rabbits like it BUT since it is usually finely chopped I would not substitute it for hay. Alfalfa is considering to short for sustainable hay while something like Timothy or orchard hay is long stranded for the bowels. Keeping the bowels going is important to prevent GI stasis.
@@allthingsmaloney5634 thank you for the information!
I believe they can eat silage, but you need to introduce it slowly, and keep up the hay :-)
@@FantailValleyHomestead thank you! I will remember to not take the hay away.
Hi there, thank you for the information in this video. Its really good. We are well on our way to setting up a small rabbitry with 2 bucks and 4 does. We are aiming to eat rabbit three times a week and worked out this many rabbits would do the job.
Can I feed them barley fodder as a main food source alongside hay? If I do that will they lack nutrients and suffer for it ?
If you can get your barley fodder up and running and producing well, they will live quite happily off of it and some good quality hay
@@FantailValleyHomestead awesome !!!
How much longer would it take rabbits to reach processing weight if they are only eating Tagasaste ?
Thank you for sharing, you’ve answered the question I was always asking to reach sustainability in my rabbit raising..
And as I was reading about it I found out this important info you and the viewers might find helpful:
Phosphorus is particularly important both for the growth of tagasaste and for the growth of the animals grazing on it. Higher levels of phosphorus are required for the maximum growth of the animals than for maximum plant growth. Fertiliser will also reduce the level of phenolic compounds (similar to tannins) that increase when the plants are moisture stressed. These phenolic compounds make the tagasaste less palatable and reduce the animals' feed intake. The phenolics suppress the utilisation of protein in the rumen, and as a result feed intake. Despite the crude protein always being above 14%, supplementing with a high-protein feed like lupin seed stimulates animal feed intake when phenolics are high in tagasaste.
Great information! We have not grown our trees big enough to totally do that yet, but given its high protein content, I suspect it wouldn't be longer
Will they eat Moringa?
What about clovers? Ever considered this option? It is also very high in protein (17% and up) similar to alfa alfa. Easy and cheap to grow, get multiple harvert per growing season and also can be dried as a hay for the winter season.
Which type of clover?
I have a ton of red clover seeds
@@mynameisearlb Red clover should have the highest protein content. Depending where you live, you can get three or more yields for hay. White clover is the most resilient to the very low temperatures during the winter.
@@stout8529 Awesome thank you, looks like I'll be planting a lot of it, thanks for the quick reply!
Would the tree lucerne be growable in colder climates?
I am pretty sure. It survives frost well at our place.
What is the name of the tree you mentioned that grows quite quickly and is very nutritious for Rabbits.
I have written it in the description cos I keep forgetting how to spell it properly! Tagasaste
What’s that first shrub/ tree you suggested? Tigatest?
Cytisus proliferus, tagasaste or tree lucerne :-)
Can you spell the name of the tree you spoke of that grows fast please. I am in the states and never heard of it before. Thank you.
hahah I am the worst speller! I will copy it for you so I don't do it wrong
Tagasaste or tree lucerne (Cytisus proliferus)
Can you cut the barley instead of giving them the whole sod with growing barley?
yes you can :-)
I'm confused about the peas & alfalfa, I want to try them but I have heard that both were legumes and not good for rabbits.
I haven't heard of not feeding legumes? They are high in protein, well tolerated by rabbits and commonly used.
what is the first three you say? i can't find it
Hi Thomas
1- Chamaecytisus palmensis (Tagasaste/Tree Lucerne)
2 - Alfalfa / Lucerne
3 - Oats? or Sunflower seeds? I can't remember which is next!
Has any tried growing this tree in America
I have read of people in a rabbit group I was in growing it :-)
How do you spell the tree that’s a complete diet for rabbits?
Tagasaste treecrops.org.nz/crops/shelter/tagasaste/
what can i give my 2 mo. old rabbit, his feed made him sick,i gave him probiotic water and ,mixed hay
you are doing the best thing, quality hay and water for a few days and then very slowly reintroduce other foods
I’ve been raising rabbits for a couple
Of years now, but although I’ve introduced some new stock, none of my does have gotten pregnant in about a year! Some are in cages and some are in a colony. I don’t know what to do! Have you experienced this? Thank you ☺️
That is frustrating! Are your does too old? Too fat? Too mean? Is your buck still doing what he needs to be doing? I have heard many people say putting a splash of apple cider vinegar in their water can help, but that might just be coincidence.
Thank you for your reply. My does are not old ... they vary in ages between 10 months and 1 1/2-2 years. I don’t believe they’re fat, though it’s not always easy to really know. I feed them a good portion of hay every morning and a scoop of about 1/8 - 1/4 of a cup of grain each in the evenings. The boy in the cage has done his part pretty well, though now when I put my doe with him she is completely unreceptive. My colony rabbits seemed to be mating okay a couple of months ago with no results, and now they just don’t mate anymore at all. My boys are around the same age as my girls.
I’ll try the apple cider vinegar in their water. Do you know the ratio? I use mostly bottles. Thanks so much!
1-2 tablespoons to a gallon is about right for the ACV. I have a blog post on this exact topic, and it seems you have all the most common issues sorted. Getting enough light (12-14 hours) and it not being too hot or too cold are other common ones. You might find this read helpful
piwakawakavalley.co.nz/troubleshooting-rabbits/
Thank you so much! I’ll definitely give these a try. I’ve noticed that my colony rabbits aren’t even trying to breed. I’ll try the idea of just hay and water for a bit to ensure healthy weight. That’ll probably hate me! Lol
What was the name of the tree?
Tagasaste or tree Lucerne
I cannot understand the names of the foods. What Tree is it that can be 100% rabbit food?
That is the most common question on this video! Next time I shall write it on screen to help because it is a weird name haha we know it as tagasaste aka Chamaecytisus palmensis. Tagasaste/Tree Lucerne.
@@FantailValleyHomestead Thanks. It is not too late to add it to your description.
@@Depression2010 Hahaha Why didn't I think of that?! I will! Thank you!
Is that the famous sexy New Zealand 🇳🇿 accent 🤔 ooh man I miss New Zealand
>weebeets
Searching up alternative feeds and you came up... Said to myself that's definitely a kiwi... Don't know why but yeah. Just a funny story for ya haha.
haha yip sure am!
@@FantailValleyHomestead should have said from your thumbnail before I heard you speak. :)
now i hear "rivets"
"ribbitz"