It is customary to keep rabbits both for feeding and as pets. The sellers in the pet store will help you to deal with the cage and drinker. But to choose a diet, you need to be prepared and know for sure what will be best for your pet.

Rabbit pellets

Rabbit pellet food is a compressed set of dry herbs, crushed grains and other ingredients that contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals. The advantage of such food is that it has everything you need for full development. Specialized feed has several directions:

  • main;
  • cereal additives;
  • mineral supplements.

Rabbit food

The only disadvantage for owners of a large number of animals can be the price, especially in winter, when there is practically no opportunity to supplement food with fresh grass, fruits or vegetables. In this case, you can always make your own granules.

Popular feed brands

Among the manufacturers of food for furry animals, there are leaders:

  • Little One (Little Van) for rabbits - full of vitamins and minerals. The ingredients of the feed are selected in such a way that the buyer does not need to purchase supplements. Shelf life 2 years.
  • Vaka food for ornamental rabbits consists of cereal flakes, grass granules, dried vegetables and fruits. Suitable for both adults and young rabbits.
  • Purina compound feed for rabbits is suitable for feeding common species. Has all the necessary components, vitamins and minerals for a good nutrition. Can be stored for 6 months.
  • Versele-Laga Crispy Pellets (Rabbits) is a Belgian premium feed company. Differs in high quality. Lag contains all the components necessary for the growth and development of the animal. Shelf life of Versel feed is 18 months.
  • Padovan - Italian manufacturer of complex mixtures for rabbits. The composition is intended for dwarf breeds and small rabbits. Includes many useful elements.

Little One food

Buying feed

If the diet of animals is complete, they will look healthy and feel great. How to choose a quality product and what should you look for when buying?

First of all, it is worth looking at what is included in rabbit food. Animals prefer a balanced diet. A mixture that includes components that replace hay is called complete. It contains 30% grass flour, which is made from cereals such as clover and alfalfa. In second place should be cereals: wheat, corn, barley. Further, various dried vegetables and fruits. This can be carrots and beets. There must be minerals. More expensive feed contains yucca and grape seed extracts, seaweed, fructooligosaccharides (fructose and glucose).

Note! The main condition is the absence of chemical additives in the feed.

Grains should be smooth and shiny (old grains are dull and dull in color). Dried fruits and vegetables should not be moldy or fragrant. If various fruits and vegetables are painted on the package, then they should also be inside. Poor quality feed contains substitutes in the form of sunflower seeds, corn grains and various seeds.

Rabbit pellets

How to feed the animals

Each owner is interested in: how much feed does the rabbit eat per day? Eating decorative and ordinary animals has its own differences.

Ornamental animals are fed 2-3 times a day. The amount depends on the weight of the animal: for one kg of weight, 40 grams of feed are given. Fresh water is required. The diet should contain fresh vegetables and fruits. Since rabbits are rodents, they constantly need to grind their teeth. Branches of deciduous trees are suitable for this. One of the important nutrients is dry grass, which is sold in pet stores.

Important! When harvesting yourself, you should make sure what grass can be given to rabbits, and which is poisonous for them.

Fattening animals should receive much more food, since they need to gain weight within a short period of time. How much feed does a rabbit eat before slaughter? The daily rate depends on the age of the animal:

  • rabbits 46-60 days - 100 grams in summer, 120 grams in winter;
  • rabbits 61-90 days - 140 g in summer, 160 g in winter;
  • young growth 91-120 days - 180 g in summer, 200 g in winter;
  • young growth 121-200 days - 200 g in summer, 225 g in winter;
  • Rabbits, in preparation for mating - 180 g in summer, 215 g in winter;
  • Rabbits that do not breed - 120 g in summer, 160 g in winter;
  • Varnishing rabbit with small rabbits up to two weeks - 315 g in summer, 350 g in winter;
  • Lacquering rabbit 2-4 weeks - 450 g in summer, 500 g in winter;
  • Varnishing rabbit 4-6 weeks - 650 g in summer, 700 g in winter.

Rabbit grass

An addition to the rabbit diet should be cereals and legumes, wild herbs, carrot and beet tops. Juicy vegetables are integral components in feeding: potatoes, carrots, beets, zucchini, Jerusalem artichoke, cabbage. There should always be a good supply of hay, straw and grass meal. It is recommended to give green food and vitamins in summer.

DIY pelleted feed

Food for decorative animals can be purchased at any time. And the owners of many heads have a question: how to feed a large number of rabbits for fattening? The solution in this case would be to make pelleted animal feed.

First of all, you need to purchase a feed making machine - an extruder. It is powered by electricity. The grains are ground in a meat grinder or a special grain crushing machine. The grass is dried in advance (fresh will give a lot of moisture), and also grind into flour. Next, the prepared products are poured into the machine. There the mixture is heat treated and compressed. By twisting to do on the extruder, which stops the movement of the mass, it is possible to make feed of a large or small fraction.

Feed Making Machine - Extruder

Rabbit feeding (popular recipes):

  1. Fatten for meat. The food is given for a quick mass gain. The composition includes grass flour 40%, milled barley 20%, corn 10%, wheat 10%, sunflower meal 10%, soybean 5%, feed yeast 2%, bone meal 2.2%, salt 0.3%.
  2. It is recommended to give high-calorie food to pregnant and lactating rabbits, male producers. Ingredients: grass flour 30%, barley 20%, oats 20%, wheat 12.5%, sunflower meal 13%, fish meal 2%, bone meal 1%, feed yeast 1%, salt 0.5%.
  3. Animals from 30 to 135 days. Ingredients: grass flour 40%, barley 30%, cake 10%, bran 5%, peas 8%, yeast 2%, meat and bone meal 1.4%, feed phosphate 0.8%, salt 0.3%.

You can add vitamins, soy milk, calcium to these recipes. Premixes are used for uniform mixing of ingredients.

Seasonal differences in feeding

The diet should differ not only depending on age and gender, but also on the season. In spring, one of the first treats for rabbits is nettles. The grass must be prepared: finely chopped and allowed to rest. When it stops "burning" it can be given to animals.

Rabbit treats are nettles

In the summer, you can give fresh greens and young tree branches. Rabbits will happily gnaw on fruits, apples are suitable for this.

Note! The animals drink a lot of water, so the quantity and quality of the liquid in the drinker must be monitored daily.

In winter, animals are fed mixtures with a high content of barley.In addition to hay and root crops, it is recommended to hang brooms from branches in the aviaries. If this is not done, the animals will gnaw the bedding and sharpen the incisors on the net of the aviary.

Granulated feed is a solution for all types of eared. The ability to cook on your own solves many problems for owners of large numbers of rabbits. And for decorative babies, food prepared with their own hands will become a complete meal.