When you said " its like mowing a lawn. You do it 2 or 3 times a year." I knew I needed to listen to you 😂

@westmeadowrabbits

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you caught that!

Master class on Rabbits.... love the knowledge! May have to watch a few times to absorb all the information.

@westmeadowrabbits

4 ай бұрын

One of these days I'll get around to writing a book!

Extremely informative. Thank you

New subscriber! One of these days I will talk my wife into rabbits. It took awhile but i got her to like chickens. Now she buys them peanuts!

I love the setting here! It reminds of family places in the country! Excellent videos… God bless🙏🏼

Another Good one. I have learned more from these two videos than all the others I’ve watched.

@westmeadowrabbits

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks I appreciate the support!

We have sensitive gut biome too. It’s sad how careless we are with ours. Thank you for this informative video! I’m watching all three!

Ur video are great i have been keeping rabbits for years u do know alot about rabbits

Thank you for the sharing hay for rabbit

Thank you for this video and the other one about cuttings. I came here trying to learn more about hay for feeding horses rather than rabbits. Horse people are only ever concerned about the sugar content, but my personal opinion is that it is the high protein and fat that cause all the problems

Thank you for informing us regarding the portions size.

@westmeadowrabbits

3 жыл бұрын

Your Welcome!

Thanks alot , i have more than a hundred videos .... and i got so so much confused! Either there was too much details complicated things or there was focus on specific particulars stuff in very videos, you did a great job explained everything so nicely and also told the links what could be added if u have pallets and if u don't all such details were very helpful thankyou

@westmeadowrabbits

3 жыл бұрын

Glad I could help!

Drinking game. Take a shot every time he picks up the hay and places it back down.

Thanks. Good to know info!

Excellent help!

ur videos are great .. well presented, easy to follow..and I take notes..LOL same as Paul lawn clippings so .. fresh or dry no in-between.. thanks will return for new videos

@westmeadowrabbits

2 жыл бұрын

I'm happy they are helping you!

Good info

I have learned so much from your videos! I live in Africa and we have to trim our grass every day. Could you comment on grass clipping . . . can fresh grass clipping replace hay? Should grass clippings be dried first before using, or should we just not use grass clippings at all. I have a virtually infinite supply of grass clippings so wonder how to best incorporate them into the rabbit food.

@westmeadowrabbits

2 жыл бұрын

Glad I can help! Grass clippings are fine as long as they are fresh, you only get into trouble when they start to rot from sitting for a couple days. They can be fed fresh or dry. Drying them is a good way to preserve them, you just turn them into hay!

Nice

Thank you for this series. I did some search but couldn't find an answer to my question. Can bean leaves (not dried beans, of course) replace alfalfa as a high protein food source for rabbits? For instant, lablab grows quite readily at our homestead.

@westmeadowrabbits

6 ай бұрын

That's a good question. Bean leaves should be fine. One of my favorite things to feed is black locust (which is a tree in the legume family) so it's kinda like bean leaves. Just make sure the specific bean plant isn't toxic. If you can't find information on if it's safe for rabbits, check if sheep can eat it.

@sebastianpacurar8350

Ай бұрын

Asta este o întrebare bună,frunzele de fasole ca furaj, despre black locust, acest copac la noi se numește Salcâm,proteic se apropie de valoare lucernei,vă mulțumesc

I put a bail of alfalfa a bail of grass and carrots as a dayly treat. This is for 11 rabbits in a 25x25 colony. Your thoughts

@westmeadowrabbits

3 жыл бұрын

Full disclosure, I am not super hot on colony raising rabbits, but it really depends on your goals. As far as whether that feeding routine is sufficient will really depend again on your goals. I definitely think that they should be able to survive on that no problem. The main thing to keep an eye on is their condition and growth rates. Do they feel boney? Can you feel the spine sharply through the skin, and is the hide loose? Also your grow outs should be hitting 5 pounds by 10 weeks at the latest, ideally around 8 weeks. I assume this colony is stationary and they are not moved to fresh ground everyday? If it is, there's no getting around the fact that your rabbits will have higher parasite loads than normal, especially if you are feeding the hay directly off the ground. That will definitely hurt your growth rates and condition of the rabbits, but you may be able to breed resistance after a few generations. You would have to carefully breed only the largest, healthiest rabbits from your herd. That being said, if your not worried about efficiency, and don't mind wasting quite a bit of feed, then as long as your rabbits are reasonably healthy than I say go for it.

I have 8 Californians. Should I offer a pellet buffet for momma and babies? Also, for the non lactating girls and my males, how should I feed them? Pellets/hay Currently we are having 100+ degrees and this is just the beginning of summer. I want to give them what they need but don’t want them struggling more with the heat because I over feed and i don’t want to waste money. 😊 Thanks for any input you can offer!

@westmeadowrabbits

2 жыл бұрын

I think I explain what I do in another video, I have a whole playlist on feeding meat rabbits so check that out for details. Generally ration pellets for dry females and bucks, free feed does with litters. Rabbits are generally pretty good about eating what they need an not much more. Free feeding hay is fine for all animals.

Will it hurt the breeding/lactation rabbit to switch from Timothy to alfalfa and back again? Also, I feel like my doe and buck don't eat much Timothy! There always seems to be much in the tractors.

@westmeadowrabbits

Жыл бұрын

Alfalfa is very high in calories and protein, it is the main component of most rabbit feeds. I use it for lactating does and grow outs if I'm not feeding pellets. Timothy is just grass, if your rabbits are in tractors they will prefer fresh grass over timothy. No harm either way, especially if you are already feeding pellets.

I like rabbit feces for fertilizer. But my concern with hay is sometimes the source uses the persistent herbicides, which do not go away after the rabbit eats it. Do you know how to find out if certain hay’s are not sprayed with something like Grazon?

@westmeadowrabbits

5 ай бұрын

Unless you know a local farmer or grow it yourself, it's basically impossible to be sure.

Can't I just raise my babies in a tractor along with the doe? Do I have to slowly get them on pasture grass? That means I have to start them off in a separate cage??

@westmeadowrabbits

3 жыл бұрын

You can definitely raise babies on pasture with the doe as long as the doe was eating grass while she was nursing the babies. This is because the babies need to be exposed to the bacteria used to digest what they are eating before they are weaned. I personally do not have enough room to do this but its probably the best way to go if you have the space. Your tractor would obviously need an enclosed space for the nest box. Otherwise you can wean the kits at 5-6 weeks and put them on pasture to grow out. If they haven't been eating fresh food its good to start them slow, but if you have been brining greens to the cage before then, they will be fine. From the moment my kits hop out of the box they are eating fresh leaves, weeds, herbs, and other forage so they have no problem going right to pasture.

I think he misspoke. Is it a 40lb bale for $100? Or A 100lb bale for $40?

@westmeadowrabbits

2 жыл бұрын

100lb bale of Alfalfa for $40. Of course that was pre-inflation prices, its around $50 or more now.

Can groundnut plants make a good alternative?

@westmeadowrabbits

3 жыл бұрын

I have never fed it personally (it doesn't grow well in my region) but I imagine it would be good because they are legumes. I would feed it to a few of your rabbits and see how they respond. If they like it than go for it!

@kayodejegede8651

Жыл бұрын

I am in Nigeria. I grow and feed groundnut leaves to my rabbits. They love it. But I hear the nuts are poisonous for them, so I don't feed them groundnut.

Our issue is hay waste. Need better manger ideas😕

@westmeadowrabbits

4 жыл бұрын

I usually put something solid underneath so the hay can't fall through. I also find it helpful not to feed to much at once so they eat it all right away rather than playing with it.

@madelinepark7944

3 жыл бұрын

I feed one handful at a time for each rabbit a couple times a week through winter (they're on grass in spring-fall). They usually eat it all in one sitting, if not its finished by the afternoon. No waste and they get that fiber/ruffage they need.

@jordaneubank

3 жыл бұрын

I have one doe that just takes it all out of her manger - very frustrating. Once her replacement is breeding age, she is gone!

@westmeadowrabbits

3 жыл бұрын

@@jordaneubank Sometimes they like to pull it out to eat it and other times they like to play with it. Do you have a wood gnawing block in the cage? That can help distract them.

@jordaneubank

3 жыл бұрын

@@westmeadowrabbits She loves chewing and has Birchwood, pine blocks etc. She is a very playful Doe, more so than the others. I like the Idea of not giving her so much to begin with because I do tend to just stuff a handful in and go about my day.

My mini horse and donkey eat burmuda hay...is that ok?

@westmeadowrabbits

Жыл бұрын

If a horse can eat it, it should be fine for rabbits.

What do you use to store your hay?

@westmeadowrabbits

Жыл бұрын

I keep bales in my shed on pallets. Keep your hay dry.

@christyj24

Жыл бұрын

@@westmeadowrabbits thank you!!

I read that rabbits should have about 1/4 cup pellets each day and then free feed on hay. Is that factual. Also the hay is really expensive right now

@westmeadowrabbits

2 жыл бұрын

No, it depends entirely on the feed. Generally instructions come on most feed bags, but you should adjust based on your rabbits condition. Also if you are supplementing with other foods you won't need to feed as much. Where I am orchard grass hay goes for about $12 a bale which is much cheaper than pellets. If you find a local farmer you could probably get cheaper.

What is meat rabbit¿