I posted on my Facebook page the question of whether fiber or protein is more important....
Many of you answered, and some of you said PROTEIN. 
However, it was those of you who answered FIBER that are correct!
This post is going to be centered on the importance of fiber and protein, and which one is more important than the other. 
Pellets usually have 20-23% fiber. In my opinion, any fiber content lower than that is a no-no. Fiber is also found in hay, which is what makes hay so important. 
Without fiber in their diet, rabbits' digestive systems would come to a standstill; they wouldn't poop, or eat, because they would always feel full. They would have a blockage in their digestive system; this is commonly known as G.I stasis, which stands for gastro-intestinal stasis. It's when the rabbit's digestive system comes to a complete stop.

In pellets, protein is usually 14-18% protein. I highly discourage anyone from buying a feed with a protein content less than 16%, which is what my rabbits are fed. Protein helps the rabbit grow and gain essential fat and keep its proper weight. Energetic breeds, like the Holland Lop, need a high protein content to support their high energy. 
Baby bunnies, and lactating does, need high protein to support the babies' rapid growth and to provide the mother with essential nutrients and enhanced milk production. Nursing does with a low protein diet will lose weight and not make as much milk. 

In short, I believe that fiber is the most essential, yet protein is quite close. Both are absolutely necessary in the diet. Rabbits can't survive without either. But people usually overlook fiber and its importance. 

What are your thoughts?

Feed is one of the most complex, but most important, part of your rabbit's diet. The proper feed will have enough vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein to keep your rabbit healthy and happy, without having to provide a bunch of other supplements. 
I love this page: http://www.thenaturetrail.com/rabbit-health-feeding/pellet-ingredients-nutrition/
This page talks about rabbit feed and how each feed is different: http://www.thenaturetrail.com/rabbit-health-feeding/pellet-formula-nutrition/

I encourage you to read both of these pages. Please let me know if you have any further questions. :) 

I'm sure you can tell by the title, that I'm going to rant about my juniors for a little bit, lol! I couldn't be any more excited, or any more proud, of the direction my rabbitry is going in right now. A lot of it has to do with these junior does!
Bramblehedge's Hazelnut (X1), is my new chestnut doe! I'm so excited to add this color to my breeding program, as well as this little lady's body type! Dang! She's a wide tank! A little overposed in these pics, but you get the idea. 
Hazel's body is thick and wide, and that's something I'm working heavily on right now. She has really nice, thick bone, depthy and wide chest, nice ear shape. She has really nice crown placement. Her crown looks pretty flat right now because she's molting it. And she does have a typical doe head, but I think paired with Sir Lancelot's head, the babies will be amazing. 

Next is my girl, Holly's Saige. I'm so in love with this doe. She's molting right now too so her head doesn't look as good as it usually is. It's usually quite the buck head! I can't wait to see what she looks like when she fully grows into herself! 
Saige has amazing bone, and such a wonderful short body and smooth topline. She's also super wide. Her crown is slightly slipped and her ears are a little longer, but she has a nice crown height and width. 

Holly's Rosemary is Saige's sister. They're daughters of Holly's Cinnamon and Blue Storm's Lance. What a head this little lady has! I really like her bone, it's not as thick as her sister's, and she does have some length to her front limb and weak ankles. She has a wonderful thick body, but a little more length in her midsection. She has a slipped crown, but wonderful ear shape and crown definition. I love her huge buck head!

All these ladies are being shown October 4th in Monroe, at the Evergreen state fairgrounds. I'm so excited to see how they do! This will be Hazel's first time out. Saige and Rosie, at their last show, got 2nd and 3rd place, respectively, out of 12 broken junior does, in open, against other adults. Since I'll be showing in youth, I'm hoping for 1st place this time. But I won't get my hopes up because they are starting to molt and they might not be in prime condition at the show. 

~Pellets:
I feed pellets because they provide the all-important nutrients and vitamins/minerals that rabbits need to be healthy, happy, and develop fully. The right feed will also produce a healthy coat with shine and keep their teeth healthy and trim. 

~Hay:
Hay is possibly the most important thing you can feed your rabbit. Not only does it provide essential fiber, but it also keeps the teeth trim and healthy. 
If you are allergic to hay, try to find a way to provide your rabbit with daily access to grass. It does the same thing. 

~Oats:
I feed a tablespoon of oats to my rabbits twice a week. All the babies and brood rabbits get them. It keeps their gut healthy and if your rabbit has excessive runny poop or diarrhea, it helps dry that up. Oats can help your underweight rabbit gain. 

~Black oil sunflower seeds:
I feed a tablespoon of BOSS to my show rabbits daily. It gives the rabbits clean, glossy coats, helps with molting, and helps a rabbit get condition back after having a litter or getting sick. Overall, it makes them look nicer and keeps them healthy for a show career. 

~Fruits and Veggies
All adult rabbits in my herd get fruits and veggies a few times a week. I try to alternate what I give them. If I give them carrots one day, I try banana or kale the next. Sugary fruits (such as banana), should be fed in moderation, as well as veggies high in water content. Lettuce should never be fed. Dark, leafy greens, like kale, carrot tops, mustard greens and collards are the best. They are like hay, and provide fiber and vitamins. 

All our babies have been sold. Three were picked up today by their amazing new families. The other two, Saphira and Roran, are being picked up within the next couple weeks. 
I don't have any does bred right now, so we won't have any more babies for about a month or so. 
We still have rabbits for sale though, two adults, Sweetpea and Gracie, the mother of Roran and Saphira below. She's for sale as a pet, and is almost 2. Sweetpea is also Gracie's daughter and is 9 months. 

~Blue Storm's Sir Lancelot x Holly's Cinnamon - Breeding September 16

~Blue Storm's Sir Lancelot x Bramblehedge's Hazelnut - Breeding October 23

~Blue Storm's Sir Lancelot x Holly's Cinnamon - Breeding January 3

~Blue Storm's Sir Lancelot x Holly's Saige - Breeding February 3

~Blue Storm's Sir Lancelot x Holly's Rosemary - Breeding February 3

Lots of ladies for Lance coming up!
We have a lot of fall/winter breedings planned. I'm hoping for a light winter and lots of babies! These are hopefully planned breedings. Depending on how the winter goes, these may or may not be happening. I am allowed one litter in the winter, and that will probably be Cinnamon's February litter or Hazel's November litter.  

From the time I bring a Holland home, it becomes a part of my life. A part of my mornings, of my routine, a part of my herd. 
I love them all. 
It doesn't make a difference to me whether I bought a proven senior to show and breed, or watch a junior grow up from birth to jumping out of the nest, to producing babies of their own. 
Because they all have different personalities, and some are sweeter, more energetic, or loving then others, I do become more attached to some than others. But I still love them all. 

To raise Hollands, as show quality and to meet the Standard, this means saying good-bye. I can never keep every Holland I buy or produce. I'd meet my 15 rabbit limit preetyy quickly if I did. 
Every good-bye is mixed with laughter, happiness, tears and sorrow. I do miss every rabbit I let go. I think about each one of them daily. But as more rabbits fill their cage, take their place as the buck of the herd, or the brood doe, the baby, or the smallest - I continue on. 

Soon I will be saying good-bye to my sweetest doe. Gracie. My baby, my friend, and the best mother in the herd. She started everything for me, so unbelievably perfectly. 
When I brought her home, so gentle and small and sweet, her little pumpkin-colored fur standing out in that old, worn-down wooden hutch, I knew she was special. I knew she had crazy days ahead. I knew she was the one for me. 
At first I dreaded the thought of ever letting her go. I swore I would keep her until she grew old and died. But as I produced more rabbits, as she outproduced herself with every litter, my favorite shifted to another. That's how I feel it will always be. 

Yet I will always have a deep connection to her. She started it all. She was the best mother, the best first Holland for breeding that I could have ever asked for. She's the own that sealed the deal. She's the own that made me know, for sure, that breeding and showing Hollands was for me. That I could never go back now. 

Breeding and showing rabbits doesn't mean producing a lot of cute babies. It means improving, and making the tough choices, and that includes letting go, and moving on. Filling that cage with a different rabbit, a better rabbit, one that will work harder to improve my herd, and take my herd in the direction I want to go. 
In honor of my sweet Gracie girl, you will be forever missed. 
At least she's going to my cousins! 

I'm just ecstatic about the semi-win that we got this past weekend. Even though I didn't really win, just having that recognition and knowing that my rabbits are good enough to BEAT most of the BJDs at the fair is just so awesome. It's so hard to explain to a non-rabbit person.
Winning these ribbons is almost as exciting as keeping my first homegrown. It's a step forward, a signal that your rabbitry is moving in (hopefully), the right direction. 
For the time being, I am going to be keeping both Saige and Rosie, and will probably sell one after a litter or two. However, that won't be for several months. I don't plan on breeding them until after the January 31 show.