When I just had two rabbits (before I bred Gracie for the first time), it would take 4 months for me to go through a 50lb bag of Albers 16% Rabbit Feed. The current, 50lb, almost-empty bag of feed that I have now has only lasted me a month! That's the shortest I've ever run out of rabbit feed. And I ONLY have 7 rabbits currently! ;) WHY did I go through so much so fast?? WHERE did it all go??
When I breed a doe, she gets put on a restricted diet until the end half of her pregnancy, then she gets as much as she wants. Believe me, a hungry pregnant mama with 5 babies in her tummy eats a lot! Normally, I feed all the rabbits 1/2 cup of feed daily. Pregnant mamas usually want 3/4 cup.
Then once mama has the babies, she gets as much as she wants until the babies are weaned. While she's nursing, before the babies jump out of the box and start eating, themselves, she can eat almost 1 1/4 cup of feed! By the time the babies are jumping out of the box and eating mom's food, it increases to 3, maybe 4 cups per day! Depending on the litter size, and the number of rabbits you currently have, this varies depending on the individual rabbitry. This is for a heavily nursing mama of 5 and 2-3 extra rabbits that still get their daily rations.
I sold two babies with a full baggie of feed each, about 2-3 cups, to help them adjust to their new home, while still on this same bag of feed.
And currently, Gracie is back on her rations and all the other rabbits are getting 1/2 cup as usual. Except for those 3 babies still sharing a cage. They get as much as they want, which is about 2 cups.
So that's where that feed went. Wow. And with the increase in rabbit population I hope to have once I get a shed, this rabbit breeding business might become expensive! At least the feed I get is from a Co-Op in Everett (not too much gas!), and the bag of feed is only $20!
How much do you spend monthly on rabbit feed? How long does your bag of feed last?
When I breed a doe, she gets put on a restricted diet until the end half of her pregnancy, then she gets as much as she wants. Believe me, a hungry pregnant mama with 5 babies in her tummy eats a lot! Normally, I feed all the rabbits 1/2 cup of feed daily. Pregnant mamas usually want 3/4 cup.
Then once mama has the babies, she gets as much as she wants until the babies are weaned. While she's nursing, before the babies jump out of the box and start eating, themselves, she can eat almost 1 1/4 cup of feed! By the time the babies are jumping out of the box and eating mom's food, it increases to 3, maybe 4 cups per day! Depending on the litter size, and the number of rabbits you currently have, this varies depending on the individual rabbitry. This is for a heavily nursing mama of 5 and 2-3 extra rabbits that still get their daily rations.
I sold two babies with a full baggie of feed each, about 2-3 cups, to help them adjust to their new home, while still on this same bag of feed.
And currently, Gracie is back on her rations and all the other rabbits are getting 1/2 cup as usual. Except for those 3 babies still sharing a cage. They get as much as they want, which is about 2 cups.
So that's where that feed went. Wow. And with the increase in rabbit population I hope to have once I get a shed, this rabbit breeding business might become expensive! At least the feed I get is from a Co-Op in Everett (not too much gas!), and the bag of feed is only $20!
How much do you spend monthly on rabbit feed? How long does your bag of feed last?
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