Holly's Hollands Rabbitry
Raising Holland Lops exclusively with the mindset of quality over quantity.
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Rabbits Eat Like Pigs!

2/19/2014

5 Comments

 
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?
5 Comments
Katya
2/19/2014 04:45:43 am

Mine usually use up a bag of feed in about a week, and that's only with 20 rabbits or so usually. We spend about $80 monthly on feed

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Holly's Hollands Rabbitry
2/19/2014 05:46:51 am

Wow! That is a lot. Luckily I'm a babysitter and make a decent amount of money doing that. I don't expect my rabbits to "pay for themselves" (if they ever do....), until I'm much more popular in the rabbit world and have been breeding for several years. The fact that I'm a babysitter is really the only way I can buy everything for the rabbits. Rabbits do eat a lot! Thanks for sharing Katya!

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The Holland HideAway Rabbitry
2/26/2014 12:05:44 pm

I know this is a little late, but I was going through your blog and thought I would reply! A 50lb bag lasts me about 2 weeks... I currently have 18 rabbits. My show rabbits get 1/3 cup a day and some of my "normal" does get 1/2 cup per day. I supplement with calf manna, whole oats and black oil sunflower seeds! I was feeding everybunny 1/2 a day, but the judge said they had to much condition! I changed them to 1/3 with supplements and have done pretty well! I'm really enjoying your blog! It's nice to know there are other youth breeders out there who are serious about breeding as I am!

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Holly's Hollands Rabbitry
2/26/2014 12:37:31 pm

Wow! Thank you for commenting, Holland Hideaway Rabbitry! I liked your page on Facebook, would you mind liking mine?
Thank you very much! I put a lot of time and energy into making this blog, I hope people learn and get a taste of what breeding rabbits is like (if you DON'T breed rabbits, that is...lol), I'm glad that there are people out there that enjoy it!! I think I'm going to have to do that as well. Right now my 7 month old doe is kind of chubby, she has a lot of loose skin with 1/2 of feed so I think I'm going to have to cut back on her a bit. My other two are brood rabbits and I feed them 1/2 cup. Again, thank you for commenting and please visit me on Facebook!

Reply
Anna
8/9/2018 01:44:36 pm

I go through 100lbs of feed a month right now with 15 "regular" rabbits and 1 momma and 7 babies. I raise standard chinchillas and satins so mine are a bit large breeds. I only spend about $12.50 per bag of feed plus I supplement with hay and occasional veggie scraps.

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    A little about me - I love breeding and raising Holland Lop rabbits! I have been blessed the with the opportunity to raise rabbits in the city, and I am so grateful!
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