Rabbit Diet
Magic at Aurora Rex Rabbit Ranch

1) Diet includes a fresh, pelleted rabbit feed. We have used and are using various brands, depending on availability and freshness. The brands available in your area may differ:

• Pfau Feeds, in Stevensville, Montana. This is an excellent pelleted feed. Our rabbits are conditioning well, and winning now and again.

• Purina Fiber 3. This formulation offers 15% protein, along with fiber that can be used for energy as well as roughage, and trace minerals. Amazingly, our does and kits have no problem milking and growing on this formula, and with minimal waste of protein, the levels of ammonia and the fly population remain low.

• Sherwood Forest Feed. This is a brand new player in the rabbit feed market. We have used their feeds enough to obtain a fair trial. The feed is ultra green, and ultra fresh, and the rabbits excel on it. We are not yet able to consistently obtain this feed in the quantities we'd like to use, but in time, we're confident the supply chain will expand. For now, you can obtain their feeds via the USPS for reasonable shipping rates. See Rabbit-Feed for more info.

In our experience, the absolute most important quality in a feed is freshness. Even a mediocre feed that is fresh will support your rabbits, most of the time. Rabbits do best when a pelleted feed is no older than 1 1/2 - 2 months max.

We expect our rabbit feed to come with a date stamp, and we check it before we buy.

We also like the feed label to spell out exactly what is in the feed. The best quality feeds have a formula and they don't substitute lower quality ingredients when prices fluctuate. Using words like 'products' is a dead giveaway.

How We Feed...
In our barn, bunnies and growing rabbits get pellets at a "full feed" rate--as much as they want, every evening. I want to see pellets left over by the following evening.

Along about 5 - 5 1/2 months of age, rabbits begin to attain their adult weight. They stop eating as much and their weight gain levels out. This is the point at which the manager can begin cutting back on the rabbit rations.

By the time our rex rabbits reach maturity (around 6 months old for our 7 1/2 - 10 1/2 pound animals), they're getting about a cup a day, more or less. When their feed is gone for the day, it's gone until the next evening. I don't want to see pellets in the feeder the next evening, and if I do, I give fewer pellets to that rabbit. This means that adult rabbits may have an empty feeder for around 22 hours a day.

The commercial pellets are intended as a complete feed supplying all the nutrients a rabbit needs. Our rabbits would probably do just fine on just these (fresh) pellets. But in order to ensure our rabbits excel and reproduce well, we include a few more items in the everyday rabbit diet at Aurora Rex Rabbit Ranch:

2) The rabbit diet also includes Calf Manna. "It’s for more than just calves," their website says. Growing rabbits get about a teaspoon a day, and for lactating does, a tablespoon.

"Guaranteed Analysis"
Crude Protein: 25%
Lysine 1.4%
Methionine 0.3% (both lysine and methionine tend to be low in forages.
Crude fat: 3.0%

Calf Manna has additional vitamins and minerals, such as copper, zinc and Vitamin A, for vibrant health and coat color. www.mannapro.com has more information.

3) Whole oats are added to the rabbit diet as well, which we purchase in 50 lb bags from the local feed store. We don’t feed rolled oats, which are blanched (briefly cooked) and then rolled into shape.

Our animals receive a teaspoon or so on top of their feed every day.

Whole oats are rich in immune system boosting beta-glucans, plant (phyto) chemicals and vitamins and minerals. Since the oats have not been processed, they provide fresh nutrients. The oats ensure enough live nutrition, and keep our show herd in great condition. This is especially important as pelleted feed can start losing nutrients due to storage.

Oats are also a good source of protein and oil. 100g (3.5 oz.) gives 6 g. total fat, 17 g. protein and 66 g total carbohydrate.

4) Straw/Hay. Roughage (fiber) is very important to the health of a rabbit’s digestive tract. Many breeders keep field hay or sometimes straw in the cage at all times. Consistent use of straw or hay helps to reduce the incidence of potentially fatal enteritis. Oat hay can be used, as oat hay comes with the oat heads attached. The rabbits will eat it all, the oats and the fibrous stems. We most often use orchard or timothy hay.

5) Last, but not least, we pull fresh weeds, dandelions and garden sprout thinnings during spring, summer and fall, and add them to the rabbit diet. When the spinach or lettuce goes to seed, we yank the whole plant and give it to the rabbits. They love them. (We don’t use herbicides or pesticides on our property). Our rabbits don’t get any 'treats' out of the kitchen.

Ever thought of feeding your rabbits without commercial pellets? So have we. See our Rabbit Food page.

So Where's the Magic in Our Rabbit Diet?

Unless it is simply to understand the nutritional needs of the rabbit, and then ensure the rabbits receive every nutrient needed for optimum health, as best we can...

Every breeder of show rabbits puts together a feed program he thinks will give his rabbits the edge over other rabbit competitors. We at Aurora Rex believe our rabbit dietary program conditions our rabbits well, and keeps our bunnies and breeding animals healthy.

We know that other breeders have put together what they think are magic programs that will give their rabbits a winning edge. I'd be willing to bet though, that the ingredient (nutrient) list is very similar, though the actual food items may differ.

We don't think the rabbit food we feed our rabbits is necessarily better than the feeding program at another rabbitry.

Whether you have pets or show rabbits, feel free to try the rabbit diet we use. As long as the commercial pellets are fresh, we think your rabbits will also become well-conditioned and healthy.

Caution: Don't let your feed get moldy...
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