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Forum DIET & CARE Feed for young Angora

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    • Toady
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         I’ve still got a month before my little angora bunny comes home but I’m still trying to work out a suitable diet for it, the breeder uses a mix from a local produce/rural store but as she’s quite a drive away it’s not feasible for me to drive down there everytime I need some more feed so was thinking about making my own. 

        In Australia we don’t have a lot of choice pellet wise, Oxbow does get imported but at $25 for a 5lb bag it’s quite expensive! From what I’ve been able to find online most Aussie rabbit breeders use a pellet from a company Barastoc, I looked at their website and found the following levels: 

         

        Crude Protein (minimum) 16.5%, Crude Fat (minimum) 3.0%, Crude Fibre (maximum) 21.0%, Salt (maximum added) 0.3%, Calcium (minimum) 1.0%

        It’s also alfalfa (we call it lucerne) based but so is every other feed I’ve researched and this one has the best protein and fibre levels. Of course I won’t be feeding a heap, just enough to provide the suppliments needed but was thinking about adding some oaten chaff to these pellets to increase the fibre and protein levels which is needed to help little bunny produce decent ‘fleece’ and avoid wool block… plus if local hay supplies are a bit bad (due to winter or wet weather like we’ve been having lately) as it’s cut up hay it will help provide some roughage.

        Does anyone else mix their own feed for their bunnies?

         


      • KytKattin
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          Others will be much more experienced with younger bunny diets, and will be able to answer your questions a lot better.

          However, if everything is approved, I would still recommend buying Oxbow and adding it to your mix. Once your bun is older (6+months I think…) and can have a wider variety of veggies, you will be giving a very small amount of pellets. Sometimes it is as low as a teaspoon! So 5lbs would last quite a long time.


        • Monkeybun
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            I’ll poke a couple of the aussie members here and see what they say.

            Oxbow is rather expensive there.


          • Beka27
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              Alfalfa isn’t “bad” food, but fed in too high quantities it can cause pudgy bunnies. We’re fortunate (in the US) because we have the option of both timothy and alfalfa, so timothy (or grass hay) is what’s fed to adult buns here, but I know many members in AUS have successfully fed alfalfa/lucerne because that was what is available there.

              It sounds like you’ve done your research and an Angora bun could definitely benefit from the added fiber.


            • jerseygirl
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                Hi Toady, welcome to BB.com : )

                Like you, Barastoc is the only pellet I’ve found here that has reasonable protein/fibre levels. That’s what I use. Yours being a baby, that would be fine to feed unlimited. Do get a little of the feed the breeder has it on when you pick up the bun. Then you can slowly transistion it onto your feed.

                I *think* the wool breeds can have little more protein then the average rabbit because of them constantly producing wool. I don’t know specifically what they angora rabbit needs in the diet though…

                You could feed Lucerne hay and then oaten or wheaten hay. Chaff in a mix sounds like a good idea. I’d avoid adding too much else though as rabbits can pick out what they like and leave the rest. Not sure what they breeder uses but some mixes contain grains and seeds and molasses which you probably want to avoid.
                Personally I think it would do fine on basic pellet and hay. Grass and hay requires the chewing action thats needed to keep the tear worn down.

                ps. you might like to rig up a hay rack. I’m told the hay can get caught in their wool pretty easy.

                Is that your little bun in your avatar pic?
                 


              • Toady
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                  Yeah Jerseygirl, that’s my little bun I got a photo from the breeder yesterday… I’m smitten!

                  The idea was instead of feeding lucerne hay I’d add a pinch of chaff to the pellets instead (so a 25kg/50lb bag will definitely last me for months) and add some oaten chaff as well, storing a few of these feed bags in one of my spare rooms will be easier than 2 bales of hay. I’ll also be free feeding pasture or oaten hay if I can get it, as well as growing some little gardens in foam boxes full of suitable greens (coriander, bok choy, rocket, chinese celery, basil, orchard/cat grass etc)


                • jerseygirl
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                    Cute!!

                    Theres lucerne chaff also but pricey I think. The lucerne in the pellets would be enough I expect.
                    I’d go oaten over pasture/meadow hays. The latter has stuff that would stick in the wool badly. Plus it’s hard to find good meadow hay. Well, at least here in SA it is.


                  • Toady
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                      Still got a few weeks until baby bunny comes home but I’ve finally decided on a diet for ‘bun-bun’. A local feed store has a fantastic looking mixed chaff that unlike most I’ve seen doesn’t have a lot of lucerne in it, after discussing it with a few fellow angora breeders the mix of chaff with a sprinkling of Oxbow should give the required protein/fibre and fat levels. Of course hay will be free fed and selected veges but I decided against the Barastoc pellets because the stuff they have locally doesn’t look very nice and a huge bag would take me almost a year to get through and would probably go way over its use-by date.

                      I also managed to get a small slicker brush and comb which is meant for pups and toy dogs but they’ll do for my bunny, they’re tiny but oh so cute!

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                  Forum DIET & CARE Feed for young Angora