Angora rabbit feeding

[flemish giant]

Hello, I am looking at purchasing a French angora. I have had several rabbits in the past, but I was wondering if Timothy pellets have sufficient protein for angoras considering the fact that they grow a lot of wool. Is it fine to put them on a Timothy pellet in adulthood or should they stay on alfalfa?
Thanks!

[jerseygirl]

*Bump

[ownedbybunnies315]

I actually had this question myself a few months ago. I adopted an angora mix as a bondmate for my current bun, who is not angora. He had not lived in great conditions prior to ending up at the rescue, and I don’t think his diet was very good. He was severely matted. I completely clipped him down, and what I found was that angoras really do need added protein in their diet. I tried him on a timothy-only diet but his fur was so fine and brittle that it was almost impossible to prevent matting, even with him clipped down. I added in a few alfalfa pellets to the timothy (1:3 ratio) and extra greens, and it has made a world of difference in his fur health. Now, any small mats he gets are easily combed out. And his nails are healthier too. So if your new bun is a baby, I would phase out some alfalfa as they grow into adulthood, but maybe try a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio with timothy pellets and see what works for your bun. I know alfalfa can cause some urinary problems in adult rabbits if fed too much, so my goal is to find the smallest amount of alfalfa that I can give him and still keep his fur and nails looking healthy.

[vanessa]

Interesting. I find that when I feed my dogs and cat more fresh meat, the protein content improves their fur. My cat specifically gets super shiny smooth hair when she is eating loads of fresh raw chicken. (For cat lovers – I include a vitamin/calcium/thiamin powder mix).

With my bunnies, I noticed that their fur is shinier, softer, silkier, and easier to brush, now that they are eating Sherwood, which is an alfalfa based pellet. I hadn’t tied the protein content to it in my mind because I’ve never owned angoras, but it makes sense now.

[flemish giant]

I found that a lot of angora breeders feed purina show food and it is alfalfa based. So I may start her on oxbow young rabbit and then maybe switch to the purina show.

[Jessica]

Angoras need a higher protein food, I’ve got my satin angora on Sherwood complete which has both alfalfa and Timothy. My breeder did not recommend feeding just Timothy. They also have a higher food need then other buns. Satins are close in size to French and she is eating almost 1cup of pellets per day, she also gets unlimited Timothy hay or meadow grass and 2-3 cups of fresh greens everyday. My girl is a bit skinny but my vet is pretty happy with where she is, he said it be fine if she gains a bit more but not to worry where she is right now. I’ve found that her coat quality is phenomenal on Sherwood, she had a beautiful glossy guard coat and she wool is super fine and glossy. She is growing quickly and produces 1-1.5 ounces of wool each time she blows coat

If you have angora specific questions let me know

[Author]

Messages