It takes a lot of different ingredients to make a palatable rabbit feed. The feed must be nutritionally balanced to provide the proper amount of nutrients for proper health and growth.
When you are purchasing your feed, look for the total profile of the ingredients provided in the feed. Fiber is valuable in the rabbit's diet but too much fiber will suppress the ingestion of enough energy providing nutrients. (Alfalfa meal, Wheat middlings, etc, would be Fiber Feeds.)
Corn, barley and molasses provide energy and glucose. I have recently [April 2011]
taken to adding: Whole Wheat, Barley, Black oil Sunflower seeds, Whole Oats, Cracked Corn
and in the colder months Sweet-feed to my rabbits feed regimen. The amounts are small, about
one cup to every six cups of pelleted feed.
Pelleted feeds are formulated to reduce fines, which is why many feed processors use too much glucose and energy producing ingredients in their feed, which can cause serious problems in the digestive system of the rabbit. Soybean and Alfalfa meal are high in protein. A diet too high in protein can cause an increase in the urine output. You must be sure that your feed provides adequate amounts of minerals and vitamins, energy and roughage. It is a good idea to provide your rabbits with adequate amounts of Grass-Hay to keep their hind gut motile. Hay will reduce the incidence of diarrhea, increase the productivity, and help prevent Wool Block (most common in Angora and other long haired rabbits). Though many breeds suffer from same on occasion.
There are two types of hay: Leguminous (Alfalfa) and Non-Leguminous. (Grass-Hay) Alfalfa Leguminous is low in fiber and high protein. Grass-Hay is low in protein and high in fiber content.
Choose Hay wisely. If you want to lower the protein level, choose a Grass-Hay, to raise the protein intake, use Alfalfa. Fiber in rabbit pellets is ground excessively, causing it to not be as beneficial as hay in providing roughage. many breeders make the mistake when trying to prevent or cure disease
