Extravagant Commercial Feed So- Changing My Rabbit Diet to Rice Grain.

I lived in a part of Luzon which was considered one of the regions contributing to the rice granary of the Philippines, this September-November is the harvesting season for Oryza sativa (rice). As one of the people who cared most about the losses and imagined that there will times when things on farms moved in the movement where I could utilize everything in a chemurgy movement style.

One of the materials that I need to make it possible is keeping rabbits on my future farm. That’s why for now I am gaining experience and life lessons. The goal is to be diversified, utilized every single thing, and be repeats its uses in the cycle. From grass turns to animal feed, and the dung turns to plant fertilizer.

But one of the problems is unending inflations, where commercial feeds feel extravagant these days. I am worried that there will be a time when I will execute or breeds more rabbit and the budget allotted with gets tied, It means that they cannot receive what nutrition they need, they might be starving or worst mortality will again rise in the record.

By the way, as you could browse some of my blogs about Mushrooms, rabbit farming will have a huge part in the future. The rationale is that mushroom spent (wood chips base) will be future feeds of the rabbits, rabbits eat tree trunks and dry woods so why not the mushroom spent right? Then comes the manure of the rabbit will be used as fertilizer in my mushroom substrate. The idea won't get possible if I won't take care of and breeds rabbits, to prove my hypothesis about the chemurgy I need to utilize everything. Who knows who could help my technology if given a chance to be executed?

But remind that problem in feedings, for commercial pellet is expensive, well in the future I will be the one who will make my concoction of feeds, for I also have experience and knowledge in animal husbandry and farm animal nutrition. I just need more knowledge and research in both fungi and livestock. Soon as the progress will go, I believed that I could support and prove my idea that mushroom and rabbit are a twin venture.

I have been eying for the feed substitute, roughages or the plant-based feeds are the one and best, yet there was a problem. As the freshness and water content decrease, it meant that some nutrients aren’t available, also the side effect of roughages is that during when the rainy season, the high water content of the leaves causes gastro internal problems in rabbits, I don’t want to be in the part where I was forced to feed them the practice of harming them.

Here comes the rice grain as a feed substitute. Where it could be stored in long run.

How to change rabbit diets?

If you have a rabbit and the same grain, it's not advisable and not necessary that you will feed them abruptly. Sudden changes in rabbits cause them discomfort, stress, and stomach problem. What I did is not to surprise them but need to introduce it to them at least a small amount until its gets into the large portions

Here is what I did.

1. The first week: 25% Rice grain + 75% BMEG Integra 3000 (Commercial feeds)
2. The second week: 50% Rice grain + 50% BMEG Integra 3000 (Commercial feeds)
3. The third week: 75% Rice grain + 25% BMEG Integra 3000 (Commercial feeds)

Rice grains contain rice hull which was also a source of carbohydrates and the rice hull helps their stomach digest more by turning the crude fiber into crude proteins. BMEG Integra 3000 is a commercial feed available in the Philippines, it was initially designed for broiler (chicken production) yet the amount of the crude protein intake of rabbit and broiler are the same concentration in the commercial feedstuff so it was also suggested.

There is more commercial pellet feed available and some are designed for rabbits of different ages. But expect that it's much higher, the breeder feeds for rabbit causes 2 dollars per kilogram, and for the rabbit kits (small rabbit) are higher as the crude fiber and crude protein attended is much needed in higher forms.

But of course, when you have an expensive breed of rabbits you must give them the extravagant feeding they need, but for me, I wanted to keep local breeds for now.

Looking at the initial result, in the first week of changing their diet, I don’t see any problem or discomfort for them. They eat as normally as they are in the first week. They loved that I wanted them to chew the rice grain, but in my observation, they don’t eat the rice hull, and some portion will be wasted in the flooring.

For now, they are under observation and soon I shall take their parameters such as weight and the quality of manure for some checking.

As for the now, I wanted to have more alternatives but not under-releasing the nutrient they need. That’s why 25% commercial feeds and 75% rice grain, I need to still have control. I won't remove the consumption of commercial feeds for some nutrients they need cannot be provided by the rice grain alone.

Digging deeper into rice grain is cheap in our area as we have tons of rice fields, also people could sell rice grain to me at a friendly price, which is better. I need to hoard some rice grains for now and in the future, I will breed and procure more rabbits not minding the problems of high prices of commercial feeds for I have an alternative of my own.

Also, I have this curious mind, what if corn also could be alternative and additive? I shall try it too and it's for another version of a blog for sure, thank you for reading…

Disclaimers: No animals were harmed in the changing diets. This blog is for adding another idea for rabbit breeders and keepers like me.

Photo owned by @eunoia101