Grow Your Own Rabbit Feed Ideas
- Mangle Beets - These are fairly easy to grow and have been a favorite among farmers and homesteaders who grow certain things simply to reduce feed bills. Feed can become expensive quick, even with only a few animals. Most of them will eat the Mangle Beets, from rabbits and deer, to pigs and woodchucks. Rumor has it that when you grow your own rabbit feed with Mangle Beets, they especially adore the Golden Eckendorf variety.
- Oats - Oats are even easier to grow than beets, and are quite delicious to rabbits. Before the days of rabbit pellets, oats were a major part of most domestic rabbit food intakes. It is very common to mix in other things with the oats which add taste and flavor. Some ideas could be wheat, sunflower seeds, barley, and even corn, all of which can be farmed at home.
- The oats should be put in the soil during spring. What’s needed is a loamy soil, but the seeds will take and germinate even if the dirt is still a bit cold. When it’s time to harvest, the rabbit will munch those things down even if they’re presented as chunks of dry straw, seed heads and all.
- Wheat - What doesn’t love wheat? When you grow your own rabbit feed with wheat, you can approach it much the same way as with oats. However, many people find it easy to pick the seed heads and then add that to their feed.
- Alfalfa - Along with things like Barley, Rye, and Buckwheat, Alfalfa is a high protein addition to any rabbit feed. They love it, but for some it can be a little more difficult to get hold of. Typically farmers dice this stuff up and throw it in their silos. The best thing about Alfalfa is that it basically grows as easily and in the same way as grass. Like oats, plant it in the spring, wait for the blossoms to show, and then once dry rabbits will eagerly devour the clover hay.
If there’s room to garden, then there’s simply no reason to pay for rabbit food. Not when it’s so easy to grow your own rabbit feed with things like corn, oats, alfalfa, wheat, sunflower seeds, buckwheat, and mangle beats. Not only are they a cinch to grow, but are quite aromatic and a true blessing for the soil. Remember to use non-GMO seeds, and spring planted stuff seems to be their favorite.
