Flemish diet

[lahopkins0204]

I have flemish giants and feed a pro feed from purina and a manapro feed. We were recently at a rabbit show & I was talking to the girl who's flemish got BOB. He was almost a year old & weighed just about 21 lbs. She said they feed only whole kernal corn (dried of course) or ear corn then pellets a month before fair.

I thought I read that corn can cause digestive problems??? I was wondering if this was good for them?

Thanks,

Lisa

 

[Leaf]

As far as I know, only the little white tab in a kernel of corn is actually able to be digested by a rabbit.

My Flemish is 23#and is mostly on a hay based diet with supplimental pellets and plents of veggies.

 

[krsbunny]

I assume your primary interest with your bunnies is promoting a long and healthy life and in that context I would personally recommend not feeding corn. My impression is that corn may have some "short term benefits," especially in certain breeds ... but with high health costs later in life.

I have three bunnies who were rescued from a meat farm in WV where they were being "fattened up" on corn. The two that were there until the were 8 weeks old have somewhat "touchy tummies" while the one that was removed at a younger age has a more stable digestive system.

It sounds like the diet you are now feeding is a good one ... and my philosophy is "if it's not broken, don't fix it."

Kathy Smith

 

[naturestee]

That's a new one. Usually the Flemish people I know talk about adding Calf Manna or something like that, mainly while the rabbit is still growing. Corn has a lot of carbs that rabbits aren't designed to digest well, plus there are rumors that corn kernals can cause GI blockage. I don't know how likely that is but it's best not to have a carb-filled diet anyway.

The rabbits' adult weight is more from genetics/body frame than diet supplements. Some healthy Flemish will weight 15 lbs, others 25 lbs. And especially with giant breeds like Flemish which are prone to sore hocks due to size, you don't want extra weight on them.

 

[ra7751]

Corn also is very prone to mold and mycotoxins....I do not feed my rabbits corn. And OT but corn isn't so healthy for squirrels either.

I have two adult Flemish and one baby. My largest Flemish is well over 25 pounds. He is bonded to another Flemish....the baby. They get very few pellets but lots of hay and greens. If we gave him more pellets, he would weigh over 30 pounds. I prefer a healthy rabbit toa fat rabbit....and a fat rabbit is prone to a life threatening condition known as Hepatic Lipidosis...aka Fatty Liver Disease. My Flemish get the same diet as the rest of our rabbits....low protein, high fiber.

Randy

 

[werecatrising]

I had been meaning to ask what people feed their flemies. The breeder I got mine from said he should be getiing a cup and a half of pellets a day! I give him nowhere near that and he is still a little plump.

 

[lahopkins0204]

Hi everyone & thanks for all your input.

I think it was actually on a bag of ManaPro that I read it had low/no corn to prevent digestive problems.

I thought it was odd that that was all this girl fed her rabbits....like I said, they were huge & looked rather healthy but I think they need more than just corn.

I feed pellets w/ black sunflower seedsin the p.m.and hay in the a.m. I would like to give fresh fruits and/or veggies but not sure what I should give them???

Thanks again for everyone's input!

Lisa

 

[naturestee]

Veggies!
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=13618&forum_id=17

Start with one veggie (I like to start with parsley) and feed in a small amount at a time, then increasing. Then add the next veggie. Stick mainly to leafy greens.

I feed cranberries regularly. I buy them fresh, toss the whole bag in the freezer, and feed them frozen to the buns. Some like to eat them frozen, others let them thaw before they gobble them up. They're a really healthy treat.

 

[S_Toast]

My thoughts on feeding corn to any animal other than livestock.... What happens when you eat corn? Comes out the same as it goes in" Not highly digestable.

 

[ra7751]

A quick word about "looking healthy". Huge is not good. Huge usually means a fat rabbit. Fat rabbits usually die an early death from Hepatic Lipidosis....aka Fatty Liver Disease. The liver is extremely stressed in obese rabbits. Metabolic Bone Disease is also something to consider. Many times the animals will "look" healthy but are in fact, very sick. MBD is nearly always a nutritional issue caused by improper food. It is a very common issue in baby wildlife when people (illegally but well intentioned) that are untrained try to "care" for these animals. Squirrels, opossums and birds are very prone to MBD. While they may appear healthy, they may have very brittle bones....and since a rabbit's skeletal system makes up only 7% of it's body mass...that can easily lead to fractures. Fur loss, weight loss, deformities, CNS problems including seizures...even shifting teeth due to the softer than normal jaw bone....and many other issues might be present. Something else I am seeing more often as we have more inside rabbits is a D3 deficiency. D3 comes from two places...either exposure to direct unfilteredsunlight or supplements in fortified foods. Many rabbits that are inside and/or are fed low quality food will develop this vitamin deficiency. Proper diet in a domestic rabbit is low protein (limited high qualitypellets) and high fiber (unlimited grass hay) along with limited greens.

Randy

 

[naturestee]

Randy, on the Vitamin D deficiency, what are symptoms and how do you treat it? Just put them on a more appropriate diet? Most of the rabbits brought to the Humane Society have been eating cruddy food like Small World or Kaytee Fiesta. Ugh. I don't know what alfalfa pellets we feed (probably a mix of donated stuff) but at least the timothy pellets that all the adults get are good quality Oxbow.