| The amount of feed pellets, hay and other foods | | | | especially does. Does start to build up fat which leads |
| necessary to keep your meat rabbits satisfied and | | | | to breeding complications and makes it more difficult |
| healthy is not set in stone and may vary from breed | | | | for them to give birth. If your meat rabbit suddenly |
| to breed, or even rabbit to rabbit. You will have to | | | | loses its appetite or has no interest in food, it could be |
| figure out for yourself whether your rabbits seem | | | | a sign of health problems. |
| overweight or underweight, and how you need to | | | | The easiest way to tell if you are giving your rabbit the |
| adjust their food intake. | | | | right amount of food is to stroke its backbone regularly. |
| Active, growing and producing meat rabbits need | | | | If the ridge of the backbone is present but feels |
| about 1100 calories a day. A doe and her litter will | | | | rounded, your meat rabbit is receiving the right amount |
| usually eat 100-120 lbs. of feed during an 8-week | | | | of food. If the ridges of the backbone feel pointed and |
| period. A variety of hay and straw must also be | | | | sharp, start giving your rabbit more food. If you can't |
| encouraged all day long (i.e. replenish available hay a | | | | feel the backbone, decrease your rabbit's intake. A |
| few times a day) so that your rabbits get all the fiber | | | | quick weekly check while you are inspecting feet and |
| and roughage needed. Be sure to also include plenty of | | | | other parts is recommended. |
| twigs for them to gnaw on which keep teeth filed | | | | Generally, pregnant does, lactating does with litters and |
| down. Rabbits can be fed twigs from apple, pear, fir, | | | | growing fryers (1-3 months old) can be fed as much |
| hazel, hawthorn, maple, spruce and willow trees or | | | | as they will eat (until they start leaving food behind). |
| from blackberry and raspberry patches. | | | | Replacement meat rabbits being brought into the |
| If your rabbit is leaving a lot of food behind from one | | | | breeding cycle and bucks you are currently using for |
| feeding to the next, cut back on feed. On the other | | | | breeding should be fed about 6-8 ounces of pellets a |
| hand, if your meat rabbit seems to be hungry all the | | | | day. Dry does and bucks which are no longer |
| time, give it more food. Just remember that | | | | reproducing have lighter needs of about 4-6 ounces a |
| overfeeding can lead to poorly producing meat rabbits, | | | | day. |