shared post from FB
Part 3 of 4
This is part three of a series of posts to answer the question of alternative sustainable feeds that will support rabbit production and profitability.
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) leaves for rabbit feed. They are highly nutritious. This is good news, because anyone can grow sweet potato leaves year round. I just keep some sweet potatoes in the house sprouting vines all year round. They make an excellent house plant, and I let the vines drape beautifully over the top windows as they grow. Then I cut them for food. They re-grow. Fresh food even when it is not the outdoor growing season! The problem I have is that sweet potato leaves are great and tasty human food too…The choice of feeding to rabbits or to humans is there. Please note that these are NOT potato leaves. Potato vines and leaves are toxic. These are sweet potatoes. If you happen to live where you can grow sweet potatos outdoors, you can harvest the leaves for your table or for feeding to your rabbits, right from your garden. Grow the sweet potatoes too, and save some for a truly sustainable food source.. This is a common feed source in areas where sweet potatoes originate. Studies conducted on sweet, but sprouting them. Sweet potato as a feed source for rabbit production shows that good results are seen when included up to 50% of the diet.
Mulberry leaves. The protein content can vary from 15-28 % depending on the variety of mulberry. The leaves also have an impressive mineral content. They are highly palatable and digestible. Mulberry trees are famed for feed for silkworms. If you happen to have a mulberry tree on your place, and do not need the leaves for feeding silkworms, there are studies that show that rabbits can be fed exclusively on mulberry leaves. A Cambridge University press study on mulberry diet (partial diet) for meat rabbits showed that the meat carcass volumes were the same (as compared to conventional diets), but that the meat of the rabbits fed mulberry was more moist and from that standpoint was more desirable. Mulberry trees are a good thing to consider for the homestead/farm/backyard. The berries are an edible crop, with the asset of having a high concentration of anti-oxidants and resveratrol. The dried leaves can be kept to winter feed for rabbits and other livestock too.
Comfrey – There are different varieties of comfrey with different growth characteristics. I will not cover that here. Do your own research. This is sometimes a controversial plant, because it has a reputation of can spreading like wildfire if you do not take care of it. Grow it in containers, or an area where you can contain it. But this is a hugely beneficial plant. I can attest to the fact that the best salve can be made from it. Janet Beebe (A very knowledgeable member of this FB group) saved the day when she gave me some salve she had made. I also got my start of comfrey where we now live, from her (THANK YOU Janet!) . Comfrey is an excellent sustainable animal feed and also makes an excellent garden mulch (and you can make great fertilizer tea with it). On to feeding comfrey to rabbits. It is an immune stimulator and can be calming. It is a good source of vitamin A and a great support of pregnant and nursing does. It is also a good source of vitamin B12. That being said, limit the dietary intake to one large leaf per day. I am still undecided as to the inclusion in livestock diets on a regular basis, due to new research indicating that its cell growth stimulation qualities, MAY encourage growth of cancers in humans…Nothing conclusive in studies that I can find yet.
KangKong (also called Chinese Water Spinach, water morning glory, Ipomoea aquatica). I became familiar with this plant during one of our sustainable farming projects in Honduras. It is a nutritious plant that has two distinct varieties, and can grow in water, in wetlands or in well watered soil. It is used as a human food crop (very, very tasty) or as a livestock feed, or both. Some people use the stalk for human food and feed the blade to livestock, and in this case specifically rabbits. Where can you get this plant? The easiest source is to go to an ethnic food store that sells food from Asia. It may be sold under any one of the names I mentioned. It roots really easily. Just stick it in a bucket of water. If you add worm castings to the water (1/3 cup castings to 1 gallon of water) you will have a great rooting solution. Worm castings contain plant growth hormones (Auxins and gibberellins), which enhance root growth, and make an excellent rooting solution. If you do not have worm castings, cut up the tender growing ends of willow tree branches (any species of willow) into 1” lengths and add to the water. Willow tree branch ends also contain a concentration of root growth hormone. The Kangkong will root and you can plant it in a kiddie pool with some soil on the bottom. You can keep it very wet, or you can fill it with water, depending on how you wish to manage it. Kangkong does grow well in an aquaponics system too. It can be simply grown in a tote with some soil. TO harvest, just cut off the stem and feed it to the rabbits. Studies show that the high nutritive value of kangkong is beneficial to rabbits and can be included in volumes of up to 50-75% of their diet. It gives good production and aids in profitability. Once this crop is established you can let some of it go to seed, giving you a crop you can continually harvest from and a way to replant too. IT is a warm climate crop, so it works well as a seasonal one outdoors in cold climates, but can be grown indoors easily.
More info following in part 4.
Deanne, De Converse
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Backyard.Meat.Rabbits/permalink/1364691580321438/