Rabbits are exclusive herbivores with the inability to digest meat but they still require protein in their diet. Hay and fodder can give a rabbit what they need. But what is fodder?
Fodder is grass or grain seeds grown or sprouted in water as animal feed. Wheat, barley, oats and even flax can be grown for fodder. Ever grown wheatgrass for your green smoothies? That is a form of fodder.
I grow a small amount of fodder for our rabbitry. I have not replaced traditional pellet feed with fodder but have supplemented it with the fresh greens. Currently I am growing wheat fodder but normally I grow barley grass. Barley fodder has a protein content of approximately 16%. Not bad!
Our fodder growing setup is not a huge wall system like most large scale ranchers will have in a barn. It sits on a table near my kitchen. It uses the flood and drain method. You water the top bins and the water drains out the holes in the bottom to rain on the lower bins. There is a large bin on the bottom without holes to catch the water.
This is just enough fodder for our buns at the current time. I have larger bins for a bigger system that will feed new litters once they are weaned or weaning. I have given litters fodder in the past but they don't get very much since our current setup turns 1/4 pound of seed into 1-1 1/2 pounds of fodder. The larger setup should turn one pound of seed into 4+ pounds of fodder.
Our rabbits are given unlimited fresh timothy hay every day. I will say that not all rabbits like hay as some of ours will eat a small amount of hay while others will empty their hay hangers several times a day. I have offered orchard grass hay and there are some rabbits that will eat it but not the timothy hay. They all have their preferred tastes but they all seem to enjoy the fodder.
They do get dry pellets daily. I opt for a non-GMO organic hay based pellet that is free of corn and soy. There are a lot of good pellets on the market but it all comes down to what you have available to you. I have to either order it online or drive to the feed & tack a few towns over for it when they have it in stock. I do time those trips so I can get a bale of hay and fodder seed at the same time.
The goal for our rabbitry is to be off pellets except when the does are pregnant/nursing and kits are weaning. The way to get there is increase fresh greens and hay. I want our buns to eat a diet as close to a natural one as possible. I will post more as I build the new fodder system complete with automatic drip system for watering.
Keep your feet dry, wear your rain boots!
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