Rabbit Questions and Answers Cheryl: Corn in Product   Friday, May 17th, 2013 Question: Does your Honor Show Lamb have corn in it? My son raises rabbits and we are playing with show feeds with high energy for his meat pen rabbits. If it has no corn in it he can use the Honor Show Lamb, and it would be cost efficient for us making and mixing it as we do now. Answer: Cheryl, Thank you for your question. The Honor Show Chow Showlamb feeds do contain corn, and a fairly large amount. I do not recommend feeding it to rabbits as it is not labeled for rabbits. It also contains medication (Deccox) that is not approved for use in rabbits by the FDA. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon Honor Show Chow Nutritionist Scott: Rabbit Supplement   Thursday, January 17th, 2013 Question: Trying to gain a little edge on the competition. I have always used HSC for the chickens. My question is, going by the feeding recommendations that is listed on this site and using the recommended supplements, do you mix in the feed or sprinkle on top of the feed? Also, when using these supplements, do you recommend any water supplements? Any and all info would be greatly appreciated. Answer: Scott, In general, I do not recommend supplements for rabbits. Feed a good quality rabbit feed, period. Rabbits, like any other critter, will sort, and if they sort out and eat a significant amount of something that does not have a decent amount of fiber, then they end up diluting the fiber concentration of their total diet, and that is never — repeat, never — a good thing. Years ago we did a research product at the Gray Summit Rabbitry in which we tried feeding Rabbit Chow with 5 or 10% Athlete and/or Animax included. Two things happened: 1) when it was mixed with the feed, the rabbits scrabbled all the feed out of the feeders to preferentially eat the tasty particles, creating tremendous waste, and 2) within a few weeks we had three rabbits dead from enteritis. People serious about showing rabbits should start with the best genetics they can get and then feed a high quality complete pellet. Since show rabbits often travel and get handled a lot, a small handful of grass hay every few days can help maintain optimal digestive function. There is no magic nutritional bullet that will take a rabbit beyond its genetic potential. Thank you, Mikelle Roeder, Ph.D., P.A.S. Nutritionist, Technical Support Private Label, Companion Animal & Horse Business Groups Purina Animal Nutrition LLC Kristy: Stained Feet   Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 Question: I got 2 rabbits for my kids that are in the 4H club. They are for show and the fair starts next week. They have yellow on their feet and tail and that cannot be their for judging. I was told to use peroxide and cornstarch and that did not work. What else can I do? Answer: Hi Kristy, Stained feet can be a real challenge, especially if your rabbits are white. To try to prevent stains, make sure the rabbits do not have the opportunity to step in urine or feces. Try providing them a litter box as most rabbits learn very quickly to use the box or at least bed them relatively deeply in fresh litter and clean it often. I know you do not want to hear this, but it is practically impossible to remove stains. You can try distilled witch hazel on a cotton ball or cloth to wipe the feet, but long standing stains are pretty stubborn. Your best bet is to trim the hair in the feet and let clean hair grow in. Clean the feet often, keep the rabbits on clean surfaces, and hope the hair grows back quickly. Do not try a lot of home remedies because they will not work and they can be harmful to the rabbit. Mikelle Roeder, Ph.D., P.A.S. Nutritionist, Technical Support Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, LLC Sam: Supplement   Monday, September 24th, 2012 Question: What supplement can I give to my meat pen rabbit to harden them up? Answer: Hi Sam, Rabbits on a properly designed and fortified product fed at correct amounts will not need supplements to harden up. Mushy rabbits are rabbits with too much fat cover, and this is usually a result of overfeeding, especially if the feed product has too much energy per unit of protein or the protein is of inadequate quality (meaning it is not supplying the correct amounts of essential amino acids). If meat rabbits are pushed to grow faster than their genetic potential for muscle development, they will lay down that extra caloric intake as fat. Different genetic lines of rabbits have different capacities for muscle growth, feed efficiency, etc, and thus some will tend to lay down more fat while others will produce lean tissue growth. It is likely that your animals simply have a little too much fat cover rather than a lack of hard muscle. One way to help them develop muscle is to put the water and food at opposite ends of the cage from each other and put a small board in the center, so the rabbit has to hop over the board to go from feed to water and back. This can add a significant amount of exercise to the life of a sedentary penned rabbit. Feeding a high quality feed is also of importance, the cost per unit of gain is the real value you must consider, not the price on the bag, especially if additional supplements are necessary. It is always a bit problematic to feed supplements to rabbits, they tend to sort and if they decide they like the supplement much better than the feed, they may even reduce their intake of the feed, thus reducing their growth rate and/or limiting their intake of the total fiber necessary for digestive health. Rabbits are very prone to digestive upsets; it is best to simply feed one high quality feed. Keeping good breeding and growth records will help you identify animals that are under performers and should be culled in order to improve the overall genetic potential of your herd. Mikelle Roeder, Ph.D., P.A.S. Nutritionist, Technical Support Private Label, Companion Animal & Horse Business Groups Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, LLC Devina: Skin Irritation   Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 Question: An air freshener liquid fell on my rabbit and her skin looks red now. Is she burned and is the fur going to fall off her body? Answer: Devina, Since I cannot see the rabbit and I do not know what chemicals were present in the air freshener, I cannot say if the accident will result in hair loss. Obviously the dermis (skin) is irritated, but if the only symptom is reddening (no cracking or blistering), then very likely it will heal without any scarring or hair loss. However, if you are in doubt or the skin changes for the worse, then please take the rabbit to a veterinarian. At the very least, use some water or damp cloth and a mild baby soap to wash any air freshener residue from the area. You do not want it to stay on the skin and you do not want the rabbit licking it off. Be sure to thoroughly remove any soap residue as well. Thank you for your business! Mikel Roeder Honor Show Chow Ambassador Reid: Feeding Babies   Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 Question: We currently feed Purina Honor Show Chow to our rabbit. She recently had her first litter of babies. Is this what we should start the babies out on also? Answer: Reid, Yes, both feeds are appropriate for all classes/ages of rabbits. Thank you! Mikelle Roeder, Ph.D., P.A.S. Nutritionist, Technical Support Feed Solutions/Companion Animal Business Groups Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, LLC Paul: Where Can I Find The HSC Product?   Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 Question: I was told by my local Tractor Supply Store Manager that he could only order feeds that were on his sheet from TSC. He told me that in order for him to carry the Honor Show Chow feeds that it would have to come from TSC management. I was wondering if Honor Show Chow could help get it to where our local TSC store could order the Show Chow line of feeds. Answer: Paul, Thank you for your question and interest in HONOR Show Chow. In Alabama, you can obtain the HONOR Show Chow show products at your local Purina dealer. To find your local dealer, go to our website: honorshowchow.com then click on the Dealer Locater button. You can find this on the yellow bar in the middle of the screen to the far right. Then enter your 5 digit zip code. This will produce your local dealers with phone numbers and addresses. Thanks again, Dr. Kevin Burgoon HONOR Show Chow Nutritionist Brock: Holding   Friday, September 9th, 2011 Question: Does Purina make a product that you can feed to hold rabbits? If not, what can I do to slow their weight gain down? Answer: Brock, The Fibre3 product would be our best holding product but the best method of weight control is to limit-feed the animals. A typical adult New Zealand rabbit needs about 6 oz of feed per day for maintenance. I would suggest that the customer simply feed less of what he is already feeding, and monitor the animals closely to find that point at which they are maintaining but not losing or gaining weight. The best way to do this with rabbits is to get your hands on them and feel them every day so that you have a good sense of when they have an appropriate layer of subcutaneous fat over firm muscling. Mikelle Roeder, Ph.D., P.A.S. Nutritionist, Technical Support Feed Solutions/Companion Animal Business Groups Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, LLC Angel: Feed   Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 Question: I am feeding my English Spot show rabbits the Purina Show Chow along with free choice hay and green veggies. My female is a tiny bit under weight and my male a tiny bit over weight. They are both healthy and worm free. Should I change what I am doing? They get 7 hours of play time each in a 12 ft x 12 ft room. The breeder says they should be on fibre 3 and waiting 1/3 cup with no fresh veggies. I am giving 1/8 cup to the buck of show. Chow and 1/4 cup to the doe. Answer: Hi, Angel. First of all, I applaud you for paying attention to the condition of your rabbits and asking after their health. A few things do concern me, but they are easily fixed. 1) 1/8 cup of any feed is probably not going to provide enough vitamins and minerals to meet your bucks needs. Since he is a little overweight, I would recommend that you not offer him free choice hay. Limit the hay to a handful or two per day, and keep the fresh veggies to a minimum also. This will allow you to increase his feed to at least a quarter cup (about 2 oz) and monitor his weight. The fact that he gets exercise is excellent! Once he reaches the desired weight, you can add a little more hay until he is holding at the proper weight. 2) Since your female is underweight, again I would limit the hay and veggies, but for a different reason. They will not be as calorically dense as the Show feed, so I would gradually increase the Show feed by 50% and cut back on the less dense feed to ensure that she eats all the Show feed. Once she reaches her desired weight, you can offer more hay and veggies, but only if she continues to clean up her pellets. I am assuming you feed them separately. If not, be sure that they receive their pellets while separated, just to make sure the buck is not eating some of the doe food. I do not think you need to switch to Fibre3; you are already feeding some hay, thus providing plenty of long stem fiber, plus these are show rabbits, so they will benefit from the additional oils and more dense nutrient fortification of the Show feed. You just need a little dietary tweaking. English Spots are beautiful rabbits! I wish you great luck in the show ring! Sincerely, Mikelle Roeder, Ph.D., P.A.S. Nutritionist, Technical Support Feed Solutions/Companion Animal Business Groups Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, LLC Tracey: Product   Monday, March 8th, 2010 Question: What is the best feed that purina makes for raising meat pens of rabbits? Answer: Tracey, Our best feed for meat pen/meat rabbits is Rabbit Chow Professional Natural AdvantEdge. It is our highest protein diet (18%) and our highest energy diet. Rabbit Chow Professional will provide for the best lean-muscle weight gains. Also our best option for does on a very intensive (8 cycles/year) breeding program. Thank you very much, Gary Lynch, Ph.D. Companion Animal Business Group Zach: Health   Thursday, January 21st, 2010 Question: I have been raising rabbits for a few years now and every year our rabbits fur looks a little rough. What could I do to get my rabbits fur just right? Is there anything I can put on or in there feed or water? Answer: To get the best fur on a rabbit they really need an adequate supply of the basic nutrients: Protein, trace minerals and essential fatty acids. We find that because rabbits can select out added ingredients, we have the best success with a properly formulated pelleted complete diet. A 16% protein diet that is well balanced in amino acids will be more than sufficient. Likewise a good rabbit diet should have the trace minerals needed to product a quality hair and skin coat. Purina Rabbit Chow Natural AdvantEdge Show Formula has an added vegetable oil blend, which we have found provides extra essential fatty acids, which helps maximize fur quality. This would be a diet that you may want to transition some of your rabbits to and see if it helps hair coat. Another item to consider is are your rabbits being wormed periodically? A parasite load will reduce the absorption of nutrients, and poor quality fur is a potential symptom of parasites. Thank you very much, Gary Lynch, Ph.D. Companion Animal Business Group