R

Rabbit &Guinea Pig

Feeds

Guinea Pigs Care and Housing - Guinea pigs are sensitive to chills and drafts. The cage temperature should not go below 65 to 70°F. A piece of wood may be provided (for chewing) to help their four, long front chisel teeth wear uniformly. Toe nails should be clipped every month. Guinea pigs are best kept in a cage with an open area to exercise and eat, and a covered nest box for sleeping. One guinea pig requires at least two square feet of living space. The cage should be bedded with clean shavings, straw or hay. When caring for a young, orphaned guinea pig or one with digestive upset, try feeding some naturally cultured yogurt.

Feeding - Guinea pigs are generally considered leaf eaters rather than grain eaters. Their diet may be supplemented with fresh timothy hay, clover, comfrey, potato peelings, carrots, cabbage, kale, lettuce, and other green garden vegetables. All fresh greens should be thoroughly washed to remove possible herbicides and other potentially toxic residues before feeding.

Breeding - The gestation period is about 68 days and the litter size varies from 1 to 6. If the sow is not re-bred within a few hours after giving birth, she will not accept a boar again until she has weaned her litter. The sow will wean the litter between 21/2 and 4 weeks of age. After weaning, the young guinea pigs should be separated by sex to prevent unwanted breeding. For best results, sows should not be bred before 6 months of age (nearly 2 lb body weight) and boars at about 8 months of age. Sows remain reproductively active for about 5 years and boars for 6 to 7 years. The average life span is as high as 8 years.

Management Tips

RabbitsRabbits require a certain amount of fiber in their diets. Fiber in long-form (hay) is a more effective form than the same amount of fiber ground up and packed into a feed pellet. Even when a “complete feed” pellet is fed, some long-form fiber should be offered. Insufficient total fiber and lack of long-form fiber in the diet may lead to a fur-chewing habit. Rabbits should also have a certain amount of fiber in their diet to help reduce the incidence on enteritis (inflammation of the intestine). An effective way to handle enteritis and/or diarrhea-affected rabbits is isolation and a hay-only (no Rabbit pellets) diet until the problem clears up - which is usually a few days. If you cannot isolate the animal, put the whole cage on the hay-only diet.

Protein - Protein is an important building block to early muscle development, rapid and proper weight gain, breeding herd maintenance, wool production and the overall health of rabbits.

Feeding - Rabbits should be fed at the same time every day. Regularity of feeding is more important than the number of feedings per day. (Note: when arranging your feeding schedule, remember that most rabbits eat more at night than during the day, especially in warm weather.) Any changes in feeding schedule or ration should be made gradually to prevent rabbits from going off their feed. This is especially important for pregnant does. If they do go off feed, reduce the amount fed and try to induce their appetite with carrots, bread and milk, or fresh greens.

Females with litters should have pellets and clean fresh water before them at all times. Does without litters and adult bucks should be fed no more pellets than can be cleaned up in about one hour.

Weaning - Babies start nibbling solid feed at about 3 to 4 weeks of age and because of less milk production, the mothers start the natural process of weaning their babies at about 4 to 5 weeks of age. At this age, the babies’ solid feed (pellets) intake increases significantly. Avoid the stress of separation from their mothers as they are weaning them and they are just beginning to eat increased amounts of solid feed. A loss of babies may occur if they are separated from their mother at this time. We recommend that weaning/separation from the mother occur at 8 weeks of age.

Breeding - Breeding age depends on the maturity of the individual rabbit. Generally, it varies from 4 to 5 months for small breeds, to 9 to 12 months for giant breeds. Early spring is the normal breeding season for rabbits and it is during this period that the conception rate is highest. The gestation length is 31 to 32 days.

A 35-day re-breeding schedule will allow for weaning/ separation of the litter at 8 weeks of age and about a 10 to 11 day rest for the doe before she kindles again. This schedule has the potential to produce 5 litters/doe/year.

The Kindle to Kindle Cycle Day Week Kindle 0 0 Re-Breed 35 5Weaning/Separation 56 8Kindle 67 9 ½

Well-cared-for does should produce litters until 21/2 to 3 years of age and occasionally longer. All breeding stock should be protected from extreme or sudden changes in temperature which may cause both does and bucks to go into a barren period that can last from 4 to 10 weeks. When selecting offspring for breeding stock, choose from those whose parents reproduced regularly.

KENT NUTRITION GROUP, INC.Muscatine, IA 52761 | 866.647.1212

www.kentnutritiongroup.com | www.blueseal.com

BS-09-777-612 | One Step: 8K-612

Benefits of Show Hutch Deluxe®,

Bunny 16, Hutch Extra™ 17, and Hutch Plus™ 18

Fixed Formulation ensures consistent, high-quality pellets from bag to bag. This prevents sudden changes in the diet and improves digestive health and function.

Chelated Trace Minerals for increased bio-availability to support immune system function. This is especially valuable to growing, pregnant and nursing rabbits.

Supplemental Copper helps prevent diarrhea and intestinal enteritis.

Yeast Culture promotes healthy functional microbial fermentation for improved fiber digestion.

Probiotics promote a more stable digestive tract environment for improved digestion and overall rabbit health.

Yucca Extract aids in improved digestion and overall rabbit health.

ProductsShow Hutch Deluxe® - Our super-premium, highly fortified and highly digestible, extruded feed for all rabbit categories. Show Hutch Deluxe® (containing papaya) is ideal for show rabbitries looking for the very best. It is also an excellent feed for rabbits being raised for wool. The added papaya helps prevent and eliminate hairballs. The extrusion process improves feed digestibility and nutrient utilization, and produces less fines reducing the risk of respiratory disorders.

Hutch Plus™ 18 - Our highly fortified, high-protein, high-energy pelleted diet recommended for commercial rabbitries specifically for rapid growth, pregnant does, and does and litters fed one diet after babies leave the nest box.

Hutch Extra™ 17 - Our premium pelleted “complete feed” diet designed for all rabbit categories. This highly fortified and digestible, high-fiber pellet is an excellent show feed.

Bunny 16 - Our popular, “maintenance plus” rabbit pellet, is a fortified and palatable diet for pets, herd bucks and dry does. A perfect choice for your long-eared, fluffy friends.

Rabbit 15 - An economical, yet fortified pelleted diet designed for maintenance of idle adult and pet rabbits.

Guinea Pig Pels - An excellent nutritional diet for maintenance, growth, and reproduction of guinea pigs. Guinea pigs are one of the few animals that require vitamin C. Guinea Pig Pels are adequately supplemented with vitamin C to meet this requirement and are intended to be fed as a complete diet.

In the chart above, we are specific in our recommendations about which feed best meets requirements in various life stages. The suggested feeding programs are intended solely as a guide. Provide clean and fresh water at all times.

*Extruded feeds weigh significantly less than pelleted feeds. Feed by weight and not by volume to avoid underfed rabbits.

**Total doe and litter at weaning may consume up to about 48 ounces/day.

Management and genetics will have an affect on the effectiveness of the use of these products without additional roughage sources. Although these products can be fed without hay, feeding a supplemental roughage will reduce the incidence of digestive disorders.

Analysis of FeedsPRODUCTS Form Crude Protein

Min. %Crude FatMin. %

Crude Fiber Max. %

RABBIT FEEDS

Show Hutch Deluxe® Extruded 17.0 3.0 18.0

Hutch Plus™ 18 Pellet 18.0 3.0 15.0

Hutch Extra™ 17 Pellet 17.0 2.5 18.0

Bunny 16 Pellet 16.0 2.5 18.0

Rabbit 15 Pellet 15.0 2.0 20.0

GUINEA PIG FEED

Guinea Pig Pels Pellet 20.0 4.0 16.0

Sunshine Plus™

A highly palatable and nutrient-rich conditioning supplement containing yeast culture and probiotics designed to increase performance and feed utilization for animals under the stress of showing, breeding, lactation & growth.

Vitamin A, Min..................................... 25,000 IU/lbVitamin D, Min........................................3,500 IU/lbVitamin E, Min.......................................... 525 IU/lb

Feed 1 - 2 tsp/day

Suggested Feeding ProgramsPRODUCTS Maintenance

approx. ounces/dayGrowth

approx. ounces/dayGestation

approx. ounces/dayLactation

approx. ounces/day

RABBIT FEEDS

Show Hutch Deluxe®* 3 to 6 (restrict) 4 to 8 (free choice) 4 to 8 (restrict) 8 to 16 (free choice)**

Hutch Plus™ 18 4 to 8 (free choice) 4 to 8 (restrict) 8 to 16 (free choice)**

Hutch Extra™ 17 3 to 6 (restrict) 4 to 8 (free choice) 4 to 8 (restrict) 8 to 16 (free choice)**

Bunny 16 3.5 to 6.5 (restrict) 4 to 8 (free choice)

Rabbit 15 3.5 to 7 (restrict) 4.5 to 8.5 (free choice)

Sunshine Plus™ 1 to 2 tbls/day 1 to 2 tbls/day 1 to 2 tbls/day

GUINEA PIG FEED

Guinea Pig Pels 2 to 6 1 to 3 2 to 4 3 to 8