A Simple Guide to Your Rabbit's Diet
-
One of the questions we get asked most often is 'What do rabbits eat'? Here are five easy steps to providing a healthy diet for your bunny.
- Hay
Good quality hay should form the basis of your bun's diet - up to 70% of it. Timothy hay (made unsurprisingly from Timothy Grass) is the best variety if you can get hold of it. Rabbits need to keep food moving through their digestive system and hay provides this, as well as much needed fibre and something to chew all day. The chewing relieves boredom and very importantly keeps those bunny teeth nice and trim. Hay is low in calories so excellent for those bunnies on the tubby side.
- Greens
The next part of your rabbit's diet is leafy greens and vegetables. Bunnies need around 1 cup per 3 pounds of bodyweight, per day of fresh greens and vegetables. A good range is spinach, beet tops, carrot tops, parsley, cilantro, parsnips, kale (little amounts), chicory, turnip and dark lettuce leaves. Avoid iceberg (or lighter colored) lettuces as these contain few nutrients and may upset your rabbit's digestion.
- Pellets
Pellets were originally designed to promote quick growth on breeding and meat rabbits. They are high in calories and are now thought to be a significant factor in increasing obesity in pet rabbits. We recommend an all natural diet but if you do choose to feed pellets ensure you choose a high quality one (minimum 16% fibre) and based on Timothy hay.
- Treats
Fruits and high sugar vegetables such as carrots provide variety and additional nutrients for your bun however feed these sparingly as they can lead to weight gain. These are treat foods. Suitable fruits are strawberries, pineapple, apple (no pips), pears (again no pips), peaches, bananas and raspberries Can rabbits eat apples. The maximum you should feed is 1 tablespoon per 3 pounds of body weight per day.
NB: Fruits are only suitable for adult rabbits. Baby rabbits (under 6 months) should not be given fruits as it may cause diarrhea.