Healthy Diet for a Rabbit
What's all the big fuss about? Just buy commercial "rabbit food" and be done with it, right?! Not really.
Just like any commercial foods, companies want to make big bucks and most do not actually care how they affect your pet (whether that be a dog, cat or rabbit). They add products into feed to increase "protein" and "fibre" or use products merely just to "bulk out" foods without caring that actually these animals would never eat this in the wild! Not every fibre or protein is equal. They are not all the same and have differing affects on the body. For example, peas are often used in all pet foods to increase the amount of protein the food can state it has. For dog and cat food, the consumer will think their beloved dog is having more "meat" thinking this accounts for the protein but its actually from peas... an odd ingredient for dogs and cats!?. Pea's are used because they are cheap and bulky. The same is true for rabbit foods. Wild rabbits do not eat peas. Probably the most shocking example is grains. Cats, dogs and rabbits do not eat grains yet grains make up the majority in most of these foods. It is often the case that these grains are difficult to digest for dogs/ cats and are too high in suagrs for rabbits. Also their digestive system does not naturally contain the right enzymes to break grains down. The dog will end up poorly, more often than not, this will display as skin conditions and poorly tummies.
So, I think you can see what I am getting at. The only priority of some pet food companies is making a whacking huge profit. It's extremely important to check the ingredients of your bunnies food to ensure your bunnies health and I will try my best to help and guide you on this blog post.
Just like any commercial foods, companies want to make big bucks and most do not actually care how they affect your pet (whether that be a dog, cat or rabbit). They add products into feed to increase "protein" and "fibre" or use products merely just to "bulk out" foods without caring that actually these animals would never eat this in the wild! Not every fibre or protein is equal. They are not all the same and have differing affects on the body. For example, peas are often used in all pet foods to increase the amount of protein the food can state it has. For dog and cat food, the consumer will think their beloved dog is having more "meat" thinking this accounts for the protein but its actually from peas... an odd ingredient for dogs and cats!?. Pea's are used because they are cheap and bulky. The same is true for rabbit foods. Wild rabbits do not eat peas. Probably the most shocking example is grains. Cats, dogs and rabbits do not eat grains yet grains make up the majority in most of these foods. It is often the case that these grains are difficult to digest for dogs/ cats and are too high in suagrs for rabbits. Also their digestive system does not naturally contain the right enzymes to break grains down. The dog will end up poorly, more often than not, this will display as skin conditions and poorly tummies.
So, I think you can see what I am getting at. The only priority of some pet food companies is making a whacking huge profit. It's extremely important to check the ingredients of your bunnies food to ensure your bunnies health and I will try my best to help and guide you on this blog post.
The Importance of a High Fibre Diet
Bunnies have complicated diestive systems that are totally different to our own. They need the majority of their diet to be high in fibre, low in protein and low in carbohydrates (sugars). A diet which is too high in carbohydrates can be the cause of serious life threatening illness.
Feeding your bunnies the right foods is critical for;
Feeding your bunnies the right foods is critical for;
- Overall Health – a rabbit eating a healthy diet is less likely to be ill and will have lovely soft fur and clear eyes. They will seem happy in themselves with no behavioural problems due to boredom. They will produce nice hard round pellet type poos with only the occasional caecal (soft squishy shiny poos clumped together) here and there.
- Healthy Teeth - Rabbit teeth continously grow, like our hair and nails. Having a healthy diet which is high in fibre will ensure rabbits teeth are kept nice and short (including the back teeth) with the constantly eating.
- Preventing common digestive illnesses - Fibre keeps the gut moving. Stalls in the gut movement can be fatal for bunnies. This is why hay should always be available to bunnies.
- Preventing Flystrike – excessive soft poos (caecals) which are not eaten by the rabbit can stick to rabbits bums, often caused by a diet which is too rich (too many pellets for example), which can lead to flies laying eggs in the poo stuck to the rabbit. When the larvae hatch they will literally eat the rabbit alive, burrowing into the rabbit (ugh). This is a very painful illness and is potentially fatal.
- Behavioural Problems – A rabbit should spend 8 hours a day eating! (My idea of heaven haha). If a rabbit doesn't have the right diet, combine this with being kept in a hutch for the majority of its life you are guaranteed a rabbit with behavioural problems (aggressive, grumpy, frustrated etc)
- Weight Management – If you are feeding a poor and inappropriate rabbit pellet then the chances are you are going to have an overweight bunny due to high fat content. Being overweight can seriously affect a bunnies quality of life as well as obvious health concerns. A bunny wont be able to clean themselves properly and could even end up with flystrike as a result of being dirty in their bottom area. You could even have a bunny with behaviour issues too as they are feeling uncomfortable and maybe in pain.
- Enable Bonding – If all you do is chuck in a bowl of food once a day for your bunny then you are missing a golden opportunity to bond with your rabbit by providing them with yummy natural foods fed by yourself. Your rabbit will become excited just by the sound of you coming to their living area, as they will know you are bringing something great. This is an easy way to begin to bond with your rabbit and associating yourself and your hands with food is not a bad foundation for the bond with your rabbit at all! A rabbit who is well bonded to its owner is much less likely to be rehomed at a later period.
- You can introduce some great toys for your bunny that they will love simply be adding some healthy treats to the items. They can transform items into the best toys ever with a little encouragement (in the shape of Kale or banana haha!).
Rabbits are like children, if they have the choice of eating high sugary treats instead of their natural food stuffs like grass, weeds and leafy greens, then they will always chose the sugary treats. Feeding a young rabbit the right healthy foods early on will prevent selective feeding later on in your buns life. Giving a bunny human treats like cake, bread, chocolate, biscuits etc is a huge no no.
A Rabbits Dietary Requirements
Fresh, clean drinking water available at all times. (be aware water bottles will freeze in winter so need changing constantly).
Hay and/or grass. Should always be available and make up the vast majority of the rabbits diet.
Pellets should contain a minimum of 18% fibre (from hay products, not grains or peas! Look at ingredients list, the majority of the food is the first on the list, if this isn't hay, look for a different food). Pellets should contain between 12-14% of protein generally and be low in fat.
Never feed a muesli type food to rabbits in couples or groups. This is because the food is only balanced based on one rabbit eating it; if you have two rabbits eating it, it is highly likely one will be more dominant and eat their favourite things first. This means neither rabbit actually has a healthy balanced diet and can cause serious problems. Unfortunately, I learned this from experience when I fed Chuddley's Rabbit Royale. If you do feed your single rabbit a muesli style food ensure the rabbit finishes everything in his/her bowl before re-filling. If you don't your rabbit will become very fussy very quickly and you will notice lots of sticky caecum type poos too (more about this below).
Grass and hay should make up the majority of all of a rabbits diet. That said, do not severly reduce a young rabbits pellets, get advice from your breeder. A young rabbit is growing and needs more food than an adult. Too much restriction could be dangerous.
No commercially bought food is ever "complete". Rabbits need hay, pellets and fresh weeds, herbs and leafy green vegetables as well as hay/grass.
Feed root vegetables (such as carrots) in small amounts as a treat. They are high in sugar and you may find that actually the rabbit prefers the leafy greens of the plant rather than the parts us humans tend to consume.
Fruit and commercial treats are a very rare treat. I, myself, dont actually feed fruit to my rabbits. I may feed strawberry tops, apple cores, dried banana pieces hidden in toys etc very rarely (once every couple of weeks).
If you let your rabbit in your garden lose, be sure to know what plants are poisonous. It is unlikely a rabbit will eat what is poisonous but it can happen.
If poos become irregularly shaped (as in very small and dry or diarrhoea like) or if your rabbit stops eating, this is a very serious situation and bunny can become very poorly within hours. Please seek medical advice.
Hay and/or grass. Should always be available and make up the vast majority of the rabbits diet.
Pellets should contain a minimum of 18% fibre (from hay products, not grains or peas! Look at ingredients list, the majority of the food is the first on the list, if this isn't hay, look for a different food). Pellets should contain between 12-14% of protein generally and be low in fat.
Never feed a muesli type food to rabbits in couples or groups. This is because the food is only balanced based on one rabbit eating it; if you have two rabbits eating it, it is highly likely one will be more dominant and eat their favourite things first. This means neither rabbit actually has a healthy balanced diet and can cause serious problems. Unfortunately, I learned this from experience when I fed Chuddley's Rabbit Royale. If you do feed your single rabbit a muesli style food ensure the rabbit finishes everything in his/her bowl before re-filling. If you don't your rabbit will become very fussy very quickly and you will notice lots of sticky caecum type poos too (more about this below).
Grass and hay should make up the majority of all of a rabbits diet. That said, do not severly reduce a young rabbits pellets, get advice from your breeder. A young rabbit is growing and needs more food than an adult. Too much restriction could be dangerous.
No commercially bought food is ever "complete". Rabbits need hay, pellets and fresh weeds, herbs and leafy green vegetables as well as hay/grass.
Feed root vegetables (such as carrots) in small amounts as a treat. They are high in sugar and you may find that actually the rabbit prefers the leafy greens of the plant rather than the parts us humans tend to consume.
Fruit and commercial treats are a very rare treat. I, myself, dont actually feed fruit to my rabbits. I may feed strawberry tops, apple cores, dried banana pieces hidden in toys etc very rarely (once every couple of weeks).
If you let your rabbit in your garden lose, be sure to know what plants are poisonous. It is unlikely a rabbit will eat what is poisonous but it can happen.
If poos become irregularly shaped (as in very small and dry or diarrhoea like) or if your rabbit stops eating, this is a very serious situation and bunny can become very poorly within hours. Please seek medical advice.
Rabbit Wont Eat Hay?
This may be because;
- rabbit is being given too many pellets; if this is the case your rabbit will be fat. Reduce the amount of pellets the rabbits has per day (any dietary changes should be made VERY VERY SLOWLY over a period of weeks). Check the food your feeding is a good food and not full of sugar..
- their diet is full of sweet foods. E.g. carrots, fruit, commercially bought treats. Rabbit has lost the taste for its natural foods. Take away sweet treats while your rabbits taste buds return. (again, changes should be made slowly over a long period of time).
- some breeders do not feed their rabbits hay, so your rabbit may need to become accustomed to hay. Try different brands and different types to find one your bunny loves.
- offer fresh grass cuttings (never ever lawn mower cuttings, it rots in bunnies guts).
- Try hay cubes and/or rings.
- grow fresh grass in pots for bunnies. They will enjoy digging it out if nothing else haha.
- There could be an underlying cause like misaligned teeth or gum/teeth problems. You can check your rabbits teeth by laying her in your arms like a baby on her back and pull her lips up gently exposing her teeth. They should be short, straight and the top and bottom set should be perfectly alligned. The teeth are actually worn down and kept short by them rubbing eachother when the rabbit eats (hence the need to eat constantly). If they aren't aligned/wonky they wont wear down properly. See a vet if you're worried.
Keep it interesting.
Change it up and try new things regularly for your bunny. In the wild rabbits spend 70% of their awake time foraging and eating, so making them work a bit for their food is good for them!
Why not try branches from fruit, willow and cherry treas! They will spend ages stripping off the bark. Hid their food in plant pots inside their houses and/or runs and the home. Hang their foog up so they have to reach for it. Wrap food in brown paper bags so they have to sniff and search! Try some food balls, puzzlers and mini kongs for bunnies food. See Boredom busters and toy ideas here.
Why not try branches from fruit, willow and cherry treas! They will spend ages stripping off the bark. Hid their food in plant pots inside their houses and/or runs and the home. Hang their foog up so they have to reach for it. Wrap food in brown paper bags so they have to sniff and search! Try some food balls, puzzlers and mini kongs for bunnies food. See Boredom busters and toy ideas here.