As with any animal, nutrition plays an important role for rabbits. It is important to know how best to feed your rabbit. While some people advocate feeding lots of fresh veggies, and others have found success in going on a more natural diet, I personally prefer to balance the two. It is best to adjust the diet you feed to your rabbit's personal preference as well, as what one might do well on, another might not.
A rabbit has a very sensitive digestive tract, and improper feeding is a leading cause of premature death for pet rabbits. Everything new should ALWAYS be added slowly, and your rabbit's poops monitored. Once a rabbit is accustomed to one thing, and having firm, proper poops, you can move onto adding the next thing. If ever your rabbit gets runny poops, cut back to simply pellets and hay until the poops are firm again.
Pellets fed should always be a plain pelleted feed, not a "complete feed" as offered by the pet store. These complete feeds are often filled with seeds and nuts that are high in fat, as well as dried fruits that are full of natural sugar, and often coated with additional sugar. Your rabbit will pick out the "good stuff" and then leave the plain pellets, depriving themselves of the nutrition they need. It also encourages them to dig in their food dishes, wasting food while they look for the "good stuff". It is always better to offer pellets plain and treats separately.
Besides pellets, your rabbit needs hay! In my opinion, this is not an optional feed, as hay helps your rabbits wear down their molars, and molars which aren't worn down can impact and cause abscesses. It also helps clear their system of any hair they might ingest, and provides them something healthy to chew on throughout the day. I do encourage people to buy hay directly from a farmer, when available, to both save themselves money, and to be able to know how old the hay is. A good quality hay will smell fresh, even in an "older" bale. It will have been dried in the field, and should retain some green colour to the hay. Alfalfa and timothy hay are the most common hays available, though there are many other kinds. I prefer an alfalfa/grass mix when buying bales, but if you are using "straight" hay, I would recommend timothy. Alfalfa is too rich to be the sole hay, and should be in a ratio of at least 50% other forage..
After these two staples, your rabbit can eat many many other things as treats and general supplements. I find that providing a grain supplement helps the rabbits keep a nice shiny coat, and have healthy poops. My rabbits get a mixture of plain rolled oats, hard wheat kernels, kasha, flax seed, rye, barley and black oil sunflower seed. This is something that every rabbit here seems to enjoy, and in fact, oats, rye and barley are some of the first solid foods our rabbits taste! In trying to keep with as natural a diet as possible, we tend to restrict fresh foods in the winter, providing mainly forage we dried over the summer. Our rabbits do enjoy a helping of fresh greens three times a week, and the occasional fruit or veggie snack. Some foods our rabbits receive regularly are dandelion greens, romaine, red and green leaf lettuces, various herbs, and carrot tops. Other forages are given as available, including rose and raspberry cane, willow and fruit tree clippings(not single stone fruit!), hosta leaves, and many other things commonly found growing wild or in your ornamental garden.
Rabbits can eat a great many things from the outdoors, but always be absolutely positive in your identification of a plant. Also be aware that many places spray with herbicides or pesticides. Check with your city hall to see if your town sprays for anything, and only collect in places where you are absolutely sure that they do not spray. Wash all forage before feeding it. When in doubt, don't feed it!
Treats around here are limited, and we never feed commercial treats. Our rabbits receive treats such as dried fruits, fresh fruits and vegetables, unsalted pretzels, and the occasional hard cookie or cracker. Treats are mainly hand fed, to encourage the rabbits to associate the human with good things. A daily treat here is the adult's papaya enzyme pills. These are from the drug store, and contain specific enzymes that help the rabbits properly pass hair, and works to prevent wool block. You can read more about that on our Health and Medical Care page!
Food is a very important aspect of your rabbit's care. You can do your rabbit a lot of good by properly feeding them, and a lot of harm by leaving things out. It can seem a daunting task at first, but once you become used to your rabbit, it will become much easier.
Next - Housing Your Rabbit
A rabbit has a very sensitive digestive tract, and improper feeding is a leading cause of premature death for pet rabbits. Everything new should ALWAYS be added slowly, and your rabbit's poops monitored. Once a rabbit is accustomed to one thing, and having firm, proper poops, you can move onto adding the next thing. If ever your rabbit gets runny poops, cut back to simply pellets and hay until the poops are firm again.
Pellets fed should always be a plain pelleted feed, not a "complete feed" as offered by the pet store. These complete feeds are often filled with seeds and nuts that are high in fat, as well as dried fruits that are full of natural sugar, and often coated with additional sugar. Your rabbit will pick out the "good stuff" and then leave the plain pellets, depriving themselves of the nutrition they need. It also encourages them to dig in their food dishes, wasting food while they look for the "good stuff". It is always better to offer pellets plain and treats separately.
Besides pellets, your rabbit needs hay! In my opinion, this is not an optional feed, as hay helps your rabbits wear down their molars, and molars which aren't worn down can impact and cause abscesses. It also helps clear their system of any hair they might ingest, and provides them something healthy to chew on throughout the day. I do encourage people to buy hay directly from a farmer, when available, to both save themselves money, and to be able to know how old the hay is. A good quality hay will smell fresh, even in an "older" bale. It will have been dried in the field, and should retain some green colour to the hay. Alfalfa and timothy hay are the most common hays available, though there are many other kinds. I prefer an alfalfa/grass mix when buying bales, but if you are using "straight" hay, I would recommend timothy. Alfalfa is too rich to be the sole hay, and should be in a ratio of at least 50% other forage..
After these two staples, your rabbit can eat many many other things as treats and general supplements. I find that providing a grain supplement helps the rabbits keep a nice shiny coat, and have healthy poops. My rabbits get a mixture of plain rolled oats, hard wheat kernels, kasha, flax seed, rye, barley and black oil sunflower seed. This is something that every rabbit here seems to enjoy, and in fact, oats, rye and barley are some of the first solid foods our rabbits taste! In trying to keep with as natural a diet as possible, we tend to restrict fresh foods in the winter, providing mainly forage we dried over the summer. Our rabbits do enjoy a helping of fresh greens three times a week, and the occasional fruit or veggie snack. Some foods our rabbits receive regularly are dandelion greens, romaine, red and green leaf lettuces, various herbs, and carrot tops. Other forages are given as available, including rose and raspberry cane, willow and fruit tree clippings(not single stone fruit!), hosta leaves, and many other things commonly found growing wild or in your ornamental garden.
Rabbits can eat a great many things from the outdoors, but always be absolutely positive in your identification of a plant. Also be aware that many places spray with herbicides or pesticides. Check with your city hall to see if your town sprays for anything, and only collect in places where you are absolutely sure that they do not spray. Wash all forage before feeding it. When in doubt, don't feed it!
Treats around here are limited, and we never feed commercial treats. Our rabbits receive treats such as dried fruits, fresh fruits and vegetables, unsalted pretzels, and the occasional hard cookie or cracker. Treats are mainly hand fed, to encourage the rabbits to associate the human with good things. A daily treat here is the adult's papaya enzyme pills. These are from the drug store, and contain specific enzymes that help the rabbits properly pass hair, and works to prevent wool block. You can read more about that on our Health and Medical Care page!
Food is a very important aspect of your rabbit's care. You can do your rabbit a lot of good by properly feeding them, and a lot of harm by leaving things out. It can seem a daunting task at first, but once you become used to your rabbit, it will become much easier.
Next - Housing Your Rabbit