The House Rabbit Society stresses that rabbits should live indoors, and have at least four hours of quality running/playing time per day. This, in conjunction with a proper diet, will help keep your rabbit happy, healthy and affectionate for a lifetime. Perhaps the most important items in the rabbit diet that ensure good intestinal health are (1) adequate oral hydration and (2) adequate crude long fiber, which helps push hair and food through the intestines, and keeps the intestinal muscles well toned and moving quickly. This is essential to the rabbit's maintenance of a balance flora (bacteria and yeast) in the cecum. Improper diet can quickly lead to intestinal problems, often originating with cecal dysbiosis, an imbalance of the natural "ecosystem" of the cecum.
Here are the most important items that you should be sure to include in your rabbit's diet.
Alfalfa or clover hays, although tasty for the rabbit, are too rich in
protein and calcium to be fed ad libitum. Instead, offer fresh
grass hays such as timothy, oat, coastal, brome, Bahia or wheat. If
you can't find good quality hay locally, you may wish to mail order
hay from Oxbow Hay Company or American Pet Diner. Oxbow
carries the coarser "first cut" timothy hay that is higher in fiber.
American Pet Diner
carries both first cut and the softer, more fragrant "second cut". Second
cut hay is lower in fiber, but some rabbits who refuse to eat the
(putatively healthier) high-fiber first cut will often eagerly accept
second cut hay. Less fiber is better than none at all!
A good quality rabbit pellet DOES NOT contain dried fruit, seeds, nuts, colored crunchy things or other things that are attractive to our human eyes, but very unhealthy to a rabbit. Rabbits are strict herbivores, and in nature they rarely get fruit, nuts or other such fatty, starchy foods. The complex flora of the cecum can quickly become dangerously imbalanced if too much simple, digestible carbohydrate is consumed--especially if the diet is generally low in fiber. The result is often "poopy butt syndrome," in which mushy fecal matter cakes onto the rabbit's behind. This a sign of cecal dysbiosis, which can foment much more serious health problems.
A good quality rabbit pellet should have at least 22% crude fiber, no more than approximately 14% protein, about 1% fat and about 1.0% calcium. Check the label on the rabbit pellets before you buy. Most commercial pellets are alfalfa-based, which means they're higher in calories and lower in fiber than timothy-based pellets.
Baby rabbits may be fed unlimited pellets, as their bones and muscles need plenty of protein and calcium for proper growth. However, the calories and nutrients of commercial pellets fed ad libitum exceeds the needs of a healthy adult rabbit, and will not only promote obesity, but discourage the rabbit from consuming enough hay to ensure good intestinal health.
The wise "bunny parent" will begin to gradually taper the quantity of
pellets once the rabbit is about eight to twelve months old. and feed
no more than 1/8 cup per day for every four pounds of rabbit (you can give
a little bit more if the pellets are timothy-based). Some
rabbit caregivers complain that their rabbits won't eat their hay. If
the problem is not medical in nature (e.g., molar spurs and other
dental problems are a common
problem responsible for "picky eating"), then it may be that the rabbit is eating too many
pellets, isn't hungry, and so doesn't eat the hay so vital to his/her
health. Take the tough love approach! Cut back the pellets until you
are sure your rabbit is eating enough hay.
Fresh, moist greens are about as important as hay in maintaining a healthy intestine. Try broccoli, dark leaf lettuces, kale, parsley, carrots (with tops!), endive, escarole, dill, basil, mint, cilantro, culantro, spinach, tomato, celery (cut up into 1" pieces, to avoid problems with the tough strings getting stuck on the molars!). Almost any green, leafy vegetable that's good for you (including fresh-grown garden herbs such as tarragon and various mints, with the exception of Pennyroyal) are good for a rabbit. Experiment and see which types your rabbit likes best! Rabbits love fresh, fragrant herbs fresh from the garden.
Give starchy vegetables (e.g., carrots) in moderation, and use bits of fruit only in very, very small quantities, as special treats. Too much sugar and starch can cause cecal dysbiosis, and all its associated problems.
Baby rabbits may start receiving greens very gradually at the age of about two months. Add one item at a time, in small amounts, and if you see no intestinal upset, add another. Carrots, romaine lettuce and kale are good starters. A five pound adult rabbit should receive at least four heaping cups of fresh, varied (at least three different kinds each day) vegetables per day. Be sure to wash everything thoroughly to remove pesticide and fertilizer residues as much as possible. Even organic produce should be washed well to remove potentially harmful bacteria, such as E. coli.
Serve the vegetables wet, as this will help increase your rabbit's intake of liquid. This helps keep the intestinal contents moving well, and the bunny healthy.
Please don't make the mistake of serving less-than-fresh vegetables to
your rabbit. A rabbit is even more sensitive to spoiled food than a
human is. If the vegetables smell stale or "on the fringe", they
could make your bunny sick. Follow the Emerald Rule of Freshness
when feeding your rabbit friend: "Don't Feed it to Your Bunny if You
Wouldn't Eat it Yourself."
A rabbit will usually drink more water from a clean, heavy crock than
from a sipper bottle. The rabbit caregiver may wish to provide both,
but it's important to be sure that the crock, if porcelain, is lead
free, and that the water is changed daily and the crock washed
thoroughly with hot water and detergent to prevent bacterial growth in
the water source.
NEVER feed your rabbit commercial "gourmet" or "treat" mixes filled with dried fruit, nuts and seeds. These may be safe for a bird or hamster--BUT THEY ARE NOT PROPER FOOD FOR A RABBIT. The sole function of "rabbit gourmet treats" is to lighten your wallet. If the manufacturers of "gourmet rabbit treats" truly cared about your rabbit's health and longevity, they would not market such products.
Don't feed your rabbit cookies, crackers, nuts, seeds, breakfast cereals (including oatmeal) or "high fiber" cereals. They may be high fiber for you, but not for your herbivorous rabbit, who's far better able to completely digest celluose ("dietary fiber") than you are. Fed to a rabbit, the high fat and simple carbohydrate content of "naughty foods" may contribute to fatty liver disease, cecal dysbiosis, obesity, and otherwise cause health problems.
Corn, fresh or dried, is NOT safe for rabbits. The hull of corn kernels is composed of a complex polysaccharide (not cellulose and pectin, of which plant cell walls are more commonly composed, and which a rabbit can digest) which rabbits cannot digest. We know of more than one rabbit who suffered intestinal impactions because of the indigestible corn hulls. After emergency medical treatment, when the poor rabbits finally passed the corn, their fecal pellets were nearly solid corn hulls! Those rabbits were lucky.
Show your bunny how much you love him by providing him with a healthy diet. He'll reward you with long life, good health, and carrot-lip kisses.
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