From vegetables to water and hay, a rabbit’s diet isn’t particularly varied but it provides them with what they need. Although fruit is a nice treat, it shouldn’t be something you regularly feed your rabbit as it can end up obese. Rabbits require a constant water supply as they dehydrate quickly. Now lets look at some more information to guide you in the right direction with your rabbit food.
Pellets
Rabbits are generally fed a pelleted feed available from pet stores, supermarkets, and farm suppliers. An interesting fact is that pellets were once primarily used by the breeders who needed inexpensive food.
Hay
Of course, we all know that rabbits need some hay. If you make sure there is enough hay in the hutch, this should prevent the digestive problems that rabbits often suffer from. Additionally, it provides a number of necessary vitamins and minerals at a low food energy cost. Rabbits enjoy chewing on hay, and always having hay available for the rabbit may reduce its tendency to chew on other items.
Treats
Rabbit food also comes in the form of treats. Don’t overdo the treats though, as they are bad in large quantities. In pet stores, you will often find that a lot of the treats are full of carbs and high in sugar. If an owner is determined to feed the rabbit treats, the best treat to provide it with is fruit.
It is useful to know which fruits are most acceptable for feeding to rabbits, and these are things like Kiwi, Berries and Banana, although do make sure that the pips are removed first.
Fruits or other treats must be given in moderation, as rabbits easily become overweight and suffer health problems. Their diet should consist of no more than half a tablespoon of fruits or treats per day.
However, fresh fruits should not be given to rabbits under the age of 4 months because their digestive systems are not always developed enough to handle the fruit. If you don’t follow these rules, you could have a dead bunny within 48 hours, which is very sad.
Another tip worth noting is that lettuce isn’t all its cracked up to be – it actually shouldn’t be fed to rabbits because it has very little nutritional value and could also cause death.
Cecal pellets
Do not be alarmed if you see your rabbit eat some of his faeces. These are called cecal pellets, and are a vital part of his diet. A rabbit needs to stay healthy, and cecal pellets help to give your bunny a good supply of vitamin B12. Due to the design of the rabbit’s digestive system, they cannot extract some vitamins and minerals directly from their food, so that is why they eat faeces. This is perfectly normal though.
