Food & Diet

To have a happy and healthy pet rabbit you want to make sure he has a nutritious diet. Be sure to include hay, pellets, fresh fruits and vegetables, and treats to add variety and a well balanced diet. Below is a list of foods to keep your bunny well fed.

Hay
Hay is necessary for your rabbits diet to stimulate intestinal movement and help wear down the teeth. Offer as much hay as your pet wants to eat. The hay should have equal portions of stems and leaves and be green. Grass hays such as Timothy, orchard, oat, brome, Burmuda and Johnson are excellent choices.

Rabbit Pellets
Commercial pelleted food is available on in many varieties. Pellets that are about 25 percent fiber and a low fat content are best. Rabbits have low fat requirements so their diet needs only to contain 2 percent fat. Smaller pellet sizes are better for young rabbits.

Vegetables
Your rabbit should eat up to 2 cups of vegetables a day. Bunnies will enjoy carrot tops, carrots, broccoli, parsley, chicory, endive, kale, mustard greens, green peppers, cauliflower, cabbage, dandelion greens and dark leafy lettuce.

Treats
Rabbits love sugary foods as treats. Offer only a small amount of these treats a day. Your rabbit will enjoy apple slices, pears, kiwi fruit, melons and strawberries. There are also a wide variety of commercially available bunny treats. Use sugary treats in moderation to prevent obesity and intestinal problems.

Water
Compared to other animals rabbits drink a lot of water so your rabbit should always have fresh water available. When your bunny doesn’t have enough water he will eat less food and not feeding him enough food will make him drink more water.

Supplements
With a well balanced diet, a dietary supplement isn’t always necessary. But it never hurts to make sure your pet gets everything he needs.

Stool
Rabbits have soft and hard stool and they will eat the soft stool. It may seem gross, but don’t stop your pet from eating his own poo. The soft stool has nutrients that are important to your bunny’s health.

Change
Always introduce new foods or changes in diet slowly. Making changes too rapidly will change the natural flora in your rabbits intestines which can cause bacteria to grow in his intestinal tract. This can be toxic to your pet. Changing his diet slowly over a four to five day period will prevent this.