Rabbit Nutrition 101

Many people go out and buy a rabbit without giving a second thought to their diet. They go to the pet shop and pick up the cheapest bag labelled "rabbit food" that they see, then they feed that to their rabbit. However, it is very important that rabbit owners be informed about proper rabbit nutrition. Without proper nutrition, rabbits are more susceptible to many health problems.

The Most Important Part of a Rabbit's Diet

Ask someone what the most important part of a rabbit's diet is and it's very likely that they'll tell you that pellets are more important than anything else. However, the correct answer would be hay (grass hay to be more specific). Rabbits should have grass hay available to them at all times. Examples of grass hays include: orchard grass, timothy, and bermuda grass. Many people feed their rabbits alfalfa hay, but this is a poor choice. Alfalfa hay is a legume hay, not a grass hay. Alfalfa hay is fine for young growing rabbits, but it should be given in addition to a grass hay. Grass hay is needed for digestion. The fiber in grass hay helps to keep things moving along in the rabbit's gastrointestinal tract (GI tract). Rabbits are grazers and eat all the time, so their digestive tract needs to keep moving. Having hay available at all times will help to prevent GI stasis, where the GI tract basically stops (this can be very difficult to correct so it's much better to prevent it from happening). Aside from helping the GI tract, hay also helps wear down the rabbit's teeth. Rabbits have teeth that grow continuously. While wood chews may help the incisors, hay helps to wear down the molars. Do not replace hay with hay cubes, no matter how much time you think that will save you with cleaning up messes. Hay cubes are already considerably broken down and do not help wear down your rabbit's teeth as much. As with all food, make sure that the hay you feed your rabbit is fresh.

Pellets: So Many Choices!

When you look in a pet shop, you'll see many different types of rabbits pellets available. There are so many to choose from that it can seem quite overwhelming. Some have seeds and dried fruit in them, some have colorful rainbow pieces, some are made from alfalfa hay, and others are made from timothy hay. The choice is simple really: you want to feed your rabbit plain pellets. Never feed your rabbit pellets with seeds, nuts, and cereal added in. Seeds and nuts can present a choking hazard, while the cereal pieces are generally high in sugar. With plain pellets, you'll basically see two choices: alfalfa pellets or timothy pellets. Alfalfa pellets are for growing rabbits. Growing rabbits can be free fed pellets (given as many as they'll eat). Alfalfa pellets have more calcium and protein than timothy pellets. Timothy pellets are for rabbits that have stopped growing (basically, rabbits over a year old). These pellets are lower in calcium and protein so that they do not cause problems for adult rabbits (such as problems with bladder stones). For adult rabbits, pellets should not be free fed or they won't likely eat enough hay. Keep this equation in your mind for the maximum amount of pellets you should be giving per day: 1/4 cup pellets per every 5 pounds of rabbit = happy and healthy bunny. Giving less than that is fine and some people don't give pellets at all. If you're going to do a pellet-free diet, I would advise that you carefully balance the veggies and fruits your rabbit is given to ensure they receive enough vitamins and minerals. Most rabbits love pellets, but don't overfeed.

Veggies and Fruits: Salads for Rabbits

Rabbits love salads! Salads are also quite healthy, especially the way your rabbit likes them (without dressing, of course). If you have a five pound rabbit, you'll want to give your rabbit two to three meals of veggies per day, with each meal consisting of roughly one cup of veggies (more is fine too). If your rabbit weighs more or less than five pounds, adjust the amount you are giving. Some good choices for veggies include: romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, endive, escarole, parsley, cilantro, and many others. Ice berg lettuce is not a good choice because it has basically no nutritional value. When people think of rabbits, they often think of carrots, but unfortunately carrots have a high sugar content and should only be fed sparingly. Foods like cabbage and broccoli aren't a good idea to feed in quantity because they may produce gas. Your rabbit's salads should mainly consist of veggies, but a few fruits can be added. Fruits are higher in sugar though, so feed them more as treats than as a staple of your rabbit's diet. Some good fruit choices include: strawberries, apples, and pineapple. Banana and grapes are best avoided as these are especially high in sugar. However, most rabbits love banana so it can make a nice treat in moderation.

Treats: What's Really for Rabbits and What Just Looks Pretty

A lot of the treats available today were unfortunately designed more to be marketable to humans, than to be healthy for rabbits. Never feed treats containing nuts or seeds, as they can present a choking hazard (and aren't good for your rabbit anyway). Keep in mind that rabbits are herbivores as well, so cheese and yogurt treats are out. Do not give your rabbit people food such as cereal, crackers, and cookies. Foods high in sugar and carbohydrates can be bad news for your rabbit's digestive system. The best treats are veggies and fruits, but if you want to give your rabbit something extra special, try rabbit safe flower petals such as rose petals. You can also give certain dried herbs as well. Unsweetened dried papaya is also an excellent treat.

How to Feed Your Rabbit

Everyone knows how to actually give food to a rabbit, right? Wrong! Many people seem to have no idea how to actually feed their rabbit correctly. Pet stores don't help much with some of the products they sell. Hay is best given in the litterbox, as rabbits love to graze and poop at the same time. However, you can also put hay into untreated wicker baskets, hay racks, or other convenient locations if putting hay in the litterbox isn't enough. Don't use a hay rack as the sole source of hay for your rabbit as they often eat less hay if they have to pull it out of the rack. Veggies and that occasional piece of fruit should be given to the rabbit in a clean location. If you're using a cage, don't throw a piece of lettuce right where the rabbit prefers to urinate. If you're using a pen, similarly you should not be tossing the food into a litterbox. Some people use disposable paper plates, others just put the food on a clean area of the floor. I use linoleum flooring, so I just put the veggies down onto the floor, then clean any juices leftover when the rabbits are finished eating. You may of course also handfeed your rabbit veggies, fruits, and treats if you desire. Just make sure you're still giving enough. Pellets should be put in a ceramic dish, not a free feeder that allows unlimited pellets to come through. I have found that water is also best given in a ceramic dish, but preferably a very heavy ceramic dish. The water dishes I use have ceramic that is roughly a half inch thick so that my rabbits are unable to move their water dish. Other rabbit owners swear by water bottles instead. Either will work, depending on what your rabbit prefers.

Now you know the basics of rabbit nutrition. If your rabbit isn't on a proper diet currently, it's not too late to change their diet. If you know someone with a rabbit, even if you think they know everything already, send them this article and they may learn something new. It is very important for rabbits that rabbit owners learn about their proper diet as diet greatly affects the rabbit's health. Feed plenty of hay, a variety of veggies, and go easy on the pellets. With proper nutrition, your rabbit will provide you with joy for years to come.