Rabbit diet

Rabbit foods

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Hay

Provides fibre, wears down teeth. Most important part of a rabbits diet.

• Oaten

• Wheaten

• Timothy

• Lucerne (under 6 months, or lactating mums) Is high in protein and calcium

Start weaning young rabbits off of lucerne hay at 4 - 5 months old

• Meadow

• Triticale

• Rye

• Orchard

• Grass, dried

Teff

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Vegetables

Add a little at a time to your rabbit’s diet to make sure no stomach upsets occur, feed brassicas (cabbage family) sparingly as can cause gas/bloat.

Also mix feeds up as some are high in oxalic acid, can cause gas, high in certain vitamins or calcium etc.

Different types of plants contain different types and amounts of vitamins, minerals, so feeding a variety of different plants is the key to providing a complete range of nutrients. Where one plant is low or high in a particular nutrient, another will balance it out. Aim to feed several different plants each day and not necessarily the same types every day.

• Alfalfa sprouts

• Artichoke leaves

• Arugula/rocket

• Asian greens (pak choy, bok choy, wombok, yu choy, Chinese broccoli, Chinese celery, tatsoi, etc.) (feed in small amounts as are brassicas, cabbage family)

• Asparagus (some say yes, some say no. I’ve never fed it to my rabbits)

• Baby sweet corn (only when small)

• Beet greens (beet root leaves, feed sparingly as high in oxalic acid)

• Beet root

• Broccoli (feed in small amounts)

• Brussel sprouts (feed in small amounts)

• Cabbage (feed in small amounts)

• Capsicum

• Carrots (roots are high in natural sugars, feed in small amounts. Leaves are favoured also)

• Cauliflower (feed in small amounts)

• Celeriac

• Celery

• Chard

• Chicory

• Clover (white)

• Collard greens (high in calcium, feed sparingly)

• Corn leaves, silks and stalks only. NO kernels

• Cos lettuce

• Cucumber (small amounts, high in water content)

• Eggplant (fruit)

• Endive

• Escarole

• Green beans (some say yes, some say no)

• Kale (feed in small amounts)

• Kohl rabi

• Lettuce (NO iceberg, dark leaved ones)

• Mache

• Mustard greens

• Okra leaves

• Parsnip

• Peas, snow (some say yes, some say no.)

• Pumpkin and leaves

• Radicchio

• Radish tops (can cause gas, feed sparingly)

• Rhubarb stalks? (NO leaves as are poisonous)

• Rocket

• Romaine lettuce

• Silver beet

• Spinach (only occasionally)

• Sprouts

• Squash

• Swede

• Sweet potato leaves

• Swiss chard

• Turnip greens (feed in small amounts, occasionally)

• Watercress

• Wheat grass

• Zucchini/courgette

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Herbs

• Basil

• Chervil

• Coriander/Cilantro

• Dill

• Fennel

• Garlic (feed cautiously and sparingly is related to onion which is bad for rabbits)

• Horseradish leaves (feed sparingly)

• Lemon balm

• Lovage

• Marjoram

• Mint

• Parsley

• Oregano

• Peppermint

• Rosemary

• Sage

• Summer savoury

• Tarragon

• Thyme

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Fruits

(should be fed in moderation, due to sugar content – up to 2 tablespoons worth per day):

• Apple

• Apricot

• Banana (high in potassium)

• Blackberries (and leaves – excellent astringent properties)

• Blueberries

• Carambola

• Cherries

• Cranberries

• Currants (black and red)

• Grapes

• Huckleberry

• Kiwi Fruit

• Mango

• Melons

• Nectarines

• Oranges (not the peel)

• Papaya

• Peaches

• Pears

• Pineapple

• Plums

• Raspberries (and leaves – excellent astringent properties)

• Sultanas

• Starfruit

• Strawberries (and leaves)

• Tangerine

• Tomatoes (not the leaves)

• Watermelon

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Wild Garden Herbs/Weeds/Flowers:

• Borage

• Calendula

• Chamomile

• Caraway

• Chickweed (astringent)

• Clover (leaves and flowers)

• Coltsfoot

• Comfrey (feed sparingly every now and then)

• Dandelion (diuretic properties)

• Dock (not when flowering is very high in oxalic acid then)

• Garden cress

• Goosegrass (cleavers) but may stick to coat!

• Lavender

• Mallow

• Nettle

• Nasturtium (leaves and flowers)

• Pansies

• Plantain

• Roses

• Salad burnet

• Shepherd’s purse

• Sorrel (not when flowering is very high in oxalic acid then)

• Sow Thistle

• Plantain

• Yarrow

• Water cress

• Wheat grass

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Flowers:

Aster

Daisy

Geranium

Geum

Helenium

Hollyhock

Honesty

Marguerite

Marigold

Michaelmas daisy

Nasturtium

Rose

Stock

Sunflower

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Branches

• Apple

• Arbutus

• Ash

• Aspen

• Bamboo

• Birch (white, grey, broad leaf, and common only, avoid black , cherry, mahogany and sweet birch)

• Cottonwood

• Dogwood

• Grape

• Hawthorn

• Hazelnut

• Limetree - (Tiliaceae)

• Loquat

• Manzanita

• Mulberry

• Pear

• Pine (must be kiln dried)

• Popular

• Quince

• Ribbonwood

• Roses (de-thorned)

• Rosehip branches

• Sickle bush

• Sycamore

• Thornless blackberry

• Willow, white

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Other foods

• Tree Lucerne (feed sparingly as high in calcium)

• Lucerne (feed to under 6 months old rabbits or lactating mums as high in calcium)

• Wheat grass

• Pet grass

• Oats

• Pellets feed a good brand such as oxbow, burgess, vetafarm origins, wombaroo, country vital. (Mine get country vital, hygain zero and hygain fibressential mixed together)

• Probiotics such as Yea sacc, synbiotic, Pron8ture etc

• Bread dried/toasted feed sparingly and make your own so you know what is in it.

• Seeds Some also say no to seeds, nuts, grains and legumes your own personal choice whether to feed or not. Watch not too much fed as seeds are fattening and small seeds can cause a choking hazard.

Although most of the seeds and grains humans eat are not poisonous to rabbits they are high-energy foods and not suitable for rabbits in large quantities. Remember rabbits are primarily leaf eaters not seed eaters.

Absolutely NO chocolate (poisonous!), cookies, crackers, breakfast cereals, iceberg lettuce, dairy products, pasta, onions, potatoes, corn kernels, artificial sweeteners, sugar, yoghurt drops or other “human treats.” There is research to suggest these items may contribute to fatal cases of enterotoxemia, a toxic overgrowth of “bad” bacteria in the intestinal tract.

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Introducing Fresh Foods

Rabbits do not tolerate sudden changes in their diet well. A sudden introduction of large quantities of fresh foods can unbalance their digestion and cause illness.

Instead, introduce new foods one at a time in small portions so it is easy to isolate a particular type if it upsets your rabbit's digestion. If your rabbit reacts badly to one type, try a different one or a smaller portion. Wait 2-5 days before introducing another new type.

You need to be particularly careful in introducing fresh foods to young rabbits, as they are more sensitive, although it is not necessary to withhold fresh foods completely, as some older books recommend. Ideally, baby rabbits will have eaten fresh foods from when they first start on solids. If you get a new baby rabbit (over 10 weeks old) that has not previously eaten fresh foods then allow it a week or so to settle in to the new environment and routine before beginning to introduce small quantities of fresh foods as you would for an adult.

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Feeding Method

Rather than just putting fresh foods in a bowl, try to mimic some of the natural foraging a wild rabbit would do to find food. For example, you can hang up leaves, so your rabbit has to stretch up to get them, as a wild rabbit might have to stretch up to reach the tender shoots from trees and bushes. You can also hide food in, under, or on top of objects (such as flowerpots, boxes, or paper bags) so your rabbit has to sniff it out then work out how to obtain it. Even simply scattering the food around the enclosure will give your rabbit more enrichment than a tidy pile in a bowl.

By creating opportunities for your rabbit to browse and forage you provide exercise and mental stimulation, decreasing the likely hood of destructive behaviour such as chewing.