What should Rabbits be fed?
Wild Rabbits all around the world consume a range of plant material that meets their daily requirements without the need for factory-produced foods sold in store. Despite previous beliefs and cartoons, carrot shouldn’t make up the majority of a Rabbit’s diet as they’re high in sugar and can cause serious health problems – such as tooth decay and digestive problems. Not only that, but Rabbits don’t naturally eat root vegetables such as carrots, or other foods such as fruit, year round due to it being seasonal food. So, what else should a Rabbit be fed?
Hay
Hay should be anywhere from 80% to 90% of a Rabbit’s diet and should be readily available for them as it isn’t just for bedding. It is rich in Vitamin A and D as well as calcium, protein and other nutrients. These promote healthy teeth and also helps keep their teeth short. Grass hay can be varied or mixed and allow the Rabbit to get a range of grass, such as straw, opposed to just eating the same every day.
Fresh Food
Fresh food provide additional nutrients to those from the grass hay, as well as providing different textures and tastes. The food in turn also provides more moisture in their diet, which promotes good bladder and kidney function, and should make up about 15% of a rabbits diet. About ¾ of the fresh food fed should be washed leafy greens of a darker colour, such as cabbage, kale and broccoli. It’s recommended that at least 3 different kinds of leafy greens should be fed a day.
It’s important that the fresh food being fed isn’t old otherwise it would have had a chance to build up oxalic acid, which is toxic to Rabbits in large quantities and can cause kidney damage. This acid can be found in plants such as parsley, mustard greens and spinach. These should still be included in a Rabbit’s diet as they’re nutritious for them but should only be fed only one type listed above a day.
What Else Can Rabbits be Fed?
Root vegetables – such as broccoli and cauliflower – can still be fed, but they’re higher in either starch or sugars so should be fed in smaller quantities than leafy greens. Fruit can also be fed in small amounts, but as they’re incredibly high in sugar and starch they should be fed in moderation as Rabbits will gravitate towards them and overeat them. Because of this, fresh fruit should be fed opposed to dried as dried fruit also have higher levels of sugar and starch and should be fed as the occasional treat.
5% of a Rabbit’s diet should be pelleted rabbit food which is about one egg cup a day – this is to ensure all the vitamins and minerals they need are being provided for. Other than this, fresh water should always be readily available.
Team Shanklinpets