RSPCA Norfolk West Branch

Provide your rabbit with unlimited hay and grass. Ensure that the hay is good quality. Hay that is sold in bales to feed horses is generally as good a quality as that available ready-bagged from pet shops. It can also be much cheaper, which encourages liberal use (90% of diet approximately). Replace with fresh hay daily and make sure that fresh hay is always available to eat.

Fresh greens and other vegetables can be given as a treat in small quantities. You can suspend a small carrot from the ceiling of the hutch to slow the rate of eating, and encourage dental exercise plus play.

Very small quantities of some fruit are OK, but try to avoid those high in sugar. Sugar has severe, detrimental affects on the intestinal bacteria that are so important to the rabbit's digestive system. Therefore you should also avoid human breakfast cereals - they are high in sugar and salt.

Many commercial pet rabbit foods are low in fibre and very high in energy, leading to obesity and lack of wear of the teeth. These high energy diets also mean that your rabbit's daily calorie intake can be rapidly met, leading to reduced time spent eating, this leads to boredom and even aggression. Some rabbits will only eat the bits that they like and leave the bits that they do not like. This is called selective feeding, it means the rabbit may not be getting a properly balanced diet and this can have disastrous consequences.

Some commercial rabbit foods (i.e. Burgess Supa Rabbit Excel) are now formulated as all-in-one pellets to avoid this problem. They are made up of extruded feed and the pieces of mix all look the same. These foods have a higher fibre content.

This high fibre pellet rabbit food can be given in small quantities as a supplement, but NEVER feed to satisfy your rabbit's appetite as this will lead to obesity and other health problems. As a rule feed a small amount twice daily only as much as can be eaten in about 5 - 10 minutes. Remember that the largest bulk of the diet must be hay or grass. Click to continue or use the links below...