Rabbit Nutrition
Rabbits don’t store sugar as other mammals do and excess sugar affects the microbe balance in the caecum. A strict and balanced diet is very important for your rabbit to maintain optimal health.
Hay
Hay must make up the bulk (80%) of the diet, as a rabbit’s digestive tract is made for quickly processing large amounts of high-fibre/low-calorie food. Too little fibre in the diet can cause serious problems, such as:
- Gastrointestinal stasis
- Constipation caused by the accumulation of fur in the intestines
Hay Benefits
- Adds moisture and volume to the faeces, preventing enterotoxaemia from bacteria
- Provides a healthy bacterial balance in the caecum
Vegetables
Green leafy vegetables are tasty for most rabbits, containing moisture, fibre and valuable nutrients. Common varieties Dr Neil has fed are:
- Spinach varieties, including Kang Kong or Chinese watercress
- Broccoli leaves
- Celery tops
- Lettuces — cos lettuce, green oak and florals (and butter lettuce in small amounts).
- Carrots and their tops should be limited as a treat because of the high sugar content
Diet Change
If you are changing their diet to include different vegetables, change slowly (4 to 7 days per change) and one at a time, or soft faeces diarrhea or gut stasis may result. (Do not feed them cabbage or iceberg lettuce.)
Lettuce Caution: No iceberg (Australia’s best-selling lettuce) as it is nutritionally poor and causes diarrhea and caecal disease in most rabbits
Red coral and green oak add variety, and we have used them often with the occasional soft stools for 1–3 days; therefore, feed small amounts every other day. Similarly, butter lettuce and bok choy are tolerated by some rabbits, and small amounts should be trialled.
No cabbage.
If any type of vegetable is yellow or decayed, do not use it.
Pellets
A balanced diet does not require commercial pellets except for convenience. However, if you wish to use pellets, do not feed a pellet mix containing seeds. Seed and pellet mixes are often sold as a rodent/guinea pig/rabbit mix. This is not recommended for rabbits.