Your rabbit's diet is very crucial to the longevity of their health. It is absolutely necessary to feed your rabbit with fresh water and Timothy Hay, not alfalfa. Alfalfa is okay to give to young baby rabbits, but only for a very short time because it contains such a high concentrate of calcium. Too much calcium thickens a rabbit's urine and causes bladder infections, kidney stones, and other urinary tract infections. So, Timothy Hay is the way to go and should be available at any pet store.
The next thing to put on your bunny grocery list are pellets. I can give you a few suggestions, but it is also up to you to read the packaging and make sure you're not buying "candy" pellet food. I recommend you not buying any sweets, and sugary toys for starters, instead look for a brand like KayTee, (available at the Rabbit Whisperer Store). Kaytee has come up with some healthy gourmet pellets for small animals. Take a look at their nutrition label if you want to compare and supplement it with other generic versions.
So pellets and hay are the basics. Now, anytime you introduce your rabbit with other foods like carrots, apples, lettuce, and bananas, please keep in mind that a rabbit's stomach is very delicate. Having sporadic new foods is not a healthy meal unless you introduce it to your rabbit slowly, regularly, and with very small portions for starters.
Make sure not to over or under feed your bunny, however it is fine to replenish the hay tray regularly. I cannot stress enough that hay is a necessity in a rabbit's life. Rabbits are constantly grooming themselves and since they do not cough up their fur like cats do, it is imperative that they have hay to help push the hair through the digestive tract.
So let's recap: give your pet a balance diet, introduce new foods in small proportions regularly, and be sure the bun has plenty of hay and water.
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What Your Rabbit Should Eat
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7 comments:
Hello! Glad to see your blog. We have a rabbit who eats pretty much on the order that you described. He will be three years old in May. He is very playful though a tad needy :)
I look forward to following your blog.
We had our rabbit on pellets when she was young then we switched her over yo spring mix, which is differnt kinds of green leafly lettuce. Not only does she love it, but her coat has never been softer. Yes it is a bit more expensive, but she seems to be responding to it better.
Shelia: I am delighted to hear that your bun eats so healthy! I hope I remember his birthday in May, if not happy early b-day to him ;)
budgetboy: I'm glad the spring mix is working out! It's amazing the rabbit food that's coming out, I love how there is even organic hay and pellets for animals!
Don't forget that Alfalfa isn't good for adult bunnies in pellets, either!
Thank you Janet, yes it is very important to watch out for alfalfa supplements in hay and pellets. Which goes back to me saying, read those labels!
Jenny, what do you think about Kale? I can't get my bunny to eat any of the other greens. He LOVES Kale and eats it daily. I read something somewhere that didn't have a high opinion on Kale, but it hasn't seemed to hurt my bunny.
Hi Shelia, thanks for your question!
Kale is okay to give to your bunny, but it shouldn't replace hay or pellets. Kale has a high dose of calcium, but because Kale contains a lot of water, your bun is okay to eat it regularly. I would like to point out you're the pet's owner/mother/caretaker and therefore you have to be a disciplinarian when it comes to your bunny's eating habits. For example, my rabbit Buhk Buhk is obsessed with eating his gourmet pellets and picks and chooses what he wants to eat leaving much of his Timothy hay and pellets behind. Naughty bunny! What I do in this case is not give him a fresh load of gourmet pellets until he finishes his whole meal first. This is a similar scenario to what parents do with their children, otherwise, kids would be eating candy all the time, right? So my advice is your bun can eat Kale, just make sure he still eats his hay and pellets too, in moderation!
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