A Rabbit Diet 🥗
Have you been dieting as part of your New Year’s resolution? 🥦🥕 While we may call eating a lot of salad a ‘rabbit’s diet’, this should only make up 10% of their daily diet! In fact, 85% of their diet should be made up of quality feeding hay. Leafy green veg should only be given as a tasty treat 😋
Did you know that a rabbit's teeth never stop growing? 👀
Rabbits don't have dentists, so how do they keep their teeth healthy? 🦷🪥 The answer is all in their diet! As you know, a rabbit's diet should consist of 85% hay or grass. This is because the chewing motion of these coarse fibres wear down their teeth naturally, preventing overgrowth and spurring. Overgrown teeth and spurs are extremely painful for rabbits, which is why a proper diet is vital for - not just their gut health - but their dental health too 😁
No grass? Why not grow your own? 🌱
Growing your own grass for your rabbits to eat is a neat little trick that many owners do that don’t have access to a grassy garden. Simply fill a large tray (such as a litter tray) with a couple of centimetres of potting soil. Then sprinkle the seeds over the top – but don’t overseed as these won’t grow. Cover the seeds with a light layer of soil and water daily. And there you have it! Your own personal patch ready within 10 days! Not only a great treat, but it encourages foraging too!
Rabbits, Foraging, and Enrichment
Need to keep your buns busy while you’re out and about this summer? You should encourage foraging! This is a lot easier than people think, and you can do it within their own space. Scatter food around your rabbits’ enclosure instead of just one place, put their daily ration of nuggets in a puzzle feeder, and hide hay in boxes, tubes, and even dangle it up high to - literally - keep them on their toes. Foraging not only encourages natural rabbit behaviours, but it helps prevent boredom too! 🐰🐰
Is muesli bad for your buns?
Rabbits are very selective eaters and have a mighty sweet tooth. This means that they will purposely seek out sugary foods. As muesli is a food mix, rabbits will actually pick out the sweetest bits and leave the rest! This means that they are not getting the minerals and nutrients they need for a healthy digestive system. This is why you should move away from muesli and stick to a diet that consists of 85% feeding hay, 10% leafy greens, and 5% extruded pellets.
Is too much fruit bad for your buns?
We might be encouraged to get our five-a-day, but fruits and veg are loaded with natural sugars and too much of this is very bad for your rabbits’ digestive and dental health. Stick to leafy greens for your rabbits' daily 10% and no more than 1cc of one fruit or high carb veg given as a treat per day. The rest of their diet should be 85% fresh feeding hay or grass and a little 5% sprinkle of pellets.
Rabbit Welfare Requirement 4: Diet 🌿
A happy bun has a happy tum! And for a happy tum, their diet should consist of 85% hay or grass, 10% leafy greens, and 5% pellets or nuggets (not muesli mix)! As a rule of thumb, your rabbits should eat their body size in quality feeding hay every day. Carrots and other fruits and veg should only be given in small portions as an occasional treat as they are very high in sugar.
HAY! We want some variety please!
Did you know that there are many different species of hay and grass? Rabbits love foraging for different tastes and smells, so why not replicate this in your home? As well as allowing your rabbits the freedom to graze in the garden and discover new tastes, there are several different species of hay available on the market. Try mixing it up once in a while - or better still, mix it up together! Your buns will love a bit of variety! 😋
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Should you give your rabbits grass clippings?
Grass and hay are a vital part of a rabbit’s diet, but grass that is cut with a lawn mower ferments very quickly due to the excess heat which can upset your bun’s tums. So if you are doing a spot of gardening, please do not give your rabbits grass clippings.
Foraging for Rabbits 🌿🐰
While it’s easier for us to ‘forage’ in the supermarket, it’s not quite the same as finding new and exciting foods in the great outdoors for your pet rabbits to discover. What’s more? Foraging is fun and free! When it comes to foraging however, there are lots of dos and don’ts, such as where and what to forage. For more information about foraging, visit our brand-new webpage.
Gardening with Rabbits 🧑🌾🐰
There are many factors you have to consider when sharing your garden with many a Peter Rabbit, from how to protect your plants to knowing which plants are safe. New and exclusive to the RWA&F, esteemed horticulturist and rabbit owner, Dr Twigs Way, has released her 2nd edition of ‘Gardening with Rabbits’! Whether you have a window box or acres of land, ‘Gardening with Rabbits’ is essential reading for rabbit owners and avid gardeners. Get your paws on a copy from our online shop.
Do Rabbits Need to go to the Dentist? 🪥
With mighty big front teeth, rabbits can get some mighty big toothache! 😬 But rabbits don’t have to go to the dentist like us, they just need a natural diet. A rabbit’s teeth never stop growing and must be worn down to prevent overgrowth. This is why rabbits eat grass and hay, because the silica that coats every blade is like sandpaper which wears down their teeth naturally as they chew. So to keep the dentist away, make sure to feed your buns 85% grass and hay.
How to Keep Your Buns Trim!
We might have put on a bit of fluff over Christmas, but your rabbits certainly shouldn’t have done! Just like us, obesity can be a huge concern for rabbits as it can lead to numerous health problems and diseases. This is why keeping a healthy figure should be a number one priority for a rabbit! For helpful advice on how to keep your buns nice and trim, please visit our website.