A varied, balanced diet is very important, rabbits can come in to lots of health problems due to poor diet. Rabbit vet bills can be costly and prevention is the best answer. A few diet related health problems can be seen below.
GI Stasis - This is when the gut slows down or stops completely. This could be a deadly condition if left untreated. Rabbits are prey animals and their instinct is to hide illness, Its often not noticed until to late, GI can be caused by various different factors but a high starch, low fibre diet is a leading cause. Signs of GI include odd shaped or no poops, loss of appetite, lethargic, changing positions regularly, hunched posture. Urgent rabbit savvy vet attention is required.
Obesity - Obesity can make it difficult for the rabbit to clean itself properly, leading to skin problems and a messy bottom which can lead to flystrike, a potentially fatal condition. It puts more strain on the rabbit's joints, may cause fatty liver disease and is a major cause of sore hocks, which is when the fur on a rabbit's hind feet becomes too thin and broken skin or abscesses occur. Obesity in rabbits is usually caused by the rabbit being fed too much dry food and not enough hay.
Teeth problems - Dental disease can be hereditary but the leading cause is dietary. If rabbits are not fed the correct diet they do not receive the right levels of calcium and fibre needed to keep their teeth healthy. Overgrown teeth cut into the rabbit's tongue and cheeks, causing them pain. Often the first signs of dental disease will be that the rabbit is dribbling, dropping bits of food from its mouth or has stopped eating altogether. Dental disease can be difficult to treat and much of it can be avoided simply by feeding the correct proportional diet of 80% hay.
GI Stasis - This is when the gut slows down or stops completely. This could be a deadly condition if left untreated. Rabbits are prey animals and their instinct is to hide illness, Its often not noticed until to late, GI can be caused by various different factors but a high starch, low fibre diet is a leading cause. Signs of GI include odd shaped or no poops, loss of appetite, lethargic, changing positions regularly, hunched posture. Urgent rabbit savvy vet attention is required.
Obesity - Obesity can make it difficult for the rabbit to clean itself properly, leading to skin problems and a messy bottom which can lead to flystrike, a potentially fatal condition. It puts more strain on the rabbit's joints, may cause fatty liver disease and is a major cause of sore hocks, which is when the fur on a rabbit's hind feet becomes too thin and broken skin or abscesses occur. Obesity in rabbits is usually caused by the rabbit being fed too much dry food and not enough hay.
Teeth problems - Dental disease can be hereditary but the leading cause is dietary. If rabbits are not fed the correct diet they do not receive the right levels of calcium and fibre needed to keep their teeth healthy. Overgrown teeth cut into the rabbit's tongue and cheeks, causing them pain. Often the first signs of dental disease will be that the rabbit is dribbling, dropping bits of food from its mouth or has stopped eating altogether. Dental disease can be difficult to treat and much of it can be avoided simply by feeding the correct proportional diet of 80% hay.
Hay/Grass/Forage
Why do my rabbits need hay?
Rabbits need hay for a variety of very important reasons. G.I stasis, Obesity and Dental disease all listed above can all be helped by rabbits having the correct amount of hays, grasses and forages in their diet. Unlike humans rabbits need a constant supply of fibrous foods to help keep their gut moving along happily, if we were to provide them with two meals a day of pellets and veggies there would be huge time gaps in between meaning they could be at high risk of going into G.I as no food would be passing through the gut. By providing hay 24 hours a day ensures your rabbit/s can keep munching. Dental issues can be genetic but can also be as a result of a bad diet, either way providing hays, grasses and forages means you can maintain good healthy teeth. 'Gawn blocks' are often advertised for rabbits to help wear their teeth down, however due to the way rabbits grind their teeth when they eat they do not help at all and often contain unsuitable foods and lots of sugars. Hays, grasses and forages are the only way to keep your rabbits teeth in tip top shape. Hay should be accessible 24/7, ideally next to or in their litter trays as rabbits like to eat and poop at the same time, this will help with litter training too.
What hay and grass do they need?
Often rabbits will find grass in their gardens whilst spending time in their exercise areas. However you can also grow grass for them in gardening seed trays, plastic dog beds, litter trays etc. This is also fun enrichment for them. You can use normal grass seed or others such as oat, timothy etc as long as they don't contain any artificial chemicals.
As hay is the main part of a rabbits diet it should be kept as interesting as possible. Although rabbits should not have any sudden changes in diet they can often get bored and so its important to regularly giving them choices between a few different hays. There are a range of hays on offer in the uk including meadow ( a few different grasses/flowers grown together and dried), Timothy ( comes from timothy grass only and is grow on its own to provide pure timothy hay), Oat (from Oat grass, normally harvested prior to full maturity to lock in goodness), Alfalfa hay ( high calorie, high calcium, good for growing babies and feeding mums, not needed for healthy fully grown adults).
There are also hays with added dried forage and flowers to attract rabbits attention. This is great for fussy rabbits and increases their natural foraging behaviours. You can also purchase dried forages separately to add to your rabbits hay. Use cardboard boxes, toilet roll tubes etc to make hay eating much more fun! Hay and forage suppliers can be found at the bottom of this page. Avoid damp, over dry, dusty, yellow/brown hay. Look for sweet smelling, green and dust extracted. Rabbits can eat straw too, however there is no nutritional value so it shouldn't be fed instead of hay but just as a bedding option during the winter if needed.
Vegetables and Herbs
Veggies should only be a small part of a rabbits diet and should remain as close to a natural diet as possible. It's often possible in spring and summer to find greenery (fresh forage) growing in your local area to feed them. If you would like to find out more about foraging for your rabbits please email us [email protected]
Vegetables and herbs should be fed in moderation, normally a small portion the size of your palm per rabbit. We stick to herbs and leafy greens (not lettuce) See below for RWAF's safe list.
Vegetables and herbs should be fed in moderation, normally a small portion the size of your palm per rabbit. We stick to herbs and leafy greens (not lettuce) See below for RWAF's safe list.
Pellets/Muesli
Rabbits should be fed a very small amount of around 1-2 egg cups/table spoons of pellets per day. These should be high grade pellets, the two leading brands in the UK are currently Science Selective and Burgess Excel. Both brands are high in fibre. Rabbits should not be fed any type of muesli, it promotes selective feeding which means rabbits often pick out the bits they want and leave the rest which could mean they are missing out on vitamins and minerals they need but most importantly most muesli type foods contain high amounts of sugars, seeds and cereals which rabbits cannot digest. It is highly dangerous to feed it. If you rabbit is currently on a muesli or low grade pellet and you want to switch, slowly change over, adding more of the new food and less of the old each day which normally takes around two weeks.
Water and Treats
Water is highly important for rabbits, it is often preferable to offer a bowl of water over a bottle as their main source of water. It is a much more natural way of drinking. Bottles can often cause rabbits neck/tooth problems if they are positioned to low and they can get frustrated with it not letting enough water out. Bottle spouts have been known to block or stop working without owners knowing which is very dangerous. Some owners are concerned their rabbit might tip a bowl of water or put bedding into it. If this is the case provide a large heavy ceramic bowl that they cannot move, you can also provide a bottle as a back up. Check all water sources daily to ensure a clean supply of water. If you are concerned your rabbit isnt drinking enough water you can rinse their veggies and herbs with water before giving them.
Treats are a human concept and actually bunnies don't need them and sometimes they can do more harm than good. Any change in a rabbits diet could cause an issue for their digestive system so giving them something they normally don't have isnt ideal. Pet shop treats branded for rabbits will often include ingredients rabbits can not digest and therefore dangerous so try not to get caught out, look at the ingredients if it mentions seeds, cereals, corn, husks or diary do not buy! However if you do want to treat your bunnies there's lots of healthy ways to do so, small pieces (around the size of a 50p coin) of fruit such as bananas, apples, grapes etc can be given. Please bear in mind this is like eating a gigantic bar of chocolate for us! Also some of the suppliers below sell lots of great forages, flowers, twigs and healthy dried treats! If you are unsure of what you can or can't give your rabbit please feel free to email us or contact us on our facebook page or community group!
Treats are a human concept and actually bunnies don't need them and sometimes they can do more harm than good. Any change in a rabbits diet could cause an issue for their digestive system so giving them something they normally don't have isnt ideal. Pet shop treats branded for rabbits will often include ingredients rabbits can not digest and therefore dangerous so try not to get caught out, look at the ingredients if it mentions seeds, cereals, corn, husks or diary do not buy! However if you do want to treat your bunnies there's lots of healthy ways to do so, small pieces (around the size of a 50p coin) of fruit such as bananas, apples, grapes etc can be given. Please bear in mind this is like eating a gigantic bar of chocolate for us! Also some of the suppliers below sell lots of great forages, flowers, twigs and healthy dried treats! If you are unsure of what you can or can't give your rabbit please feel free to email us or contact us on our facebook page or community group!
