Rabbit diet
The majority of rabbits diets should be grass/hay and wild plants. Pellets should be viewed as an optional supplement, not a main food.
Poor diet
-Golden-brown short strand hay
-Broccoli/chard/kale/cabbage - brassicas are gassy and can lead to bloat, also bladder sludge
-Fruit & root veg - high in sugar and starch
-Extruded pellets - contain wheat, soya, oats which aren't good for rabbits
Rabbits need to be provided with a variety of safe wild plants. Here are a few places that have great info:
- 'Wild Nutrition & foraging for pet rabbits' facebook group
- 'Foraging for rabbits' book sold by the RWAF
Good diet
-Green long strand hay
-Herbs, dried (or fresh) wild plant mixes, flowers, roots, twigs & bark
-Small amount of cold pressed grain-free pellets, an optional extra that are easy on their digestive systems
Pellet brands:
The vast majority of pellets on the market have poor quality ingredients that contribute to gut problems and obesity. Pellets should not have ingredients like soybean hulls, wheat feed, soybean meal or molasses
We recommend cold pressed forage pellets such as Bunny Nature, Hay Box or Meadow Menu or to feed pellet-free. Grass pellets like Emerald Green can be a good supplement for outdoor buns in the winter
Dried forage
Hay
Our rabbits love having a handful of Readigrass mixed in with their hay.
We love hay from Hay Box, Healthy Herby, Small Pet Select
It's also worth finding out if you have a local farm shop that sells bales of good quality hay (usually £6-8 for a big bale), this is much cheaper than buying small bags from pet shops. They'll also likely sell big bales of Readigrass/Graze On
Look for nice greenish sweet-smelling hay.
Plastic wrapped bags of hay from pet shops are usually not good enough for rabbits to eat, they're often soft, chopped too short, brownish and the plastic wrap causes them to sweat and mould.
Make sure to provide a bowl of water not just a bottle. Rabbits need to be able to drink in a natural position lapping from a bowl. A bottle should also be provided though as a back up in case the bowl gets knocked while you aren't around.
Check out Parsleys Warren's youtube channel for videos on how to identify plants for rabbits!