Natural Diets for Rabbits

Wild rabbits eat a wide variety of vegetation and feed at dawn and dusk. Their natural diet includes grass, leaves, stems and wild plants/herbs. A healthy pet rabbit will need a diet which mimics this as closely as possible. Many of the health problems seen in our pet rabbits today can be linked to an unsuitable diet. The bulk of the pet rabbit’s diet is usually a large bowl of dry muesli type food or pellets when ideally this should be the least important part of their diet. Rabbits need a diet high in natural fibre. Grass, hay, wild plants and green vegetables are all chewed thoroughly and help to wear the teeth. Dry pellets or muesli foods are usually low in fibre causing obesity and digestive problems such as ‘sticky bottom’. These dry foods are also crunched between the teeth and do not provide a grinding motion. The teeth continue to grow leading to painful abscesses and even death. To feed your rabbit correctly the bulk of the diet should be grass and good quality grass hay such as Burns Green Oat Hay or Burns Organic Mountain Hay. Fussy rabbits which refuse to eat hay are often overfed; gradually reducing the amount of dry food should help. The next largest part of the diet should be vegetables (mainly green leafy vegetables such as cabbage). At least 5 types of vegetables should be fed very day to provide your rabbit with a varied diet. Fruit should be used as a treat only. Fresh or dry herbs and wild plants can also be used as a regular part of the diet. Dry herbs such as the Burns Plantain, Dandelion, Meadow Mix and Herbal Blend can also be used as a substitute for the dry food. The least important part of the diet is the dry muesli mix or pellets. In fact adult house rabbits, obese rabbits and rabbits which regularly suffer from ‘sticky bottom’ may need no dry food at all if the diet provides enough variation. Before changing diets or cutting dry food from the diet please consult your vet or a Burns nutritionists on free phone: 0800 083 66 96 (UK Only)

For more information on Natural Diets for Rabbits talk to Burns Pet Nutrition