What Do Rabbits Eat?
Rabbits are herbivores, meaning that the answer to the question, “What do rabbits eat?,” is plants. Rabbits have a very complex digestive system that allows them to eat a wide variety of plants. Their digestive systems are capable of processing both digestive and non-digestible fiber.
They love many types of vegetables and fruits, along with grasses, weeds, leaves, shoots, bark and twigs.
Many people who get rabbits for pets have no idea how to answer the question, “what do rabbits eat?” That means that if you are going to get a pet rabbit, you need to do a little research on rabbit foods before bringing home your pet.
Rabbits should be fed twice a day and you should remove any food not eaten right after the meal so there is no spoilage. If you can, buying a hanging rabbit feeder will keep your bunny’s food from being trampled under foot.
As you get better and better at feeding, you will learn exactly how much food is enough for your particular rabbit, and which foods he or she likes better than others. Rabbits have tastes for certain foods just like other animals and people.
Because a rabbit’s teeth never stop growing for his entire life, it is necessary to give your rabbit food that requires a goodly amount of chewing.
For most pet rabbits, buying rabbit pellets from the feed store is an excellent option. As they are fortified with vitamins, you can be sure your bunny is getting the nutrition he needs. However, even if you choose this option, you still need to give your rabbit vegetables, fruits and hay to supplement the pellets.
The cheapest way to buy rabbit pellets is in a 50-pound bag. This will last for several months but the food keeps well in the bag.
The hardest thing about dry rabbit pellets is to find a place to put your rabbit’s bowl so that he is not constantly pushing it around and knocking it over. They do have bowls which attach to the sides of the bunny cage. They have water bottles that do the same thing.
Rabbits learn to sip on these bottles almost immediately and with the rabbit’s water bottle on the side of the cage you don’t have to worry about your rabbit knocking it over.
The one food you need to make sure your rabbit gets plenty of every day is hay. They especially love alfalfa and timothy, but any type of hay is going to be just fine. Unless your bunny is under a year old, you should forego the alfalfa, as it will cause too much weight gain.
If you decide you want to meet all of your rabbit’s food needs yourself, without the use of rabbit pellets, you are going to need to feed the rabbit a lot of hay, garden vegetables and fruits. You should also place a salt block in your rabbit’s cage if they are not getting it from food pellets.
What do rabbits eat daily? They should get all the hay they can eat (timothy is the best choice), two cups of veggies and legumes, occasional treats, such as fresh or dried fruits, and fresh alfalfa, if your rabbit is under seven months old.
Never add more than one new vegetable to your rabbit’s diet in a meal. Also make sure if you give fresh vegetables and fruit, that pesticides have not been used on them.
Rabbits can eat such vegetables as kale or any other type of dark leafy greens, carrots and their tops, bok choy, dandelions (greens and flowers), broccoli stems and leaves, and alfalfa sprouts. Rabbits also love bananas, strawberries and raspberries, seedless grapes, blueberries, pears and apples (without seeds and core). Be sure to give only a very small portion of fruit at one time.
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