General: A rabbit’s diet should be made up of high quality pellets, fresh hay (alfalfa, timothy or oat), water and fresh vegetables. Anything else is a treat and should be given in limited quantities.
IMPORTANT: All dietary changes must be made gradually
- Pellets should be fresh and relatively high in fiber (18% minimum fiber). Do not purchase more than six weeks worth of food at a time, as it will become spoiled.
- Hay should be available 24 hours a day. Hay is essential to a rabbit’s health. Hay provides roughage, which reduces the danger of hairballs and other blockages. Apple twigs also provide good roughage.
- Salt licks are NOT necessary.
- No nuts or seeds as these are bad for a bunny.
- Variety is key for vegetables. When shopping, look for both dark leafy vegetables and root vegetables. Also try different colors as these provide your rabbit with different essential vitamins. Stay away from beans and rhubarb, spinach, cabbage and kale. For a vegetable list, see the back of this sheet.
Babies and Teenagers:
- Birth to 3 weeks: mother’s milk
- 3-4 weeks: mother’s milk, nibbles of alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets
- 4-7 weeks: mother’s milk, access to alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets
- 7 weeks to 7 months: unlimited alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets (plus 12 weeks see below)
- 12 weeks: introduce vegetables (one at a time, quantities under ½ oz.)
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Young Adults: 7 months to 1 year
- Iintroduce oat and timothy hays, decrease alfalfa
- Decrease pellets to ½ cup per 6 lbs. body weight
- Iincrease daily vegetables gradually
- Fruit rations no more than 1-2 oz. per
6 lb. body weight (these are treats!)
Mature Adults: 1 to 5 years
- Unlimited oat and timothy hay (no alfalfa)
- ¼ - ½ cup pellets per 6 lb. body weight, preferably timothy-based pellets, such as Oxbow Bunny Basics T
- Minimum 2 cups chopped vegetables per 6 lb. body weight
- Fruit only as treats!
Senior Rabbits
- If sufficient weight is maintained continue adult diet
- Frail or older rabbits may need unrestricted pellets to keep weight up. Alfalfa can be given to underweightrabbits only if calcium levels are normal. Annual blood work ups are highly recommended for geriatric rabbits.
Note: When you feed a lower quantity of pellets, you must replace the nutritional value without the calories, which is done by increasing the vegetables. Also, hay must be encouraged all day. We do this by offering fresh hay a couple times per day.
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