Diet Recommendations for Your Bunny

What are the basics of a good house rabbit diet?

A rabbit's diet should be made up of good quality timothy hay pellets, fresh timothy hay, water and fresh vegetables. Water should be changed daily. Anything beyond the listed above is a "treat" and should be given with caution and in low quanities, keep in mind it could also be hazardous to the rabbit

What makes a good pellet?

Pellets should be fresh, Timothy hay pellets is what I personally use and recommend. Do not purchase more than 6 weeks worth of feed at a time, as it will become spoiled. Pellets should make up less of a rabbit's diet as he or she grows older, and hay should be available 24 hours a day. Veggies should be a good portion of a rabbits diet.

Rabbit droppings why do they eat them?

Night droppings contain important nutrients for a rabbit. You will notice them by two or three droppings together that look moist. This is different than diarrhea.

What kinds of veggies should I feed my rabbit?

Select at least three kinds of vegetables daily. A variety is necessary in order to obtain the necessary nutrients, with one each day that contains Vitamin A, indicated by an *. Add one vegetable to the diet at a time. Eliminate if it causes soft stools or diarrhea.

• Bok choy
• Broccoli (mostly leaves/stems)*
• Brussels sprouts
• Carrot & carrot tops*
• CeleryCollard greens*
• Endive*
• Kale (!)*
• Mustard greens*
• Parsley*
• Pea pods (the flat edible kind)*
• Romaine lettuce (no iceberg or light colored leaf)*
• Spinach (!)

*(!)=Use sparingly. High in either oxalates or goitrogens and may be toxic in accumulated quantities over a period of time

****Some of the above information is from the House Rabbit Society Website

Litter Training Your Rabbit

Having trouble litter training your Rabbit?

Here is a trick that may work for you. Add newspaper to the bottom of the litter pan and add hay. Rabbits love to eat while they go to the bathroom. It also associates it with a pleasurable thing…EATING!!!

Start with small area that the rabbit is confined to. Not too small. Doesn’t need to be a cage. Can be a fenced off area.

Something else that might help is repetitiveness. It helps to repeat the same routine over and over. Every time you take your bunny out for a run around the house, put them in the litter pan first.

I recommend Yesterday’s News. It’s safe and best odor control litter I have used.

Stomach blockages

How to avoid:

Feed a good mixture of Greens and hay regularly and keep the rabbit’s cage cleaned regularly. Be sure to keep things like towels, toys, rugs, and carpet away from your rabbit when unattended. Most commonly a blockage can be from hair. However I have had young rabbits that love to chew on everything. So even though I wanted to make the bed area of the cage soft with a towel or carpet sample, those fibers when eaten can be deadly and cause a stomach blockage. Mats made of hay are a much better option. Make sure your rabbit’s cage is free from anything they might chew on that is not editable.

What to look for:

If you find your rabbit is curled up in the corner like a ball and is sluggish, non responsive to food, and it’s pressing its tummy to the floor, (looks like a cat arching its back only in reverse) Act quickly. When rabbit’s tummy’s become blocked they stop eating.

Try to lean your rabbit’s disposition, moods, and eating habits. If your rabbit normally devours a carrot or veggies you offer them, but this time they refuse or do not move toward the veggies, it very possibly is having tummy troubles.

What to do:

First choice is to get them to a vet. Second choice is a home remedy you can do you yourself. Just need a blender and the right mix of veggies.

I had the most amazing vet that shared the following mixture with me that I force fed to my rabbit via a feeding syringe. If I caught the blockage early and fed the right mixture of greens to my rabbit, I could almost immediately reverse the blockage and snap my poor bunny out of her discomfort. Sometimes it would take an hour or two for her to react depending on how many hours had gone by before I noticed my bunny was having problems. Of course there are no guarantees. But it is definitely worth a try if you cannot get to a vet.
What you will need:

Collard GreensMustard GreensKaleEndiveBok ChoyLeekparsleyGreen beansCarrot with the Greens left onAppleBlenderFeeding Syringe (can find in pet stores look near the formula for young puppies, or near the bird section, these are also used to hand feed baby birds)

Next set aside equal amounts of the greens :

• Collard Greens (approximately two leaves)
• Mustard Greens (approximately two leaves)
• Kale (approximately two leaves)
• Endive (approximately two leaves)
• Bok Choy (approximately two leaves)
• Leek (approximately two leaves)
• parsley (approximately five to seven strands) (be careful not to feed too many of these it will cause a very loose stool in rabbits)

Next set aside the following:

• Green beans (5)
• Carrot with the Greens left on (put in whole green leaf section of the carrot, and half of the carrot itself)
• Apple (Use and 8 section apple cutter or cut the apple into eight parts. Use only one section of that eight and remove the skin) Apples contain sugar, it is important not to feed these on a regular basis to your rabbit. However they are great enticers if your rabbit is not eating. They might refuse greens or a carrot but they rarely refuse a sweet apple.

Next put everything you have set aside in a blender. Add a half cup of water. Blend slowly. Mix as well as you can. Add more water if needed. You will get a lot of moisture from the veggies themselves. Be sure not to dilute mixture with too much water.

Final step is to fill the syringe and get your bunny, and have a towel ready.
I have found the best way to syringe feed my bunny is to hold them securely with one hand around the jaw area while they are on my lap and pressed or cradled against my chest. The more secure they feel the better.
I place the syringe by the back of the mouth or side of the mouth and gently squeeze mixture in their mouth. My rabbits immediately start to lick and swallow when they feel it in their mouth. I try to get a good syringe in them and then give them a break. I wait for about 15-30 min. and then try again with another syringe. I don’t recommend trying to force feed more than 2 syringe full. You will usually see a difference after the second feeding.

While the bunny is relaxing between feedings I make sure that the above mixture is available near them, especially one small section of apple. This way if they feel like eating on their own they can. Most times before or after the second syringe they end up perking up and eating on their own. I think they realize they need to eat or I will keep forcing them to eat. Usually what happens is you will notice them balling up some…sort of looks like us when we have gas pains. Then they will finally have a bowel movement and produce a pellet or two. This usually causes a chain reaction which says to them that is now ok to start eating.

Please be sure to follow up with your vet in case there happens to be something else happening with your bunny.

Learn how to avoid Stomach blockages in Rabbits, and what you can do to avoid them. In a serious emergency when you cannot get to a vet, this home remedy is very helpful and may work on your bunny. Be sure to check it out it was given to me by my vet and has worked remarkably well. My bunnies have all lived to be 12yrs old. It does the trick.