Feeding your Rabbit

Feeding your rabbit a Superior Nutrition diet is essential for their health. Rabbits are herbivores, and so a diet containing mostly hay, leafy greens and pellets is recommended for optimum nutritional benefits.

The rabbit food pyramid

Safe vegetables for rabbits:

• Alfalfa or brocco sprouts
• Basil
• Carrot tops
• Coriander
• Dandelion greens
• Fennel
• Mesculin mix
• Mint
• Parsley
• Radish tops
• Romaine (cos) lettuce
• Rocket lettuce
• Rosemary
• Watercress
• Willow

Vegetables that are high in oxalates should be used sparingly, such as kale and spinach. They can cause or exacerbate bladder sludging and stones, as well as other calcium/kidney problems.

We also recommend avoiding iceberg lettuce.

Some rabbits may find the below vegetables rather “gassy”. If diarrhoea occurs, remove from their diet and remember rabbits can’t get rid of gas like we can.

• Bok choy
• Broccoli (and leaves)
• Brussels sprouts
• Silverbeet

Treats

Treats should only be fed occasionally, 1-2 times per week in small amounts. To reward your rabbit you might like to consider:

• Capsicum
• Carrot
• Banana
• Apple (no seeds)
• Grapes (no seeds)
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Pineapple
• Melon
• Papaya
• Strawberries

Pellets

Pellets only need to be a small portion of your rabbits diet, around 1/5 cup twice a day based on a 1.5-2 kg rabbit.

No seeds, corn or colourful bits. Supreme Science Selective or Oxbow are good quality superior brands.

Appropriate pellet diets should contain around 12-14% protein; minimum 18% fibre; 1-3% fat; 0.5-1% calcium; 0.4-0.8% phosphorus (equally important is the ratio between calcium and phosphorus, which should be 1.5-2:1 calcium to phosphorus).