Did you know that just like human babies, rabbit babies need time for their digestive system to mature before they can safely eat certain foods? 👀
To ensure they develop healthy tummies, vegetables and fruit should be avoided until rabbits are around 5-6months of age 🐇
Ideally, a kit’s diet should include:
🌾 Unlimited meadow and/or timothy hay, with Lucerne hay mixed in.
🌿 A daily portion of fresh grass, and safe garden weeds.
🥣 A balanced amount of quality, high-fibre junior pellets such as Burgess, or Oxbow.
Once they’re around 5 months old, it’s time to transition young rabbits off of lucerne, and slowly reduce their pellet intake down until they’re only getting approximately 1tablespoon amount per day (this quantity is dependent on size/breed).
It’s also around this age that you can start to introduce other foods such as dark leafy greens, herbs and treats 🌱
Quick facts:
💩 Keeping track of your rabbits’ output is as important as watching their input!! Ideally, you will only see big, round, golden brown faecal pellets. So if you regularly see wet/mushy poops (caecotrophs) left behind, then it’s likely that your rabbit’s diet needs to be adjusted.
⏳ Introduce new foods one at a time, and wait for 24hrs before trying another.
🍎 Carrots, apples, and bananas should be considered treat foods. While some rabbits may be too sensitive to eat them at all!! 👀
🌾 Lucerne hay is best left to developing kits, and pregnant or lactating does – it is not a good long-term option for healthy adults!
🌿 Dark leafy greens, herbs, and forage/safe weeds are an important source of nutrients and hydration. A good amount to aim for each day is approximately 1-2cups of fresh greens per 1kg of your rabbit’s body weight.
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🐰 Providing a quality, balanced diet is one of the best ways you can help your rabbits live long and healthy lives. If you’re concerned about your rabbit’s input or output, talk to your vet! Otherwise, flick us a message and we’ll do our best to help 🐰
For more information on foraging, you can read our foraging guide here: https://wellingtonrabbitrescue.org/foraging-guide/