07/04/2016
THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF RABBIT CARE
The health of a rabbit’s digestive tract is central to their overall health and wellbeing. Most owners can relate on how to feed a horse, which would be ad lib grazing ( eg grass and hay) a lesser amount of leafy greens and herbs and then, only if necessary, a very small ration of horse cubes. The same diet applies to rabbits.
Their gut function is a balancing act between a high fibre intake, a delicate gut microflora biome and high faecal output. When an inappropriate, low fibre diet is fed, the digestive tract can’t maintain this balance. The ‘good’ gut bacteria die, ‘bad’ ones flourish, Bunny loses his appetite, intestines stop contracting and the whole digestive process comes to a halt resulting in ‘colic’ or bloat. This is a life threatening disease and must be aggressively treated with hospitalisation, medication and intensive nursing. Even so, many still do not survive.
Feeding an excess of pellets is usually the biggest culprit! Pellets are low in fibre and high in calories.
If your rabbit refuses to eat for 24 hours, he must be seen by a vet immediately.
Rabbits teeth grow throughout their lives and need to grind continuously. Wild rabbits spend up to 18 hours a day grazing! And if they get all their calories in a bowl of pellets they end up obese with dental abscess and over-long teeth. Fat rabbits are also prone to diabetes.
The easiest way to keep your rabbit healthy is to feed a good quality hay ad lib, and daily leafy greens (eg Kikuyu grass, Blackjacks, Dandelions etc). As a rule an average 2.5kg rabbit should get 1.5-2.5 cups of fresh vegetables per day. If your bunny is getting a good varied diet it is not necessary to feed any pellets. If you really must feed pellets be sure to feed NO MORE THAN 30g PER KG OF RABBIT per DAY. Also stay away from the ‘muesli mix’ type foods as they’re like ‘bunny junk food’ being very low in fibre and very high in starchy treats like peas and corn.
Follow this link for a list of safe greens to feed your bunny. http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/safefoods.htm
Follow these links for more bunny care information.
http://myhouserabbit.com/rabbit-care/
http://www.bunnyhugga.com/
