Feed the Bunny!

Shambler

Hi.

Took one of our dutch to the vet because he was looking rather lethargic, he is all better now...no idea what it was but he just picked up the next day.

Anyway...I got into a discussion with the vet about feeding and basically the vet said 'just feed them grass'.

Rabbits in the wild pretty much just eat grass, and whilst yours truly was thinking he was doing 'the right thing' by feeding an all in one dry pellet food the vet said that grass is best!

Not only is it free he said, but rabbits need to spend about 5 hours a day gently chewing.

Feeding them pellets not only means they have to chew harder putting more strain on their teeth but also the angle that their teeth meet together will be wrong with a large pellet type food.

He said don't feed them pellets, or cabbage, or anything else you might normally expect would be healthy for a rabbit.

Just grass, hay,water and maybe the odd dandelion leaf here and there is the best diet.

We are now setting aside a small area of grass in the garden specifically for grass to feed the bunnies.

Does anyone else just feed their rabbit mainly grass? Saves quite alot of money and from the advice given they will be healthier on it too.

Bendybops19

Hmmmm, this is really interesting. My sister has 2 bunnies and they very rarely eat grass - probably only ever in the summer when its warm enough for them to be out in the run lots.

I'll see if theres any other info i can find out about this.

tru

Shambler, our vet said pretty much the same thing. Her diet is mostly grass and hay, she does have pellets in her bowl at night (she lives in the house and I worry she might get hungry at night LOL) but she hardly ever eats them and anyway the guinea pig thinks they're all for him

We also give them homegrown veg

ziffius

Grass is good for bunnies, but most bunnies will quickly get bored of eating one thing. Bunnies need a variety of food, a bunnies tounge has twice the number of taste buds as ours.

I let mine out in the garden every day. She keeps the grass mowed and the plants/ bushes pruned.

Eels100

Yes, this is why providing hay is so important. Many people think proprietary pelleted or mixed food is all a rabbit needs but in reality it's far too rich. Rabbits are by nature grazing animals and ideally would have grass as a main dietary component with pellets as a treat. In circumstances where this isn't practical then hay is the best substitute - better for their guts AND their teeth.

spankymonkey_2

my 2 rabbits have access to grass 24/7. they have a run attached to their hutch .i cannot stand to see rabbits couped up in hutches alone. doesnt seem right!