Food and Treats - YUM!!!!
This is a really important topic since many things have changed about what to properly feed your rabbit. Back in the day, the vets said " just pellets, water and hay is fine". Not so anymore. In fact some vets are against pellets all together. My new vet wants my rabbits off all pellets or use only as a treat giving no more than 2 tablespoons full. (this is hard for me as my buns are use to hay. I am still giving them about 1/8 cup a day of pellets) Read to learn more about the do's and dont's of feeding your rabbit.
About Hay....
My vet recommends Oxbow brand of hay. My buns just love it! It can cost more than other brands but I find it to be worth the extra cost if you can afford it.
For young buns, up to 6 months old --- Alfalfa Hay (this is rich and should only be given up to 6 months old)
For adult rabbits (over 6 months old) either Western Timothy Hay. or Orchard Grass or both like I serve my buns. You can shop around online to find this if need be as I cannot find Orchard Grass readily in my area.
Hay. It is my understanding that a young rabbit can have alfalfa hay (6 months and under) where as an adult rabbit (over 6 months old) should have timothy hay. Alfalfa hay is rich and should not be given to rabbit except when they are very young. An occasional alfalfa treat (treat made with alfalfa) is okay on occasion but not too often and you can always break the treat in half and not give a full big piece - the bunny won't know what size it came in. It's possible that every once in a while your bun will not like something about a new bag of hay. It happens with my buns from time to time. I will just give the hay to the other buns or if that does not work, I will donate it to my local animal shelter.
I give the rabbits unlimited timothy hay (since they are all adults over 6 months old).
Gracie says "Hey, what the hay!"
I was told on one recent vet visit, that Orchard Grass can also be given to buns. Mine just love it and glup it down, more than the Timothy Hay. Oxbow has the Orchard Grass but it can be hard to find but your buns will thank you if you hunt it down for them..... Oat hay is not recommended for buns.
Pellets Any Bun???
My new vet has a stern policy on pellets of any kind - NO! She says only give pellets as a treat and only 2 tablespoons. Oh Dino is not happy - I've been giving them all less and less and less and the poor little addicted guys sits at his cage each night waiting for me to refill the pellets. Little does he know pretty soon - hardly any at all for him or the girls either.
Greens, Greens and more Greens
Okay so your bun should have unlimited hay, water, and some GREENS/HERBS! It can be hard to tell one green leafy veggie from another so I've added some pics so you have no excuse not to try something new. Produce departments will normally have the name of the veggie above the item. Here is what my buns will eat anytime (note that Iceberg lettuce is not on the list since it has no nutritional value for rabbits):
Flat Leaf Italian Parsley (Italian Parsley) pic below. Should have strong stems, not limp with nice size leaves.
Romaine Lettuce - pic below. Should be green without any brown or blemishes. The outer leaves will be all the same color green.
Green Leaf Lettuce - pic below. Should be crisp and not limp. Looks like a darker green iceberg lettuce leaf but with curly ends. Pic below.
Red Leaf Lettuce - pic below. Should have a nice structure to the leaves and be able to hold itself up and not be limp. Leaves will have dark red on very ends of leaves or going through most of each leave. See below for pic.
Dandelions - pic below. Avoid bunches with any brown edges or alot of damage to the stems. Different varieties out there and yes they look like the ones growing in your yard or open field. You can give them wild dandelions but wash very, very good to remove any pesticides. I would think you would know these but pic is below.
Kale (in moderation - since it's high in calcium and can cause digestion issues) I normally give them each a small pc every third day. Pic below. Should be med to dark green, not yellow or have yellow edges. Should be crisp and not be limp. Has a sweeter taste then most other greens for the rabbits. Pic below.
Chicory - thin green with white-ish yellow stems that have very curly edges. See below.
Cilantro (in moderation every once in a great while) - pic below. Not sure if you have cilantro - smell it. It should not smell like parsley and be sorta spicy smelling. The leave edges are more rounded that flat leaf parsley and can have a blueish hue to it.
Now for the maybe they will eat it maybe not.
Endive as shown below.
Collard greens - pic below. These leave can be huge, like the size of a 10 inch dinner plate.
Swiss Chard - pic below. Dark green, with sturdy stems.
Red Swiss Chard - pic below. Dark green with red vines and stems, Should be sturdy and not limp.
There are other veggies you can try. See some of the lists below for items that might work for your bun but didn't work for mine. It's sort of a trial and error thing at first to see that he or she likes and doesn't like. Shop around for the best prices. I have found that my smallest local grocery stores in my area do the best job on prices and variety. So check a few stores out to see what they offer.
Here is what www.rabbit.org suggests about greens for your bun. Click here for list.
Here is their take on suggested fruits. Click here for list.
Adoptarabbit.com has these plants on the poisonious list. Click here for list.
From the same site, a list for good bunny foods.Click here for list.
Diet FAQ's from the houserabbit.org people. Click here for list.
NO-NO FOODS:
Here are my no-no's for buns from all that I've read:
No spinach and Kale in moderation only. I would like to add that 2 of my 3 buns have had stomach issues after recent feedings of very limited spinach. Therefore I am NOT recommending it for your buns. Kale in moderation, break a small pc about 2 inches wide given every 4 or 5 days or longer.
No corn
No veggies or fruits with any kind of seeds.
No seeds of any kind.
No nuts.
Pellets should not be given or only as a treat with less than 2 tablespoons. Again this is per my vet but I'm not able to follow this rule. I am giving about an 1/8 of a cup to each - not horrible but I need to work on this.
If you know a certain food causes stomach discomfort or gas in a human, then it will in a bunny too! So away from that food item please for you bun.
No human foods of any kind unless on the veggie or fruit approved list. That reminds me you need to be careful about dropping food on the floors too because your bun will find it, eat it and get sick. So please make a conscious effort to pick up dropped food and crumbs and inform others in the family too.
TREATS
I give these items as treats on occasion only, giving a small pc.
Apple - Red Delicious (mine like this variety the best). Cut apple into 6 or 8 wedges then give the bun 1/4 to a 1/3 of a wedge. REMOVE ALL SEEDS - SEEDS ARE TOXIC FOR BUNS. Toss out what he/she does not eat at that time.
Banana - recently banned by new vet - don't start giving them this or you will have junkies like I do.
Green or red seedless grapes- only 1/2 a grape given at a time on occasion. REMOVE SEEDS. They may become junkies on grapes too so maybe hold back on this one.
Carrots, whole unpeeled (not the mini pre-peeled ones) - wash first, leave peel on and depending on how fat the carrot is 1/4 - 1/2 of an inch - throw away anything not eaten at that time.
Raisins - one or two at at time, great for training and rewarding. They love em but don't over feed --- this is a treat remember.
Remember for treats give small pcs on occasion. You can break a treat pc in half too.
I also buy some commercially made treats for rabbits from BinkyBunny.com and others. See my favorites page.
Food Prep
Washing the produce you give to your bun is very important. Extra precautions must be taken to clean the sink and then wash all produce thoroughly. Here are my steps:
1. Rinse out sink with cold water
2. Use a paper towel to carefully wipe down the inside walls of the sink
3. Clean out sink strainer/plug of any debris
4. Separate the produce leaf by leaf and lay in a pile in the sink. This would mean to unband items such as parsley that is normally bound together with a band or rubber band. For heads of lettuce, remove leaf by leaf from the stem and discard the cord/stem
5. Now rinse every single leaf under cold running water and put directly into a clean rubbermaid/tupperware storage container. Drain the container of any excess water before storing in the refrigerator. For bunches such as dandelions, rinse small clumps under cold running water at a time. Store in container, drain excess water and store in refrigerator. You more than likely have large rubbermaid containers stored somewhere in your house where you can keep you bun greens. You can use large or extra large zip lock bags but that gets expensive.
Don't give your bun anything to eat that you would not eat yourself - no limp, brown, wilted or soggy veggies please! After all they are human too (or I think of my buns as being human as you should too) and deserve fresh yummy food just like you!
Try to give the little guys a variety of greens each day like 3 to 5 different items. You wouldn't want to eat the same thing over and over, day in and day out so give them a variety please! Check out the produce departments of your local grocery stores and produce stores for a variety. Not all stores sell the same produce. They deserve it and thanks bunny parent and your bun says thanks too.
For more information on proper foods for rabbits, check out the following links and pdfs:
Food Pyramid for Adult Rabbits (Red Door Shelter)
Bunny Salad List (Red Door Shelter)
Bunny Diet Basics (Red Door Shelter)
What Should I Feed My Bun? ( by byDana Krempels Ph.D. with Miami University)