A rabbit's digestive system is designed to digest hays, grasses, and fiber. Large amounts of sugary and starchy foods high in easy to digest carbohydrates can lead to serious medical problems. Grass hay is also essential in making sure the teeth stay healthy.

A healthy rabbit's diet should consist of unlimited amounts timothy and other grass hays, 1-3 cups of fresh leafy greens daily, and only about 1/8-1/4 cup of quality timothy pellets for rabbits up to 5 lbs and up to 3/4 cup for rabbits up to 10 lbs. Fruits and sugary vegetables (i.e. carrots) should only be offered as a rare treat in small quantities (no more than 1 tablespoon per 2 lbs body weight) or never at all.  Healthy rabbit pellets will be timothy based pellets and NOT contain artifical colors or seeds, nuts, and dried fruits. 

 

As stated above timothy hay and other grass hays, such as Bermuda grass and orchard grass, should be available all the time and should be the main food your rabbit eats.  This provides the right amount of fiber to keep their gastrointestinal tract healthy and helps prevent problems developing with their teeth. Depending on the size of the rabbit, one to three cups of dark green leafy vegetables, fresh grass, mulberry leaves, and hibiscus leaves and flowers may also be given daily.  Tiny treats of fruit such as banana or watery vegetables such as carrots are okay in very small amounts.  Give no more than a 1” slice of banana or a baby carrot a day. This amount may be too much for a dwarf rabbit. Overfeeding of these treats often causes diarrhea.  For a listing of what treats are healthy and what’re not, please click here. 

Salt blocks are not necessary for rabbits.

Alfalfa pellets may be given to growing, geriatric, lactating, or rabbits with special needs but are not recommended for healthy adult rabbits.