When choosing a diet for a house rabbit, remember that as a herbivore (plant eater), a rabbit constantly needs food moving through its digestive tract. You should consider the age of the animal and its current weight. Younger rabbits (less than 6 months old) require increased nutrients for growth and development.
A diet for young growing rabbits should provide unlimited amounts of alfalfa, a legume hay containing higher amounts of calcium and protein ideal for growth and development. In addition, a high-quality alfalfa-based pellet should be provided until the rabbit reaches 6 months of age. A diet with at least 16% crude protein and 18% crude fiber should meet the needs of a growing rabbit. You should feed based on the ideal body weight of your animal to prevent obesity.
For an adult rabbit, an alfalfa-based diet will have too much calcium and protein than what is required for maintenance. Choose a grass hay-based diet with no more than 16% protein and no less than 20% crude fiber. Offering unlimited access to a grass hay is an essential component to feeding your rabbit. Grass hay is not only vital to the digestive tract, but it helps prevent obesity, diarrhea, dental disease, and boredom. Such types include but are not limited to timothy, orchard, brome, and oat hays. The rabbit should be fed based on the label guidelines and monitored closely for obesity. Obesity can impair the animal’s ability to groom itself, cause organ damage, and interfere with proper digestion. An animal at a healthy weight will have a longer life span.
Rabbit diets should be a pelleted, complete feed to ensure that your animal is getting all the nutrition it needs in each bite of food. Seed mix diets are not ideal for everyday feeding because the rabbit may pick and choose items based on its taste preferences and may not choose the healthiest seeds.
