Tuesday 26 January 2016

Things You Should And Shouldn't Feed Your Rabbit


Their are many bad foods for your rabbit, here are most of them which you should try and avoid:
  • Lettuce
  • Beans
  • Cabbage
  • Cauliflower
  • Parsnips
  • Potato
  • Rhubarb
  • Spinach
  • Tomato leaves
  • Cereal/grain mixes
I strongly recommend not giving any of these foods to your rabbit as most of these are bad for their digestive system. Lettuce may cause your rabbit to have diarrhoea, as lettuce contains lactucarium. It will eventually go away but for the time being your rabbit won't have the best of times. Lettuce has also been known to cause GI Stasis, which is a fatal condition. So definitely stay away from lettuce.

If you let your rabbit out into the garden you must make sure you do not have the following plants in your garden:
Honeysuckle
  • Anemones
  • Arrow grass
  • Bluebells
  • Broken fern
  • Burdock
  • Buttercups
  • Clovers
  • Daffodils
  • Dahlis
  • Deadly Nightshade
  • Delphiniums
  • Fireweed
  • Foxglove
  • Hemlock
  • Horehound
  • Honeysuckle
  • Iris
    Dahlis
  • Ivy
  • Jimson weed
  • Lillies
  • Laurel
  • Lupine
  • Milkweed
  • Poison hemlock
  • Poppies
  • Primrose
  • Snow clover
  • Tarweed
  • Tulips
  • Water hemlock
As there are many plants that your bunny shouldn't be eating, the safest option is to not have any plant life except grass... Only joking! It isn't really necessary to get rid of all of the plants you have, your bunny may love to adventure into the depths of your garden but I can defiantly tell you your rabbits favourite part of your garden is the grass. I mean it's basically an all you can eat buffet, open 24/7! So whats not to like. But I just recommend keeping an eye out for your rabbit if and when he or she is in the garden, to just make sure they aren't eating those particular plants. If you see your rabbit eating any of the above contact your local vet.

Foods that your rabbit is allowed. There are many safe foods to feed your rabbit but some must only be feed to your rabbit in small amounts. They are:
  • Basil
  • Beet greens
  • Carrot
  • Carrot tops
  • Celery leaves
  • Dandelion leaves and flower
  • Dill
  • Mint
  • Parsley
  • Watercress
  • Wheat grass
  • Kale
I feed Nibbles carrots, parsley, kale and basil mainly. As a little treat during the day, if you would like to check out what else Nibbles eats daily I did a blog post.
What Nibbles Eats Daily

As fruit is very sugary compared to vegetables, only give your rabbit some fruit. I would say around one or two pieces every second day. Here are the following fruits in which your rabbit can eat:
  • Apple
  • Bananas
  • Blueberries
  • Cranberries
  • Pears
  • Raspberries
  • Strawberries
If you give your rabbit an apple or pear or just anything with pips in them, make sure to get rid of the seeds first. As they contain amounts of cyanide, which although does not harm humans, it can be harmful to rabbits. So make sure to take out the pips!

Tips:

Also provide a good quality of fresh grass and or grass hay throughout the day.
As a guide on what you should feed your rabbit daily, put two packed cups of leafy greens per kg body weight per day, eg if Nibbles weighs 1.5kg I'll give him two and a half cups of leafy greens per day.
Aim to keep feeding habits consistent (the types of food). If you feel the need to change their diet, you must do it gradually over a two to three week period, to minimise digestive discomfort or upsets.

If you feed you rabbit the right food and make sure they're kept away from the nasty yet beautiful plants. Then your rabbit too will be licking their lips just like Nibbles!

Links:
Instagram - @rabbitnibbles
Youtube - Rabbit Nibbles
Email - rabbitnibbles.owner@gmail.com