What Do Bunnies Like To Eat The Most?

Caring and Feeding your Rabbit

Rabbits, fondly referred to as bunnies are sweet and affectionate creatures that are capable of bonding really close with their owners. These cute-looking animals are one of the most sought-after pets because of their looks and demeanor.

Rabbits are herbivores (plant-eaters) and are constantly grazing or chewing on something. They have a “sweet tooth” and would eat anything given to them, poisonous or otherwise. If you own a rabbit and you’re constantly wondering what healthy food to feed it, or you thinking about owning one, here’s what you need to know about feeding and caring for your rabbit.

What to feed your Rabbit

Since Rabbits are herbivorous animals, they only eat plant-based food. The best rabbit diet would be one with water, fresh vegetables, fruits, and hay. If your bunny is still young, you can feed it specially made rabbit pellets. This can be gotten from any pet store nearest to you.

These pellets are rich in nutrients that your young rabbit needs to grow and thrive. Water should be a constant factor in your rabbit’s diet. The vegetables and fruits must be washed thoroughly to get rid of pesticides before being fed to your rabbit.

What vegetable is best for a Rabbit?

There are a lot of vegetables out there, but not all of them are good for your rabbit. Hay is a meal that should always be added to a rabbit’s diet, but what kind of vegetable is good for a rabbit? 

Vegetables such as;

• carrot tops (not the root it contains high sugar content)
• cauliflower
• celery leaves
• cucumber
• peas (leaves and pod inclusive)
• spring greens
• green beans
• pumpkin
• cabbage (only in limited quantity to avoid excess gas)
• Peppers

The above-mentioned vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Just like humans not all rabbits like the same thing. If you want to switch up your rabbit’s diet, you should do so by feeding it the new food sparingly. Watch it closely, if it does not eat it or its feces are soft and watery after eating, then you shouldn’t feed it that particular food.

Notice we only mentioned carrot tops and not carrots? That is because carrots contain high carbohydrates and sugar that isn’t healthy for your bunny and might upset their GI bacterial flora. It should only be given to them as treats and in moderation as well.

What fruit should a Rabbit eat?

Rabbits have a “sweet tooth”; they go bananas for fruits and could literally eat them all day! This is why moderation is the ultimate goal. Fruits should be fed to them in little bits. Always remember to remove stones, pips, and seeds from the fruit before feeding them. They’re numerous fruits available, which is good for a rabbit?

• Mango
• Pineapple
• Strawberry (leaves are edible as well)
• Peaches
• Blueberries
• Apricots
• Pears
• Raspberry (leaves are very nutritious)
• Banana (high in potassium)
• Apple (remember to remove the pips, they are poisonous)

Safe Herbs and Wild Flowers that Rabbits can eat

Rabbits are grazers. They continuously munch on vegetables. So, even when they’re out in the garden for exercise or to play, they are constantly grazing. Ensuring that there are no poisonous plants or flowers is of great importance. However, some of these wild flowers and herbs are good for rabbits. 

• Thyme
• Oregano
• Sage
• Mint
• Rosemary
• Dandelion
• Clover
• Chamomile (leaves and flowers are both edible)
• Nettle
• Nasturtium (leaves and flowers are both edible)

Some of the poisonous human food to avoid giving your rabbit are bread, biscuits, potatoes, rice, chocolate, and so on.

Rabbit Housing 

If you want your rabbit to be house trained, you need to buy a small cage that is meant to be inside the house. You can buy a small rabbit hutch if you prefer it to be outside. The indoor cage can serve as a litter box. Once your rabbit becomes used to the cage or is housetrained, you can leave it open for it to go out and come back to eat, poop or sleep.

The Health of a Rabbit

The health of your rabbit can be difficult to tell because of its quiet nature. You need to be observant when watching them. How do you know when your rabbit is ill?

Appetite change; when a rabbit stops munching as much as it usually does, this is an obvious sign of illness. If your rabbit shows abnormal behavior such as; being inactive, withdrawn, and aggressive, etc. it is probably sick. 

A change in posture is another indication of the poor health of a rabbit. They are active creatures by nature, always jumping and hopping about the place. If you notice them stumbling or staggering, something must be wrong with it.

Missing Fur is another indication. If your rabbit is shedding and losing fur, a trip to the vet is necessary. Facial swelling is another sign of the poor health of a rabbit.

Respiratory problem; if you notice that your rabbit is having difficulty breathing, get it to a doctor as soon as possible.

Dental Health is another important factor to consider. The teeth of a rabbit grow with them throughout their lives so there’s a need to keep the teeth healthy and at the proper length. This can be done by buying a wooden chewy toy preferably from the vet to be sure that there are no chemicals present in the toy.

Cleaning your Rabbit

Rabbits are self-grooming animals and often don’t need help getting clean. Water is dangerous to use as it could lead to hypothermia. The best way to clean your rabbit is to softly brush the dirt off their fur. Specially made bunny brushes are available at your local pet store.

If a rabbit gets dirty by hopping into a muddy area, you may want to help get it clean. Since water makes a rabbit go into shock, it is not an ideal cleaning agent. Use cornstarch on the muddy area and gently brush the dirt with a bunny grooming comb.

Indoor rabbits find it hard to wear down their nails since they’re always inside and not digging in the garden. You need to help them trim their nails. You can get a rabbit nail trimmer from your local pet store or your vet.

Cleaning the anus of your rabbit can be tricky since they’re such nervous creatures. You may want to have someone hold it down while you gently clean it with a cotton ball and warm water.

When dealing with fleas, use a rabbit flea solution to get rid of it. Apply the solution to the affected area. Preferably an area that the rabbit is unable to reach. Between its shoulders is the best spot. After application use a comb to remove the fleas off the body of your bunny.

Fragility of Rabbits

There’s a need to be very careful around rabbits. They’re very fragile creatures and can have a heart attack when they become extremely frightened. If you have kids or have a lot of people around, you might want to ask them to extend the same caution towards your rabbit.