What and how to feed your bunnies

 

Feeding your bun:

Rabbits have a very fragile digestive system, which has a low tolerance for bad/wrong feeding rations. For example, feeding your rabbits lettuce creates gas, which they cannot expel (they do not fat), this can upset the stomach, resulting to bloat and eventually death in severe cases.

Before feeding your rabbits, do your bunny good by looking into the following points:
  • They are simple stomach herbivores.
  • They should be given rabbit pellets, because it is a complete ration on its own and no additional ration is necessary. Where the above is absent, then they should be fed with concentrates as well as succulent forage crops and grasses.
  • Succulent forage and grasses include: 
  1. Aspilia Africana: goat weed  
  2. Talinum triangulare: water leaf  
  3.  Amaranthus spp: usually preferred to other vegetables  
  4. Stylosanthes gracilis: stylo  
  5. Centrosema pubescence: centro  
  6. Panicum maximum: guinea grass  
  7. Penisetum pupureum: elephant grass 
  8. Emilia spp: emilia

  • Leaves and vegetables given to the rabbits should not be too wet.
  • You can feed your rabbits any of the following in small quantity: wheat, barley, sweet potatoes (leafs and root), carrots, breadcrumbs, banana, orange (without peels), watermelon fruit, peel and seeds, vegetable (Amaranthus spp), banana leaves (for strong bones), groundnut (fresh/dried), garden egg, apple (without poisonous seeds), sunflower and seeds, rose flower. The list is endless. The guiding principle is that when you want to feed your bunnies with something you are not sure of, you should introduce it in bits. Watch out for changes in the bunny’s poop, which should be firm. If so, continue giving it the new feed. If not so, withdraw the new feed you introduced to it. Make sure you wash all the fruits and vegetables, and don’t give your rabbits second grade quality.

  • Sometimes they can be fed on poultry growers’ marsh when the pellets are absent.
  • The protein content of feeds for dry does and bucks should be 12-15% while that or pregnant does and nursing does is 16-20% protein. Protein content of as high as 24% should be added to the production ration.
  • All the concentrate feeds and water should be supplied in feeding containers. Put the feed into a feeding container that is designed for rabbits, if that is not available, the feed should be put in a strong, heavy, plastic or metal container/bowl, heavy enough so the rabbits do not topple it over while feeding, high enough for the rabbits to be able to eat from it without jumping in and messing the feed, and wide enough for two rabbits to eat from at a time but not wide for the rabbit to get in and play with the food. The size, nature and placement of feeder you choose to use is generally determined by availability, size of rabbit as well as your strength (money wise).

J-Feeder
J-Feeder









Feeder hook
Hooks for fixing feeding equipment to the wall












  • Diet low in fiber and a high level of grain have been documented to cause enteric disturbances in adult rabbits as well as weanling. Rabbits need lots of fiber to wear teeth down and keep digestive system moving, thus, your rabbits need to have access to unlimited hay (any kind). 
  • Foods high in sugar e.g. carrots, apple, banana should be fed only as a treat.
  • Water – Rabbits should have fresh clean water the whole time. It is best for the rabbits to have cold water but not ice cold during hot days and lukewarm water during cold days: young rabbits especially, require more water intake than the adult ones, because water shortage can lead to retarded growth.
Rabbit drinking equipment
Drinking equipment











 

Some practical advice:

  • Do not change feed suddenly.
  • Do not get desperate if animals do not like seemingly good feed at first glance. Try it for a few days; if necessary starve them a little.
  • The rabbit is notorious for its likes and dislikes which are difficult to predict.
  • Greens should not be too wet, because it will upset the stomach and cause trouble, diarrhea and death.
  • Do not feed more than they will eat; remove old (moldy, dusty) feed. Rice bran and oil seed cakes in particular have the tendency to become rancid, so do not feed that too much. Give the leftovers to other animals.
  • Cooking the feed will probably not justify the effort (in general).
  • A good feeding method is to give concentrate (rice bran, corn, roots) during the day and feed greens overnight. This is also done to avoid attracting rats during the nighttime.
  • Did you know that the rabbit practices coprophagy or pseudo-rumination? That is the consumption of feces and thus the rabbit recirculates a part of the feed through the body. During the night, the rabbit produces a soft fecal pellet, not like the well-known small Dry marbles, but more like a longer shaped wet sausage. The rabbit eats these again but will not touch the dryer pellets. Coprophagy occurs also with other animals to a lesser or a greater extent (e.g. monkeys).

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