Branches from fruit trees that aren't chemically treated. Get fast advice, trusted care and the right pet supplies every day, all year round. Stay clear of muesli style feeds as rabbits tend to leave bits they dont like and are therefore not getting all the nutrients they need. Rabbits that are used to having a lot of pellets available might not want to eat more hay. Treats that are bright in colour are very unlikely to be made from natural ingredients. Always provide dust-free and fresh smelling hay. Alfalfa hay contains more protein. Take a look at the Rabbit Awareness Week website for more help and advice about feeding your rabbits. Even if she doesnt poop immediately upon returning to her hutch, your rabbit will be thirsty. Vegetables should make up around 10% of your rabbits diet. Yes! - Rabbits that are frightened/in pain may change their behaviour/develop unwanted habits e.g. ##Check your rabbits droppings Although enclosure size is very important, what it contains is also important. RSPCA 2023. Bunnies love to graze on hay whilst pooping. In the wild, rabbits spend up to 70% of their day foraging and nibbling food. These are known as cecotropes, and rabbits use them to gain nutrients. Despite this, it is still ideal if you can get your rabbit to eat their daily pellets. Given half a chance, your rabbits will dig their way out of their run. You can trick your rabbit into thinking they have fresh hay, and they should check it out again. If you roll it between your fingers, though, the poop should easily grind into a fine powder. The RSPCA helps animals in England and Wales. It's important to know the difference between 'feeding hay' and 'bedding hay' - they are both dried grass, but nutritionally, they are very different. Access to all the things they require (e.g. This will help encourage your rabbit to eat hay. with the quality of their hay. Don't forget fresh, green, grass hay is the most important par. If you are currently feeding your rabbits a muesli-style food, we recommend slowly switching them to nuggets. Rabbits need: Access to all the things they require (e.g. Blog If your rabbit is refusing to eat anything at all, this should be treated as an emergency situation and you should bring your rabbit to a small animal veterinarian. Here are a few ways you can keep rabbits together: The best option is to keep a neutered male and neutered female Two brothers or two sisters from the same litter will also get on well, but it is important that they are both neutered to prevent fighting A group of neutered rabbits that get along If you suspect an intestinal blockage, then you should seek help from a veterinarian. Rabbits that dont have the opportunity to graze can become bored, depressed and even aggressive. As herbivores, their teeth grow throughout their lives, just like horses teeth. Rabbits need 3 different types of food to keep them healthy: Rabbits are natural grazers. Good quality hay (sweet-smelling and dust-free) and/or grass should constitute the majority of your rabbit's diet and they should always have it available. 2023 Best4bunny. The poop should be a light shade of brown. Find out why providing platforms for your rabbits is important. Learn all the basics about keeping an eye on your rabbits' health, including how to give them a quick health check and important things to look out for. ##Never keep your rabbits food bowl filled up with pellets Menu Toggle Contact. We recommend an all-in-one pellet, or nugget based diet, to prevent selective feeding. If you have recently been learning more about how to get your rabbit onto a healthier diet, but they are being picky about their new, healthier food, then these tips can help you transition your rabbit to their new diet successfully. A healthy rabbit diet should be made up of mostly grass-based hay. In the wild, they would get this by consuming grass. Rabbits need a well-balanced diet to be healthy and happy. Rabbits are a popular choice for many families, with an estimated 900,000 rabbits kept as pets in the UK. Here are some more top facts about rabbits: We have hundreds of rabbits in our care who are all looking for loving new homes. All rights reserved. You could even set up an area in the enclosure where you put hay directly on the ground, to see if your rabbit would prefer to graze on the hay instead of pulling it out of a rack. If a rabbit does not eliminate, she is at risk of developing an intestinal blockage. Hay should make up the majority of your rabbit's diet. Leave your rabbit with plenty of hay, and water to drink. 2023 RabbitCareTips.com. Encourage movement for your pet. There are also many online stores that sell high quality, fresh hay. If eaten to excess, these foods can kill a healthy rabbit overnight. Meadow and Timothy are the most popular, but you can try grass hay also. Any change in eating habits can be a sign of illness in rabbits. Unfortunately your rabbit is not making it easy for you. Don't just try one type of hay! This means that, when consumed to excess, it can cause diarrhea. *Grazing on hay keeps rabbits occupied & stops them getting bored. But what do you do if your rabbit just won't eat hay? Fed in small doses, olive oil can encourage your rabbit to poop. We can help rabbits to show normal foraging behaviour in three ways - by providing companionship, by providing the right diet, and by providing the right environment in which to eat. foxes / cats / dogs / ferrets / birds of prey). How to Help an Overweight Rabbit Lose Weight - Supreme Petfoods What should I do if my rabbit stops eating? 7 Ways to Encourage Your Rabbit to Drink More Water - The Bunny Lady Menu Toggle Are rabbits nocturnal? Ileus occurs when normal peristalsisthe contractions in the intestines that push food through the gastrointestinal tractdecreases or stops. Water bowls also require less effort to drink from. You may have been late greeting her in the morning, or after a nap. Typically, a rabbit that eats plenty of hay and drinks water regularly will be fine. If shes not pooping at all, then you have a constipated rabbit. Kindness! Constant access to good quality hay; it's important for emotional wellbeing as well as dental and digestive health. Syringe Feeding Guide | Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) Hi, Im looking after my friends bunny due to a new environment she has. If they eat too much and dont move around theyll put on weight. Rabbits teeth grow constantly throughout their life, because they have evolved to eat a very high fibre diet that constantly wears their teeth down. Book a video appointment to have a chat with one of our vets. Rabbits need hay each and every day to keep them super healthy. This gives them hay in a slightly different form than the typical loose timothy hay. She may have found a spot in the house that she has claimed as her own. Alfalfa is not actually a grass-based hay and has very high protein and calcium content that is not great for adult rabbits. If your rabbit is new to fresh grass, introduce it slowly to avoid an upset tummy, and never feed mown grass, as this can make them poorly. These other types may be more appetizing to rabbits so that theyll be more likely to munch on it, and hopefully eat some of the timothy hay while theyre at it. If that doesn't work, your vet can give your rabbit a laxative or enema. Put a hay rack on the ground level for your rabbit. Never feed grass cuttings from the lawn mower to your rabbit, as the grass ferments and can cause health issues. When the auto-complete results are available, use the up and down arrows to review and Enter to select. While they do add some protein and nutrients for your rabbit, a rabbit who is eating their hay and fresh leafy greens every day can be very healthy even if they are not eating their daily pellets. Look for pellets that have at least 18% of fibre. If they are producing large round dry droppings, thats great. Another common explanation for constipation is swallowing excess fur rabbits groom near-constantly. - Rabbits are highly social, playful and inquisitive and need to interact and play with other friendly rabbits. Owning rabbits can be extremely rewarding. Stuff cardboard tubes with hay and one of their treats in the middle. Offer your rabbit a small dosage of a laxative. If you do cut the grass, keep the rabbits out of the way of the mower and never give them lawnmower cuttings as they rot very quickly and cause dangerous stomach upsets. Periodically take handfuls of hay and fluff it up a little. To keep it simple, your rabbits daily diet should be: For example, a 1kg rabbit will need 25g of pellets per day, and a 2.5kg rabbit will need 65g of pellets per day. So this is why you need to make sure they have access to hay 24 hours a day. Constipation in rabbits can be dangerous. - Scents are important communication methods for rabbits. Theyll turn their nose up while they beg you for more pellets and treats. Your vet will give you specific instructions about your rabbit's care. Monitor for signs of a stomach upset and slow the process down if you notice any problems. PDF RABBAIT - Squarespace Ensure the rabbit is as relaxed as possible. Eating a large quantity of grass-based hay is essential to a healthy rabbit diet. Improving your rabbit's physical and psychological well being. Ileus is extremely dangerous in rabbits and can cause death if left untreated. If your rabbit's behaviour becomes an ongoing problem, seek expert advice. If your rabbit's behaviour changes or shows signs of stress/fear, seek advice from a vet or qualified animal behaviourist- they could be distressed, bored, ill or injured. If the droppings are small or sqidgy, reduce the pellets and veg a little & increase the hay. Your rabbit will eat their caecotrophs immediately, which means you wont see them very often. on all 4 feet on a table or the floor, or slightly head up, as shown. *Please dont worry if you think your rabbit is not eating any hay. Thats why you need to make sure you limit the amount of other foods that you feed your rabbit. Follow the Bunny Lady and her bunny partner Elusive and they seek to educate rabbit caretakers and make sure everyone is able to have a happy and healthy bunny in their home. The same is true if your rabbit used to eat their pellets every day, but suddenly refuses to eat them. In the wild, rabbits spend around 70% of their time eating grass and other plants. If your rabbit seems to pick through their hay and munch on their favorite pieces, only to leave it alone for the rest of the day, you can try to rearrange the hay periodically to make it more appetizing to your rabbit. Check that your pet is not relieving herself elsewhere, though. All Rights Reserved. Take a look at our rabbit feeding tips. Temporarily remove any dry food such as pellets, too. You can find these timothy cubes in a number of online stores, but I do have trouble finding them in person at pet shops. The final five per cent of your rabbits daily diet should be a small amount of high-fibre pellets. However, this does not mean that it is the most appetizing hay for rabbits. Its a result of feces hardening inside a rabbits digestive tract. Take a look at our rabbit feeding tips. So by placing hay next to their litter tray & in the litter tray too, will definitely help encourage them to eat hay. These are symptoms of an intestinal blockage. Please check out the Encouraging your rabbit to eat hay section of the Hay article on the wiki for more tips. The most natural coupling is male/female because this is how they typically form in the wild. With these toys you can place a tasty treat in the middle and use hay to hide the treat. Avoid Alfalfa hay as this is very rich and is only really needed for young rabbits, or rabbits . Hay should make up the majority (80 to 90%) of a rabbit's diet. If your rabbit stops eating, they are at risk of developing a life threatening problem called gut stasis. The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. Some bunnies prefer to eat off the floor and some like to pull at hay from hay racks. Here are some tips: 1. I it stress related Its been at least 24 hours. Join the Best4bunny monthly subscription club to receive 4 magazines and lots of bunderful bonuses for you and your bunnies. If a rabbit can drink, her stomach will not be bloated to excess. Stickied comment. If your pet is emotionally upset, this will be reflected in her poop. A rabbit not eating enough hay can be prone to digestive and dental issues. Observe your rabbit and make a mental checklist of her behavior. Take a look at our advice on rabbit-proofing your garden and providing the ideal home for rabbits. Today. There are so many different types of greens to choose from. If you are introducing hay for the first time it might take them some time to start eating it, but keep persevering its worth it for your rabbits long term health. Many rabbits prefer a water bowl to a water bottle. If your rabbit does not want to move, then that is a sign that it is experiencing extreme pain. How to Care for a Rabbit: Absolutely Everything Your Bunny Needs - wikiHow 1 Talk to your vet. EC2A 4NE, Included free as part of many pet insurance policies, Help, treatment and if you need it, a referral to your local vet, Constant supply of hay or fresh grass to nibble (85-90%), A variety of fresh vegetables and leafy greens (10%), A small quantity of high-fibre pellets (5%), Carrots and carrot tops (as a rare treat they are high in sugar), Dandelion (only small amounts - it can make them urinate more often), Apple seeds: they contain a tiny amount of cyanide. Rabbits need fresh water every day. The high sugar content in fruit means it's not a replacement for pellets. Never wait for your rabbit to eat all of the eating hay, before you provide more. Ideally, your rabbit should also have access to grass. Constant access to safe hiding places so they can escape if they feel afraid. Some options for fruit treats include bananas, berries, peaches, and apple slices. If your rabbit is suddenly refusing to eat pellets that they used to enjoy, you should seek medical attention. Rabbits come in a variety of breeds, shapes and sizes, and each bunny has their own unique personality. ##Hay is so important to a rabbits diet Ideas to encourage your rabbits to eat more hay: Ad lib hay is essential for rabbits. Clever ways to encourage your rabbit to eat hay - Best4Bunny Weve listed some of the safe foods for rabbits below: Never feed your rabbit anything you cant identify, or thats been in contact with pesticides or fertilisers, and always wash fresh food before giving it to them. If its not an option, or you prefer a natural approach, consider olive oil. Go easy on starchy vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli, though, as these foods take longer to digest. Other signs that a rabbit may be suffering from stress or fear include chewing cage bars, over-grooming, altered feeding or toileting habits, or repeatedly circling the enclosure. ##Rearrange the hay morning and night! A teaspoon of olive oil could get her bowels moving. Physically stimulate your rabbit into pooping. Urination and excretion are not always linked. Clever ways to encourage your rabbit to eat hay - no matter how Sometimes rabbits wont eat their hay because its old and stale. Rabbits are fond of playing and throwing toys around. Magazines I am here to make sure all of you rabbit lovers have everything you need to care for your fluffy little bundle of joy. If you want to give your rabbits something special, we recommend fresh veg, plants, herbs, or a very small amount of fruit. Check the ingredients and the colour of treats in shops & always go for 100% natural. Thats how rabbits survive as a prey species. Although this seems like a small amount, dried rabbit nuggets are very concentrated, which is why your bunnies dont need a lot. Vote. Hay is full of fiber. How To Treat Rabbit Constipation Rabbit Care Tips *Hay should make up 80% of their diet. ##Limit their treats Whilst the subordinate rabbits will be left with the calcium supplemented pellets, the dominant ones are more likely to develop calcium deficiency-related health issues. Interesting environments provide both mental and physical stimulation and opportunities to perform normal behaviours, such as exploring, hopping and foraging, as well as the chance to play and interact with other friendly rabbits and people. Even with me for 6 days and her poops are small and dark what should I do for her ? If you believe that your rabbits constipation is temporary, you have two options. Alternatively you can set up a hay trough directly next to the litter box so your rabbit can reach it easily. It should help them make the most of their environment and help them to cope with the challenges of captivity. All rights reserved. Timothy hay is also high in fiber, which is great for a rabbits digestion. Make sure that your rabbits have hay in their enclosure at all times as they need to eat 24 hours a day. If the poop is small or misshapen, your pet may have a partial blockage in her gut. INCREASE rabbit's fiber intake: offer her a variety of fresh hays. The RSPCA helps animals in England and Wales. Youll get a response, and your pet is less likely to be stressed by the experience. The healthy brands of pellets do not have all of the colorful, fruity pieces included and are only the brown pellets. However, calcium is essential for rabbits, and a lack of it can cause tooth and bone problems. When you take your rabbit in for the surgery, be sure to speak to your vet thoroughly about your rabbit's treatment. Watch our video to find out how to keep your rabbits in tip top condition. If want to make a change to your rabbits diet, its important to do so slowly over a period of 2 4 weeks so not to upset their stomach or stop them from eating. This greatly reduces the chances of birds consuming poison. ##Pick natural food for your rabbits ##Grow your own vegetables When it comes to hay, every rabbit is different. - As they are prey species, they need to be able to hide somewhere secure, away from the sight and smell of predators (e.g. Even nuggets containing long fibre or high levels of fibre should be fed in small quantities. Then you will receive tips and tricks about rabbit care straight to your inbox so that you know youll be taking excellent care of your new rabbit. Train your rabbits to use a litter tray. Never just walk away. This will add a different smell and will encourage your rabbit to forage through the hay more. Meadow and Timothy are the most popular, but you can try grass hay also. Giving them access to a large grassy space will encourage them to graze (and exercise). Once your rabbit has eaten a caecotroph, they process it again, and produce a solid, round pellet. Enrichment for your rabbit's home can include: For more information, read our rabbit housing advice and learn about hiding places and platforms, toys and objects and guidance for using enrichment. However, hay is such an important part of a rabbits diet that we need to resist their cuteness. This should comprise around 80% of her daily calorific intake. INCREASE produce. ##Straw has no nutritional value to rabbits My rabbits are eating their poo is this normal? The RSPCA helps animals in England and Wales. When in doubt, always follow the vet's advice. If you have any kind of local farmers in your area, see if you can purchase a bale of hay directly from them. Rabbits need fresh water every day. To help you do this, we have put together some top tips to help encourage your rabbit to eat hay. Gently insert the nozzle of the syringe into the side of the mouth. The best you can do is to try and find out how your rabbit prefers to eat the hay and what type of hay they like to eat! This is vital during heavy shedding seasons. When in doubt, it is always a good idea to seek the advice of a qualified veterinarian. Its a good idea to scatter the pellets around your rabbits home to encourage them to forage. *Hay is full of fibre, which is what rabbits need to keep their stomachs healthy. Each rabbit must be able to hide from one other whenever they want, so ensure they both have constant access to hiding places. I know youve heard that its possible for rabbits to be literally scared to death. Amy Pratt is a lifelong rabbit owner who has been specializing with rabbits at the Humane Rescue Alliance. Hold the rabbit in a normal position, i.e. Can I grow and forage food for my rabbits? Provide a water bowl & bottle, until you know which your rabbit prefers to drink from. Make sure that the mesh is small enough and high enough so that bunnies won't be able to squeeze through or jump over it. We can get creative in the ways that we offer hay and healthy food to our rabbits so that we encourage them to eat more healthy food and stop being stubborn, picky eaters. Remove dry food from her hutch and encourage more exercise. No more than 2 Tablespoons of sweet treats. Rabbit treats from pet shops are widely available, but are often high in sugar - which is bad for their teeth, guts and waistline! Read more about checking your rabbits weight and body shape. In captivity, they can get fiber with hay. ##Keep the fresh hay topped up Many rabbits love carrots, but they arent the healthiest treat because they contain lots of sugar and not much fibre. Make sure that the rabbit has a place to sleep and move around, as well as easy access to their food and water. Fencing - A fence around your garden is one of the best ways to keep out rabbits, since it physically prevents them from entering the area. Hay and grass takes a long time to eat, which keeps them occupied. Make Feeding Fun for Your Rabbit. Cereals are the staple ingredients; they are high in starch, and low in fibre and minerals. If you dont want to buy a toy for this, then you can always make one on your own. Offering muesli to a group of rabbits means that the dominant individuals will eat the most palatable ingredients, such as calcium deficient maize and peas. Mixing in your rabbits leafy greens can also cause some of the flavor of the greens to rub off on the hay. Rabbit digestion cannot cope with them. Pet rabbits are related to the wild European rabbit, and the biology and behaviour of pet rabbits is very similar to that of their wild cousins. Bored rabbits also groom themselves too much and get hairballs, which can cause life-threatening blockages in their stomach.
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