Help! Bunny diet!

[BouncingBunnies42]

Hi

Well, I have a little bunny, Willow. I’ve had her for about 1.5 weeks, and she doesn’t like veggies or fruits! She loves her hay, and will eat her pellets, but refuses her veggies and fruits! Does anybody know any veggie or fruit that bunnys always love? I’m willing to try anything

[Roberta]

Well, if she is eating hay then you should be ok. Hay us the most important part of their diet. How old is she ?

[Bailey&Alec]

This is going to sound counter to mainstream, and perhaps even be a little sad for you at first, but bunnies do not NEED fruit or fresh greens. They usually want them, and we want to give it to them for being so adorable… but hay and very high-quality pellets will do it. ‘Rabbit Health in the 21st Century’ has a chapter about the changing opinions on this, and for rabbits with frequent stasis issues, taking fresh greens and fruit out of the diet has led many rabbits to long healthy lives. Bunnies need consistency in diet, not variety. And they need grass hays, like timothy and almost nothing else. If your rabbit doesn’t crave greens, carrots, or treats – you are lucky. Your bunny is getting perfectly balanced nutrition and none of the junk. Just double check your pellets are good. Not the kinds filled with dried fruits, seeds, soy, corn, and fillers. Timothy hay should rank very high in it’s make-up.

Carrots are okay in small quantities, and a small bowl of greens once maybe twice a day (I buy an organic spring salad mix with baby lettuces, romaine, red lettuce, radicchio, arugula, etcetera – and give a pinky sized piece of carrot) but that is for a bunny that wants and seeks these things. Mine wants fresh food twice a day (about every 12 hours or will complain) but I had to stop giving fruit, even at a frequency of only once a week, after two emergency GI stasis events.

So if your bunny doesn’t want it, and eats lots of timothy grass hay, she is getting what her body needs without all the junk. Buy the best food you can and be thankful she is happy and healthy.

Be sure to figure out getting her spayed. Un-spayed females have a very high rate of uterine cancer. Call bunny shelters for a resource, sometimes there is a discounted vet they suggest and use. (Unfortunately spaying rabbits is more expensive than other animals normally.)

Best of luck for a good life with little Willow.

[Bam]

It is absolutely true that a bunny needs hay more than anything else. The recommended amount is at least 80% hay, and many recommend 90%. (You have to interpret this as crude weight though, greens have lots of water so they actually contribute very little weight-wise.) Bunnies and horses are very much alike, they are continous feeders, meaning they should never have empty stomachs and they should eat lots of fiber. Many house-bunnies are over-fed food with too high nutritional content. Since they should be eating “all the time”, they don’t do well on food high in fat, protein or sugars. Exceptions are growing rabbits and expecting/nursing mothers + of course rabbits who for some reason have been poorly and need extra nutrients.

Fruit is not actually needed at all. It’s often appreciated though, but should be regarded as treats. One of my bunnies can’t handle carrots, so he gets none. Veggie-wise, leafy greens are considered the healthiest. In young rabbits, greens should be introduced slowly and in small amounts.

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