Rabbits
Diet (part 3)
Hay can be stored at home in a dry place that has good air circulation. Do not close the bag of hay but rather leave it open. Hay can be given to your pet in a variety of ways including in a hay rack on attached to the side of the cage, in a box or basket within the cage or exercise area, or even placed in the litter box. Rabbits often pass stools when they are eating and placing some hay in the litter box can help with bathroom training.
They will not eat soiled hay, so you need not worry about sanitation. Always keep hay in the cage or exercise area and replenish as needed. Providing grass hay in the diet is a major key in preventing many diseases in the pet rabbit.
Green Foods

Green foods are equally as important as hay in the rabbit’s diet. Remember we said that rabbits are designed to eat grasses and leaves, so green foods represent the “leaf” part of the diet. Green foods provide all the same benefits that we listed for hay. They also contain a wider variety of micronutrients and importantly provide water in the diet. Even though you may be providing a water container in the cage, rabbits do not always drink as much as they should. Feeding green foods forces the rabbit to take in liquid and thus helps promote healthy GI function as well as kidney and bladder function. You will notice that if you feed your pet a lot of green foods, he/she will drink very little water which is normal.
If your rabbit has never eaten green foods before, we recommend starting him/her on hay first. This will help to make the appropriate changes in the GI tract, including improving movement and production of cecotropes. In this way you can avoid the problem of ‘soft stools” that is occasionally noted when a rabbit that has never eaten hay or greens is given greens. This is not a dangerous disease; it is only the rabbit’s intestinal tract making changes from its sluggish state to a more active state. However, these soft stools can be messy, so making the change to hay first for a couple of weeks will avoid this problem. Greens are appropriate for any age of rabbit. If a weaned rabbit is eating hay, he can eat greens right away.

When selecting and using green foods follow these guidelines:
• Buy (or grow) organic if possible
• Wash any green foods first
• Feed a variety of green foods daily – a minimum would be three varieties – variety provides a wider range of micronutrients as well as mental stimulation for your pet
• Feed a minimum of 1 packed cup of green foods per 2 pounds of body weight at least once a day , feed more if your pet is eating hay as well, there is no real upper limit

There are two situations that can occur that will alter the manner with which you
feed greens.

The first situation is where a select green food causes a soft stool. You will know if this is the case within 12 hours of feeding the offending food. If you are feeding a variety of greens, and not sure which one is causing the problem, then feed only one green food every 48 hours until the offending food is identified and then simply remove it from the diet. This is not a dangerous situation, but it can be messy and there is no need to feed a food that is causing a problem. There are many green foods from which to choose.

The second situation concerns rabbits that have lost too much weight that need to gain weight after a serious illness. It is extremely rare to see a rabbit lose too much weight on a diet of hay and green foods, unless the rabbit is not eating the hay and is only eating greens. Hay is a more concentrated food then greens. In any event, if you are trying to put weight back on a rabbit, you can limit the greens to one cup/2lbs of body weight maximum to encourage an increase in hay consumption.
There are a huge variety of green foods that you can offer your pet. You might even consider growing some yourself! This would include grass that you grow in your yard but it can only be used if there have been no pesticides or other chemicals used on it.

You might consider growing a patch of grass just for your bunnies. And don’t throw away those dandelions when you pull them up, if they have not been treated with any chemicals they are an excellent source of nutrition. In general, the darker green a food is the higher the nutritional value. This is why, for instance, we do not recommend iceberg lettuce. It is not dangerous, but is low in nutritional content. You can use packages of mixed salad greens s if they contain dark colored greens and are not comprised primarily of iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce.
Please, no salad dressing!
© 2004 Midwest Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital