How to Feed a Pet Rabbit the Right Greens

Many people think that commercially sold rabbit pellets are nutritionally balanced to meet all of the needs of pet rabbits. This is not true. Rabbit pellets were originally manufactured to promote quick weight gain in rabbits being raised for use as food. To keep your rabbit healthy and ensure a long life, you need to feed him some greens every day.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Choose a high-fiber, mid-range protein pellet for your young rabbit, under 1 year old. The pellets should be 18 to 20 percent fiber and 14 to 16 percent protein. Free-feed your young rabbit, allowing her to eat as many pellets as she wants. Switch to a high-fiber, low-protein--under 10 percent--after your rabbit hits 1 year old. Feed your adult rabbit 1/4 cup of pellets each day.

2. Provide fresh timothy, oat or grass hay for your rabbit all the time. Avoid alfalfa hay, which is higher in calcium, if your rabbit is over 1 year old. Too much calcium can cause kidney or bladder problems for your rabbit.

3. Feed a variety of fresh vegetables to your rabbit every day to round out his diet and meet all of his nutritional needs. Give him 2 to 4 cups of fresh vegetables daily for each 5 pounds of body weight. Include at least three different vegetables each day. Wash all vegetables before giving them to your rabbit, and choose organically grown whenever possible.

4. Choose from the following list of vegetables when deciding what to give your rabbit. Not all vegetables are good for rabbits, but many are. Offer her asparagus, beet greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots and tops, chard, clover, dandelion greens, eggplant, endive, escarole, grass, kale, mint, peppers, radish tops, squash, turnip greens, watercress and wheat grass.

5. Pick greens from your backyard to feed to your rabbit only if you do not treat your yard with chemicals, fertilizer or poisons. Do not pick grass and other greens from parks and public places because these areas are typically treated.

Tips & Warnings

• It is all right to feed fruit to your rabbit once or twice a week if he does not have a weight problem. Pick from apples, blueberries, pineapple, melon, peach, plum, pear, raspberry and strawberry.
• It is all right to give some lettuces to your rabbit, but not all lettuce is good for her. Do not give your rabbit romaine, butter, green leaf, Boston, bibb, arugula or iceberg lettuce.
• While it is okay to give your rabbit dandelion greens, as long as they have not been chemically treated, you should not give him the flowers from the dandelion plants.
• Whenever you give a new food to your rabbit, monitor her stool. If the food causes diarrhea, do not give it to her again.