Wednesday 1 May 2019

How To Feed Your Rabbit The Perfect Diet





Check the type of food you are feeding


Do you know what your rabbit needs?  Have you ever checked the back of the food bag and had no idea what you were looking for?  It is pretty easy.  

So, rabbits need at least 18% crude fibre BUT the more the better.  You will be aiming for 12-14% crude protein for an adult and around 16% for a growing rabbit.  You always want to keep the crude fat/oil to below 4%.  

So a perfect rabbit food should look like this - 

Crude fibre 20% 
Crude protein 13% 
Crude Fat/oil 3%

You should also look for a forage based pellet, timothy hay pellets for adults and alfalfa pellets for younger rabbits.   



Amounts for food


The main part of your rabbit's diet should be made up of hay.  Offering unlimited hay and apple tree twigs will make sure your rabbit is completely healthy.  

Pellets should be limited to only give him the right nutrients each day.  The amount of pellets fed to your rabbit decreases as your rabbit gets older.  

The amounts of pellets to feed your rabbit are as follows - 

7 weeks to 7 months - unlimited pellets (unless the rabbit eats pellets over hay, then limit to encourage eating more hay).  

7 months to 1 year - 170g per 3kg of bodyweight

1 to 5 years - 85g per 3kg of bodyweight

6 years + - Maintain 85g per 3kg of bodyweight unless the rabbit struggles to keep weight on.  If this is the case, give unlimited pellets.  


Fruits and Veg


Feeding your rabbit fruit and vegetables is great for increasing the nutrients that your rabbit gets and will help your rabbit get a varied diet.  It is, however, important to feed the correct amounts and types to ensure that your rabbit doesn't become unhealthy or overweight. 

Here are the amounts of fruits and veg you should feed your rabbit daily - 

12 weeks to 7 months - Slowly introduce only vegetables from 14g to the adult amount.  

7 months + - Feed 300g of chopped veg per day.  You can also introduce up to 50g of fruit per day.  



*Disclaimer*  

I am not any type of animal expert but instead only an animal lover who wants to share her tips.  Please consult relevant animal specialists and do not only take my advice.

 The Rider's Pets

                                                                                                                          

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