The two main keys to rabbit nutrition are providing plenty of fiber, primarily in the form of hay, and being consistent in what you feed.

First, let's address the fiber issue. Rabbits are hind gut fermenters, meaning they digest much of their food in the cecum and colon (large intestine) which are at the end of the digestive tract. In the rabbit, the cecum (anatomically equivalent to our appendix) is a large blind ended sac located at the junction of the small and large intestine. The cecum is about ten times as large as the stomach and makes up approximately 40% of the digestive tract. Within the cecum, bacteria and protozoa aid digestion of foods taken in by the rabbit. Fiber is needed for these bacteria and protozoa to stay in balance and function properly. Fiber also stimulates motility of the gastrointestinal tract and allows the rabbit to keep ingested food moving properly so that normal digestion can take place. Without fiber the gastrointestinal tract slows down, resulting in subsequent changes in the cecum Ph, fermentation process and bacterial population. With time, these changes result in rabbit indigestion. The rabbit with indigestion will have a decreased appetite and stool production, increased gas production, and possibly diarrhea, gastrointestinal stasis and predisposition to illness.

The fiber rabbits need for nutrition, proper digestion and to aid in normal dental wear comes from feeding grass hays. Variety is the spice of life and that includes the hay you feed your bunny. Oxbow Pet Products offers a variety of hays and Pet Care Veterinary Hospital recommends the timothy, orchard grass, oat or botanical hays for the adult rabbit. Botanical hay, Oxbow's newest variety, is a timothy hay with added dried herbs for flavor and so far our rabbit patients have given it an overwhelming paws up!

Since hay is the primary source of fiber in a rabbit's diet,. we recommend you feed it free choice, which means you always have plenty of fresh, good quality hay available for your bunny. Hay is a dried, cured, preserved plant product fed to animals. The primary types of hay include grass hay (timothy, oat, brome, orchard) and legume hay (alfalfa, clover, pea, and peanut). Many factors go into the nutritional value and quality of hay. These include soil, weather conditions during growth and harvest, and the stage of maturity when the hay is harvested. These factors will affect the appearance and palatability of the hay you purchase and how long it can be stored and stay in good condition. The Oxbow Hay Company provides a source of consistently good quality hay products and as a result, Pet Care Veterinary Hospital endorses their product.

As a general rule we recommend grass hay over legume hay (timothy vs. alfalfa) for the average adult house rabbit. The primary reasons are that timothy hay is lower in protein and calcium and higher in fiber than alfalfa hay. High dietary calcium has been associated with urine crystal or bladder stone formation. Therefore, feeding timothy hay over alfalfa hay may prevent this problem. The higher fiber helps keep the rabbit digestive system in balance and along with lower protein encourages the ingestion of nutrient rich cecotrophs or night feces.

Alfalfa can be fed to young bunnies under the age of six months since it provides extra calcium necessary for growing bones. Just be sure you offer timothy as well so when it comes time to wean them to strictly grass hay they will know the taste and be less likely to resist change. Furthermore, you can feed alfalfa to rescue bunnies that are thin and weak, or bunnies recovering from major surgery or severe illness. Alfalfa tends to be very appealing to the rabbit taste buds and will promote weight gain and give a nice bloom to their fur. Another consideration is in our older bunnies, who during the last stages of their life, may have low appetites, and we can entice them to eat by offering alfalfa.

When it comes to feeding pellets, we recommend high fiber pellets that are over 20% fiber and less than 16% protein. As a general rule we recommend 1/4 cup pellets per 2.5 pounds of body weight per day. Of course this can vary. Obese rabbits and rabbits with gastrointestinal motility problems need limited amounts of pellets regardless of how much fiber the pellets contain. Our pellet of choice is Oxbow's Bunny Basic/T, the T standing for timothy. It is specifically formulated for the adult mature house rabbit and helps prevent obesity as well as urinary stone or "sludge" problems (again because of the lower calcium level in timothy hay). Also, if your bunny absolutely refuses to give up alfalfa hay the timothy based pellet doesn't compound the problems associated with eating excess alfalfa. When converting a rabbit from one brand of a pellet to another do so gradually to help prevent digestive upset. A good method is to go by the 5/5 ths rule. Substitute 1/5 of the old brand of pellets with the new brand, and feed this combination for 5 days. An easy way to do this is to mix up five days worth at one time. For example, if your rabbit eats 1/4 cup of pellets a day do the following:

Day 1 - 5 1 cup brand - 1/4 cup new
Day 6 - 10 3/4 cup old brand - 1/2 cup new
Day 11 - 15 1/2 cup old brand - 3/4 cup new
Day 16 - 20 1/4 cup old brand - 1 cup new
Day 21 Switched over to new food

From this mix scoop out their daily feed allotment. Some animals are pickier than others and will literally eat around the new pellet. If your animal does this, be patient. There is always a small percentage of animals that will refuse any changes and test the will and stubbornness of the owner.

Wow! All that time discussing fiber, but only because it is so important! Well, on to the other "key" to maintaining a nutritionally healthy rabbit--consistency in what you feed. If you stick with a consistent healthy diet: the bacterial population within the rabbit stays healthy and balanced. If you start adding some variations in the form of vegetables or fruits, you can mess up this balanced bacterial population within the intestines and cause problems. As humans we feel the need to add variety to our bunny's diet, both because we think they will like us for it and because we think, like us, they enjoy a varied diet versus the same old thing. However, if we are to supplement our bunny's hay and pellets with greens, vegetables, and fruits we need to be consistent and offer the same types of these food everyday. The reason for this goes back to the all-important microbial (bacterial) population within the rabbit's intestinal tract. These microbes thrive on consistency and stay in balance when offered the same foods to digest day-in and day-out. You see, when you feed carrots, let's say for three days, you stimulate the growth and reproduction of the bacteria that digests carrots. Now, if you stop the carrot for several days, those bacteria, who have a short life span, die due to lack of carrot to digest. When microbes die in large numbers they sometimes give off gas which can be painful and uncomfortable. The rabbit can stop eating for awhile and without new fiber intake intestinal gut motility slows down. This is the start of bunny indigestion which can lead to gastrointestinal stasis or "hairball" syndrome if this pattern repeats itself.

So the bottom line is: be consistent in the vegetables you feed and the quantity. I prefer you stick with greens like parsley, carrot tops, endive, escarole, kale, and red tipped lettuce at an amount equal to approximately 1/2 cup per 2.5 pounds of body weight per day. Carrots aren't my favorite (they contain a lot of sugar and carbohydrates) but if you must, feed only small amounts daily. When it comes to fruits, I don't recommend them period. It is akin to offering the bunny simple sugars which can stimulate the growth of the wrong kind of bacteria in the rabbit's intestines, predisposing them to gas and statis problems.

I know I have been long winded here, but I see so many rabbit health problems in my practice which are related to nutrition and improper diets. Hopefully, this information will help keep many a rabbit's gastrointestinal tract moving smoothly and their overall health top notch.