Rabbit Feeding Guide
Introduction
If you search the internet you will see repeated over and over that rabbits should have 80% hay or an all hay diet. The 80% hay recommendation and propaganda was started by House Rabbit Society, an animal rights extremist organization. Oxbow is a partner to House Rabbit Society and funds them. For the past two decades House Rabbit Society has approached soon to graduate DVMs going into exotics specialty and offered them "Assistance " on rabbits, even help starting their practices! This makes many vets beholden to HRS and their practices are colored with HRS faulty information.
I advise you to look at your sources a second time, even the big colleges, Purdue, UC Davis, Colorado, WSU.... look at their Rabbit care guides, then scroll down to the citations and fine print... and you'll have House Rabbit Society's fingerprints in it. Hence why Oxbow bags carry their feeding recommendations. Oxbow has a near monopoly on the pet rabbit market and thus this incorrect info spread over the last two decades. Another point to keep in mind when reading House Rabbit Society propaganda is that in the 1990's the House rabbit society conflated Cavy and Rabbit care and even went as far as to suggest they could eat the same diet and be housed together. When it was found out that Rabbits and Cavy should not cohabitate due to the Cavy ability to infect rabbits with diseases, they retracted that recommendation but never adjusted their Rabbit dietary stance.
One of the many reasons that Rabbits and Cavy are fed such different diets is because Rabbits have a different gut bacteria population to guinea pigs, so the mechanism of digestion is different in rabbits, despite similar anatomy
Comparison of the microbial population in rabbits and guinea pigs by next generation sequencing Edward J. Crowley,Jonathan M. King,Toby Wilkinson,Hilary J. Worgan,Kathryn M. Huson,Michael T. Rose,Neil R. McEwan Published: February 9, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165779
ARBA care guides are written by a panel of DVMs and pellets making up the majority of the diet is their recommendation.
Not only that, but a study of the teeth/jaws and digestion of wild rabbits vs domestic rabbits concluded that hay is poor in nutrition, hard to chew which actually causes malocclusion, and causes periodontal disease from hay getting stuck between teeth. Wild rabbits are high nutrition selectors, they only resort to dried hay like grasses in times of starvation/deep winter, just to stay alive.
Pellet Feeding Recommendations
ARBA recommends feeding a complete balanced pellet as the main source of nutrition. Rule of thumb for selecting complete pellets for your rabbit should start with a baseline of 16% protein, 18% fiber, and a grass or legume as the first ingredient. Typically feed instructions will suggest you feed a measured amount to most adult rabbits rationed twice a day. Total daily intake should equal 1oz of pellet per lb of ideal adult body weight. Rabbits are crepuscular animals, active at dusk and dawn with a rest and digestion period during the day. ie:" a 10lb adult rabbit would receive 5oz of pellets in the morning and 5oz pellets at night.
A complete balanced Pellets should make up between 80% and 100% of a rabbits diet.
Nuanced Feeding recommendations :
Feeding Nursing and Pregnant Does
Nursing and Pregnant animals have a higher Protein requirement while growing fetal kits. It is recommended that the Doe be kept on a regular feed ration for the first 2 weeks of pregnancy, but the feed should be gradually switched from a 16% maintenance diet to an 18% production diet. When the Does enter the 3rd week of pregnancy feed can be increased. After the Doe gives birth to a successful litter she should be allowed to free feed having a quality 18% pellet in front of her at all time until the kits are weaned, and she may remain on this diet until she has fully regained condition. Some Feed Additives that are safe and recommended to add to a nursing Does diet to help increase milk production are , Steam Rolled or Old fashioned Oats, Calf Mana, and Black oil sunflower seeds.
Feeding Weanling Rabbits from 8 weeks to 20 weeks
Feeding Adult Non-producing Rabbits
Non-producing animals can be fed according to need, Protein between 15% or 17% are acceptable and will suit most animals needs. Make sure the pellet has a minimum of 15% fiber. Non-producing and pet animals can be on a timothy or alfalfa based pellet. Other bases may be available but grass or legume hay based pellets are preferred. Try to avoid pellets that use grain as a base.
Total daily intake should equal 1oz of pellet per lb of ideal adult body weight. Rabbits are crepuscular animals, active at dusk and dawn with a rest and digestion period during the day. ie:" a 10lb adult rabbit would receive 5oz of pellets in the morning and 5oz pellets at night.
Conditioning Show Rabbits
Feed Related Studies
Rabbit Tracks: Feeds and Feeding April 24, 2017 - Author: Michigan State University Extension
Impact of feed restriction and of the hygiene of housing on rabbit performances and health
RECENT RESEARCH ADVANCES IN RABBIT NUTRITION December 2000
Reflections on rabbit nutrition with a special emphasis on feed ingredients utilization January 2004
Nutrition Know-How: Pet Rabbit Nutrition September 2011 (Vol 32, No 9)
Hay Feeding recommendations and balancing :
"There is a vast difference in the nutritional value of hay, depending on the type of hay, the quality of forage prior to preparation and the type of and manner of the curing process of hay." Dr. T.E.Reed, Rabbit Specialist
This is a limited listing of commonly fed Rabbit hays , for a FULL list of forage types please see [1]
Timothy
Phleum pratense L. [Poaceae] Average
- Protein :% DM 13.8
- Fiber :% DM 31.8
- Carbohydrates :% DM 4.7 -10.9
Alfalfa
Medicago sativa L. [Fabaceae]
Average
- Protein :% DM 18.3
- Fiber :% DM 28.6
- Carbohydrates :% DM 4.5
Oat forage
Avena sativa L. [Poaceae]
Average
- Protein :% DM 9.1
- Fiber :% DM 34.0
- Carbohydrates :% DM 17.7
Grass Hay
Catch all: Grass hay comes from a variety of sources timothy, brome, orchard grass, tall fescue, and bermudagrass. It contains lower levels of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals than legume hay. Grass hay is very high in fiber. Because grass hay contains fewer nutrients, it may be necessary to supplement your livestock’s diet to ensure its nutritional needs are being met.
- Protein :% DM
- Fiber :% DM
- Carbohydrates :% DM
Mixed Grass/Legume Hay
Legume and grass hay blends offer the best of both worlds and help bring nutritional balance to hay. Not only do these mixes provide a more well-rounded diet, but growing them together often produces more forage than growing a legume or grass alone. When considering establishing a legume/grass hayfield, aim for a field containing around 1/3 grass to 2/3 legume. There are several excellent combinations to plant. Some of the more popular combinations are orchardgrass/alfalfa and tall fescue/alfalfa. These mixed hays are readily eaten and healthy for all types of livestock.
- Protein :% DM
- Fiber :% DM
- Carbohydrates :% DM
Bermuda grass
Cynodon dactylon Pers. [Poaceae]
- Protein :% DM 9.8
- Fiber :% DM 31.3
- Carbohydrates :% DM 0.8
Selecting Hay for Your Horse Lori K. Warren, PhD, PAS Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida
Shape Variation in the Craniomandibular System and Prevalence of Dental Problems in Domestic Rabbits: A Case Study in Evolutionary Veterinary Science Vet Sci. 2017 Mar; 4(1): 5. Published online 2017 Jan 24. doi: 10.3390/vetsci4010005 PMCID: PMC5606619 PMID: 29056664
Differences between Grass and Legume forages
All Hay Is Not Equal: Choose Your Livestock’s Carefully
Debunked Studies whose info is still used as "evidence" for House Rabbit society Propaganda:
Preference of rabbits for drinking from open dishes versus nipple drinkers Tschudin, A; Clauss, M; Codron, D; Hatt, J-M.The Veterinary Record; London Vol. 168, Iss. 7, (Feb 19, 2011): 190.
This study was widely discredited, and removed from ResearchGate, and PubMed , becuse the sample size was 12 dwarf rabbits total. Not large enough sample to gather any conclusive evidence.
