Here we are again - with all things Rabbit!
Today we will diving into How to introduce your rabbit to a new diet and start improving their diet at home.
How to change your Rabbits diet:
Rabbit’s diets need to be changed slowly. A drastic change in diet can cause them to have gut problems such as diarrhoea, gut stasis etc. Therefore, it is recommended to slowly change any diet over a 14 - 28 day period.
We have established how unhealthy a muesli diet is for rabbits and recommend to change them over to a hay and nuggets based feeding plan. You can do this by gradually reducing the amount of muesli and increasing the proportion of nuggets in your rabbits’ food until the muesli has been completely replaced.
How can I make my rabbits diet better?
Feed a better Hay
As mentioned in our previous post, there are two types of hay. 'Feeding' hay is distinct by its lush green colour and fragrance, the fact that it is more highly nutritional than bedding hay and does not retain dust.
Place the 'feeding' hay in the resting places
Where to place the hay is always a question asked by owners. The answer is to place it in areas where your rabbit prefers to rest or even go to toilet. During these times of activity/rest, rabbits are more prone to nibble on hay.
A good idea is to place a rack above their litter tray/toileting area to promote hay to be eaten during this time - it also keeps the hay dry.
Incorporate 'feeding' hay into toys
Rabbits can be very playful and in the wild they are normally foraging for food - so not only is placing food into toys a fun-activity for them it also allows them to feed into their natural instincts.
Some ways to accomplish this are by placing hay and some greens into cardboard tube/willow ball or even some brown paper and tying the ends so the rabbits have to actively tear it apart to reach the hay/greens.
Mix in tasty garnish
Sprinkle in their pellets, dried garnish or fresh herbs into their feeding hay. Again, this is stimulating them to forage and hopefully take in more fibre as they go.
STOP feeding muesli diets
Muesli diets have too many risks to our rabbits therefore it is recommended to stick to hay/fresh grass, pellets and fresh herbs/veggies.
The less risk of creating the bad habit of 'selective eating' in your rabbit the better. They are 'Fibrevores' in the end and require all the fibre they can get rather than the sugary goodness of muesli.
There are loads of different foods out there - what we would recommend as a good brand to use is Burgess Excel. They have a range of all the food variations you require to make sure your rabbit has a healthy diet regime.
Click on the link below to see their ranges:
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