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Healthy nutrition for happy long ears
Feeding rabbits and hares
The right diet for hares and rabbits
What are rabbits and hares actually allowed to eat? We explain what's important when feeding the little hoppers.
Plenty of roughage - hay as a basis
Rabbits are pure herbivores. Their entire organism is specialised in the metabolism of plant food , including above all Grasses, herbs and leafy plants. This means that the basis of proper rabbit feeding in human care is high-quality roughage, i.e. hay high-quality roughage, i.e. hay, grasses, herbs and straw are.
The high crude fibre content in roughage is important for a functioning digestive mechanism. This is because hares and rabbits have a weakly muscled stomach. The stomach cannot transport the feed mash on its own and is dependent on subsequent food taking over this work.
Therefore, roughage must be available to the animal around the clock. Rabbits eat around 60 - 80 small portions throughout the day
. This is essential for the gastrointestinal tract so that it is evenly loaded. A
rabbit that takes too long a break from eating will quickly develop digestive problems. Roughage should make up around 80% of the daily ration, with the remaining 20% being vegetables, fruit and herbs.
Which vegetables and fruit can rabbits eat?
Vegetables and fruit with a high water content are suitable for rabbits. These include, for example: broccoli, spinach, cabbage, carrots, kohlrabi leaves, red and yellow peppers, chicory, fennel, celery, various culinary herbs and fruit such as apples, pears and grapes.
Important: Vegetables should be given daily, fruit can be given occasionally as a small snack between meals.
Nibbles for tooth abrasion
Another component of rabbit food is nibbling branches and wood. Rabbit teeth grow continuously more than one centimetre per month. If the teeth become too long, the animal can no longer eat which in the worst case can lead to death, but definitely to severe deficiency symptoms. Therefore they must grind up fibre- and structure-rich food to wear down their teeth. The best nibbling branches for rabbits are hazelnut twigs and branches from pome fruit trees. But lime, hornbeam, maple or willow are also suitable.
Are rabbits allowed grain?
Opinions differ when it comes to grain for hares and rabbits. Many products with a relatively high grain content for rabbits are sold on the market
. Critical voices argue that grain does not occur in the
natural diet of rabbits and can cause diarrhoea, among other things.
Petra Wolf, Professor of Nutritional Physiology and Animal Nutrition, Rostock, comments:
"On the one hand, for some time now there have been repeated calls for grain-free feeding to avoid diarrhoea, among other things, without any scientifically substantiated data to back this up. On the other hand, dwarf rabbits do not show any changes in the hard faeces when offered rations with an increasing proportion of grain (starchy!), i.e. the frequently mentioned diarrhoeal diseases have not been observed."
The literature describes "a great preference of wild rabbits for ripe grain" (Lincke, 1943 in: Das Kaninchen - Nahrung und Gesundheit). Oats in particular are a favourite food of wild animals. Basically, it should be noted that whether grain is on the rabbit's menu or not depends on its availability in the respective habitat.
To summarise: the majority of the diet of rabbits and hares should definitely consist of roughage . Grain has a faster saturation effect due to its higher starch content. This results in longer breaks between feeds, which can disrupt the digestive process (keyword stuffed stomach). In the correct dosage, however, grain is a high-quality feedstuff that makes a welcome change to the diet.
Sparingly with treats
Of course rabbits and hares love treats. This is perfectly OK from time to time, but the following applies here: do not overdo it. Especially if the snacks contain sugar, molasses or similar, they must be used sparingly .