Avoid giving your bunny the following: potatoes, corn, beans, seeds, onion bulbs or nuts. These foods are difficult for rabbits to digest and can cause serious digestive problems.
Vegetables that can be fed to your bunny daily:
- Bell peppers
- Bok choy
- Brussels sprouts
- Carrot tops
- Cucumber
- Endive
- Escarole
- Fennel
- Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme
- Lettuces: romaine, green leaf, red leaf, Boston bibb, arugula, butter
- Okra leaves
- Radicchio
- Radish tops
- Sprouts: alfalfa, radish, clover
- Watercress
- Wheatgrass
- Zucchini
Vegetables and plants to give sparingly (one or two times a week) to a bunny:
- Broccoli (stems and leaves only)
- Carrots
- Chard
- Clover
- Collard greens
- Dandelion greens (pesticide-free)
- Flowers: calendula, chamomile, daylily, dianthus, English daisy, hibiscus, honeysuckle, marigold, nasturtium, pansy, rose
- Kale
- Spinach
You can mix and match different veggies & herbs to make a relaxing meal for your bunny.
Calming Blend
You will need:
1 Comfrey leaf
1/4 – 1/2 cluster of Lavender flowers (cluster of buds)
1/4 c. Rosemary
1/2 Carrot, Diced
Roughly chop comfrey, lavender, rosemary and place into a dish. Add your diced carrots and mix altogether. Serve.
Fruit: Give to a bunny once or twice per week
Fruit is high in sugar and should only be given to your furry pal once or twice a week. The appropriate serving is 1-2 tablespoons of fruit (either one kind or a mixture) per five pounds of body weight. As with vegetables, fruit should be introduced slowly and one at a time.
Fruit you can feed your rabbit (once or twice a week):
- Apple (no seeds)
- Banana
- Berries: blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries
- Cherries (no seeds)
- Grapes
- Melon (no rind as it cause slight digestive issues)
- Nectarine
- Orange
- Papaya
- Peach
- Pear
- Pineapple
- Plum
- Watermelon
Water
Fresh water must always be provided for your rabbit. If you have a cage, a hanging water bottle is a fine option, but we recommend a water bowl as lapping is how they naturally drink water. On a hot day you can drop an ice cube or two in your rabbits water dish. If your rabbit does not seem to be drinking enough water you can leave the vegetables fairly wet when you present them.
Pellets
These should be purchased so that they are fresh, as bunnies will turn their noses up at stale pellets. Look for pellets that are high in fiber and low in protein. You will need to limit your rabbit’s pellet intake as he/she ages. Pellets that are high in protein can lead to obesity and other health issues in rabbits. Avoid giving your rabbits feed that contains dried corn. A rabbits digestive system is to sensitive to process foods that are high in starch such as potatoes and corn, and therefore does not fully process it. It slowly builds up and causes bloat in rabbits, young & old. Also avoid feed with treats that contain unnatural colorants.
Treats
Everybody loves a treat now and then… so we sometimes will whip up a batch of these treats from House Rabbit Society by Brenda
Brenda’s Homemade Bunny Biscuits
Remember, these are treats, so give them sparingly.
1 small carrot, pureed
1/2 banana, mashed until really creamy
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup rabbit pellets, ground finely in a coffee grinder
1/4 cup raw rolled oats, ground finely in a coffee grinder (we grow our own so it’s readily available to us)
Mix pureed carrot, banana and honey in a medium bowl. Add pellet powder and ground oats. Mix until blended. Knead in your hands for 1-2 minutes. Roll out the “dough” in 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick layers between sheets of plastic wrap. Cut into small cookies (about 3/4 inch across). Place cut shapes onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes (check to make sure they are not browning too much). Turn off the heat and let the cookies sit in the warm oven for an hour or so.
Note: you could replace the carrot with apple or pear. You can add chopped pumpkin seeds to make it extra special.
Other Treat Ideas
Honeyberry
-Sarah
You will need:
1 Strawberry
2 Strawberry Leaves
1 Blackberry Leaf
1 Blackberries
1 Bilberry
1/2 tsp. of Honey
Put all ingredients (excluding honey) in a coffee grinder. The results should not be too fine or too bulky. Take it out and put it in a bowl. Add the honey over the berries and mix until through. Serve to your rabbit.
Raspberry cookies
-Emily Rife
1/3 cup Frozen Raspberries, de-thawed
1/2 Tbsp Dried mint
1/3 cup Rabbit Pellets
3 Tbsp Old Fashion Oats
Preheat over to 375 degrees
Mix raspberries with mint.
Grind pellets in food processor or blender.
Mix with oats. Slowly add dry mixture to raspberry, mint mixture until well blended together. Using a teaspoon measuring spoon, spoon out onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper
Flatten cookies with a fork to about 1/4″ thick
Cook for 20 minutes, and let cool in oven.
Cake for bunny
-Susan Husk
1 Carrot
2 Strawberries
1 Raspberry
1 Blackberry Leaf
2 Dandelions
1/2 tsp. Honey
1-3 tsp. Papaya, mashed (not the skin or seed)
1. Put all the ingredients (excluding papaya and honey) in a grinder or blender and have it mixed until the results are chopped up in small, tiny pieces. Take the mixture out and place it into a bowl.
2. Shape it into an even circle but make sure it’s still very loose, like dirt.
3. Use your finger and make a hole halfway down that is the size of a ping pong ball (which is about 1 inch around) and add in the papaya then top it with honey. After doing so, scrunch everything up and tighten it to prevent it from falling apart. Serve.
Brands we trust.
Island Rabbitz 