Feeding
your rabbits properly is probably the most important thing you will ever
do for them. I feed a pellet and timothy hay based diet. This
is not to say that the rabbits don't get 'extras' but pellets and
hay are the staple in the diet.
My rabbits are
fed twice a day, the dwarfs are fed 1/3 cup of pellets, and the hollands
are fed 1/2 cup of pellets. The pellets are fed in the morning, then
free-choice hay is given in the evening. I use timothy hay because
alfalfa is known to be high in calcium content, which may be
a cause of bladder stones. Make sure that the pellets are dark green,
and don't have a lot of dust. I use timothy hay that is quite coarse,
and is ALWAYS free from mould. Mouldy hay is toxic to rabbits.
Although some breeders may disagree, I feed hay to my young rabbits as
well as the older ones. I also use hay in the nesting boxes instead
of straw.
TREATS
I like
to feed my rabbits so they get a wide variety of different foods.
I figure the more variety they have in their diet the more I can be sure
that they are getting all of the vitamins that they need. Natural
souce vitamins are far superior to artificial source.
BREAD I
keep a box in my kitchen, and fill it with bread that has gone stale.
After a few days it becomes hard and ALL of my rabbits like to gnaw on
chunks of it.
FRUIT I
like to give slices of apple and banana. Other fruits that I give
on occasion are- cherries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries,
pears, and peaches. Most of these fruits I am able to either grow
myself, so that I am sure that they haven't been sprayed with any chemicals.
VEGETABLES I
myself eat a ton of carrots, so this is the most common veggie given to
my rabbits. I buy them with the tops still attached, and to the rabbits
I give the tops. Even if given the whole carrot they will still eat
the tops first. Some of my guys won't even bother to eat the bottom
part. Picky Bunnies!! Other vegetables that I give on occasion
are- peas, corn (on the cob), and beet tops( which the rabbits LOVE).
I also feed the rabbit dandelion greens,
which they also seem to really enjoy. Again I make sure to pick them
from areas that haven't been sprayed with any pesticides.