diet

The key to a long and happy life for your bunny is as simple as 4 easy steps:

1. Lots and lots of fresh hay

The most important part of your bunny's diet is fibre. Good fibre means good healthy digestion. Supply lots of fresh hay (whether it's grass or
oaten) on a daily basis.

If you want to go straight to the best choice, buy oaten hay. It's really yummy and your bunnies will love you for it. Grass hay is the next choice
but watch out for those nasty seeds which can get stuck in your bunny's mouth. Next is lucerne but this is really only for baby bunnies needing
lots of nutrition to grow big & strong. After six months of age, change from lucerne to another hay as too much nutritional hay can cause tummy
upsets in adult bunnies.

The easiest way you can supply your bunny with hay is by using it in their litter tray (chew & poo station!). Our bunnies have their litter trays
changed daily so they are always supplied with fresh and clean hay to eat.

2. Fresh Water

Surprisingly, rabbits drink lots of water!! Supply your bunny with a good, heavy ceramic bowl that will not be tipped over easily. Fill with fresh
clean water daily and watch your bunny drink like a fish! (It is a myth that rabbits get enough moisture from their vegetables).

You can use those water bottles but cleaning them is awkward and sometimes your bunny will not receive enough water from them.

3. Fresh Veggies

Feed your bunny two cups of green veggies per day.

This is what we feed our bunnies each evening:

Flat leaf parsley --- (they all love it!!) - a couple of stems provided daily together with

another veggie

Chicory ---------------- good stuff, but needs to be used the day you buy it as it flops quickly

Baby Bok Choy ---- the leaves are the favourites but most eventually eat the bases as well

Carrot tops ----------- used sparingly but they all love them.

Celery tops ----------- they love the leaves! If you feed the stalks, cut them into small pieces

to help with the stringy bits.

Fresh grass ---------- always a favourite (though check nothing else nasty is in the handful)

Dandelions ---------- yum yum (not too much though - really just as a treat)

Oregano -------------- a couple of leaves here & there

Common mint ----- smells divine (though some bunnies don't like it)

Thyme ---------------- also smells yummy (most bunnies like this one)

Treats - we only give a tiny treat occasionally & this is usually one sultana per rabbit or a small piece of apple (seeds removed) or a strawberry,
grape or other piece of fruit.

DO NOT FEED - bamboo shoots, beans, bread, breakfast cereals, bunny/guinea pig mix, cabbage, carrots, chocolate, citrus fruit, corn
or corn products, grains, iceberg lettuc, nuts, Pennyroyal mint, onions, peans, any kind of potatoes or potato peels, rhubarb or rhubarb leaves,
seeds, tea leaves or food so old that you would not eat it yourself.

4. Dry food

Rabbits don't need pellets in their diet to stay healthy, however if you choose to feed your bunny pellets, only buy the best quality pellets from a
produce store or vet (Oxbow's bunny pellets are excellent from your vet, pasture replacement or rabbit pellet next on the list from the stockfeed
store) and only feed your bunny one handful per day (around 1/4 cup). If you don't want to give pellets, as a lot of people will tell you they contain
quite a bit of calcium, you can provide a bowl of oaten chaff instead which can also be purchased from a feed store (this provides lots of fibre &
no calcium).

Never feed pellets as a rabbit's only source of food. You will end up with a very overweight and unhealthy rabbit that is guaranteed to not live a
long or happy life.

Icky bottom problems??

Most likely this will be a dietary problem. For more information, visit this page -