In looking for an alternative diet to pellets (or to at least diminish our dependency on them) we’ve been researching rabbit digestion and nutrition, and which plants available to us benefit the rabbit most. We’ve been experimenting with natural feeds for about two years now, and are sharing what works for our rabbits.
Before attempting to discontinue the all pellet diet, we felt it important to first understand basic rabbit anatomy and the digestive system. A rabbit’s digestive system is designed to process feed through what is known as hindgut fermentation. This is a process in which the gut ‘flora’ breakdown the ingested plant cellulose passing from a single stomach. In contrast, foregut fermentation occurs before the food reaches the stomach; this method means the animal needs a rumen or crop, and often the animal regurgitates its food (chews the cud) in order to reduce the particle size before it can be passed on to the stomach. Foregut fermenters include cattle and goats; hind gut fermenters include rabbits and horses.
Rabbits are unique among most hindgut fermenters in that they absorb the needed levels of nutrients via their upper digestive system, by re-ingestion of cecotropes, which are passed through the intestines and subsequently eaten for the added nutrients. Cecal hindgut fermenters have a considerably enlarged cecum (or caecum) compared to the rest of the digestive tract. In an overview of the rabbit’s digestion, food is ingested and passes to the stomach, where it is stored and sterilized. It then passes to the small intestine, where the majority of proteins and other nutrients are removed from the food, and undigested fiber is advanced through the digestive system. After this, the undigested fiber and the leftover waste material from the small intestine, move to the cecum, which is a large sac located where the small and large intestines meet. The waste material passes by the cecum into the large intestines and is ultimately removed from the body as solid droppings. The fiber is diverted into the cecum. In the cecum, there is a large number of microorganisms (yeast, ‘good’ bacteria) that work to breakdown the fiber to make it digestible to the rabbit. After the nutrients are made available in the cecum, it contracts and sends the fiber substance back into the large intestine to be passed from the body for consumption. This is the cecotropes, which are pungent, greenish brown, and coated in mucus. A rabbit should immediately consume the cecotropes; if you see many of them in the cage or the tray beneath, or stuck to the rabbit’s tail end, there is problem. Either the rabbit is ill, or you’re feeding too much protein.
**On a side note, one cannot stress enough the importance of providing a diet with the proper level of fiber. The rabbit’s digestive system requires it, and not providing it will result in abnormal fermentation, changes in the population of the good bacteria, as well as slowing down the cecum and colon functions. This will most likely cause enteritis or other disease, as the balance of the flora in the gut is compromised.
**On a side note, one cannot stress enough the importance of providing a diet with the proper level of fiber. The rabbit’s digestive system requires it, and not providing it will result in abnormal fermentation, changes in the population of the good bacteria, as well as slowing down the cecum and colon functions. This will most likely cause enteritis or other disease, as the balance of the flora in the gut is compromised.
So then, what foods benefit rabbits the most?
We feed a variety of plants in season, along with good timothy /grass hay, and oats. The following is a list of what we feed, either on a regular basis or occasionally, along with the nutrition it offers the rabbits. We also feed a half cup of organic oats mixed 50/50 with a standard rabbit pellet when we offer forage. The oats are a wonderful source of fiber (even more easily digestible than hay) and will help guard against too much calcium intake, which can result in bladder/urinary issues in rabbits. We try to offer a variety of fresh food when we feed our rabbits, so we don't feed most items on this list daily; alternating keeps the rabbits happy and insures they are not getting too much of a good thing by consuming the same item every day. As always, you should make the transition away from pellets EXTREMELY slowly, and should introduce one fresh food source at a time. In the spring, we work up to the summer forage ration over a period of two weeks, adding small bites of what we intend to feed, one item at a time, every few days until we’re satisfied the rabbit’s system has adjusted and can tolerate the transition. How much you feed will depend on your rabbit. If he/she eats all the fresh food within a few minutes, followed with no sign of diarrhea, you likely have the correct amount. Also, how well the rabbit is thriving on the fresh diet will be reflected in weight and condition; watch them carefully for the first few weeks of transition. If, when you introduce the fresh food, the rabbit is leaving some of it after a few minutes, try cutting the amount back a little. Until you feel you have a comfortable level of fresh food, we recommend you keep a normal ration of pellets available to provide adequate nutrition while you experiment to find the best portion of fresh food for your rabbit to thrive.
We feed a variety of plants in season, along with good timothy /grass hay, and oats. The following is a list of what we feed, either on a regular basis or occasionally, along with the nutrition it offers the rabbits. We also feed a half cup of organic oats mixed 50/50 with a standard rabbit pellet when we offer forage. The oats are a wonderful source of fiber (even more easily digestible than hay) and will help guard against too much calcium intake, which can result in bladder/urinary issues in rabbits. We try to offer a variety of fresh food when we feed our rabbits, so we don't feed most items on this list daily; alternating keeps the rabbits happy and insures they are not getting too much of a good thing by consuming the same item every day. As always, you should make the transition away from pellets EXTREMELY slowly, and should introduce one fresh food source at a time. In the spring, we work up to the summer forage ration over a period of two weeks, adding small bites of what we intend to feed, one item at a time, every few days until we’re satisfied the rabbit’s system has adjusted and can tolerate the transition. How much you feed will depend on your rabbit. If he/she eats all the fresh food within a few minutes, followed with no sign of diarrhea, you likely have the correct amount. Also, how well the rabbit is thriving on the fresh diet will be reflected in weight and condition; watch them carefully for the first few weeks of transition. If, when you introduce the fresh food, the rabbit is leaving some of it after a few minutes, try cutting the amount back a little. Until you feel you have a comfortable level of fresh food, we recommend you keep a normal ration of pellets available to provide adequate nutrition while you experiment to find the best portion of fresh food for your rabbit to thrive.
Food We Forage
There is large variety of foods for your rabbit that you can forage. Natural food is the best, in our opinion. Just be completely certain there have been no chemicals used on the plants you’re gathering. It’s also wise to avoid plants along a road, due to the toxins emitted in vehicle exhaust. Some of the foods listed below are not native to our region, but are introduced species that grow ‘wild’ without propagation.
Plantain is a leafy plant that grows abundantly on our farm, especially in the spring, but also in the summer and early fall. It can be harvested and dried for winter use, or potted and grown indoors in cold weather. It is a safe first plant for young kits beginning to nibble. Plantain is high in fiber, low in protein, and is excellent for the support of digestive function. It is also a good source of vitamins A, C, and B6, as well as potassium. Be careful, though, because it does contain a fairly high amount of sugar. We feed a few leaves to each rabbit about 4 times a week.
Dandelion is a flowering plant that can be very invasive in yards and gardens, but it is an excellent food source for your rabbit. It’s also a safe ‘first’ green for youngsters. It provides a decent amount of folate, magnesium, phosphorus and copper; it’s also a very good source of dietary fiber, Vitamins A, C, E, K, and B6, in addition to minerals thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, iron, potassium and manganese. It’s great for lactating does because it stimulates milk production. We feed a leaf or two to each rabbit daily. Dandelion can be dried, or the plant potted and grown indoors for winter use.
Purslane grows in the gardens on our farm; however, we have never planted it ---it grows uncultivated here. It’s very prolific and can become a little invasive. This is a very nutritious plant. It contains a very high level of Omega 3s and vitamin A; it’s also high in fiber and is a rich source of vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine and carotenoids, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and manganese. We feed a stem to each rabbit 4 times a week.
Blackberry is a very beneficial plant, but must be used in moderation due to potential liver damage. It contains tannins that supposedly are antioxidants, and it’s a good source of vitamin C. It’s said to also help with the immune system and increases circulation to provide a cooling effect in summer. It is good for gastrointestinal health and is said to encourage pregnant does to go into labor. It’s also a safe introductory to greens for young rabbits. We feed a leaf or two to each rabbit about twice a week, unless we have a doe in later stages of pregnancy.
Honeysuckle is linked to respiratory health and has antibiotic properties. The leaves are astringent and antiseptic. The flower buds are good for digestive disorders. We feed a small section of stem with leaves as an occasional treat or if a rabbit has digestive issues.
Grasses' nutritional content depends on soil - what is available in the first place, type of grass, and to a degree, climate, weather, time of day, etc. Sugar content also depends on all those factors. It is difficult to list the benefits of grasses given those variables. We feed orchard grass in season, and grow oat and wheat grasses for late fall and early spring feeding.
Clover is a nutritious forage, rich in protein, minerals (especially calcium, phosphorus and magnesium) and soluble carbohydrates. White clover may contain low levels of phytoestrogens (0.02-0.06 % of DM) compared to red clover (1-2.5 %); phytoestrogens are supposed by some people to be used by the plant to control male fertility as part of their natural defense against the overpopulation of herbivore animals. Therefore, we recommend you avoid feeding very much red clover to breeding bucks. We feed a handful of white clover or a few sprigs of red clover daily to all the rabbits except breeding bucks. The extra protein is especially beneficial to growing youngsters.
Food We Grow
We have a garden devoted to raising food for our livestock and birds. We choose nonGMO seed and use organic practices.
Comfrey has an average-protein content. It is a very good source of Vitamin C and is high in Vitamin A. It contains high levels of calcium and iron. We feed a medium sized comfrey leaf to each rabbit about 4 times a week.
Turnip Greens are a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and folate. They are very high in fiber, and are a good source of calcium, magnesium, copper, and manganese. We feed these greens 2-3 times a week.
Beet Greens are very similar to turnip greens in nutritional content; however, the beet greens also contain a very high level of potassium. We feed these greens 1-2 times a week, alternating with the turnips in the daily ration.
Kale is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin K. It’s very high in calcium, and it’s a good source of potassium (though not quite as high as beet greens are). Again, it can be fed in lieu of beet or turnip greens, and we’ll feed it 2-3 times a week, especially to lactating does
Swiss Chard is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin K. It is similar to turnip greens in nutritional content. It’s higher in Vitamin E, but it is lower in calcium and fiber content than turnip greens. It’s also a decent source of selenium. We feed chard 3-4 times a week.
Sunflowers provide edible seeds and foliage. Before the seeds ripen, we feed leaves from the stalks. Sunflower seeds are high in protein and iron. They can also be dried and stored for winter use.
Echinacea Purpurea, aka purple coneflower, stimulates various aspects of the immune system and is helpful in energizing white blood cells and having anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. The leaves can be dried for winter use. We feed a few Echinacea leaves to each rabbit about twice weekly.
Nasturtium has high antiseptic properties and stimulates fur growth. It helps maintain urinary tract health and aids in digestion. It's high in Vitamin C. Some people think nasturtium will repel rabbits from the garden, but our rabbits love this plant. We feed a leaf to each rabbit 1-2 times per week.
Pumpkins are a good source of Vitamin A. They’re also high in Vitamins C and E, and in pantothenic acid---which is very necessary for several bodily functions, including the decomposition of proteins, the production of several enzymes and assisting the central nervous system to communicate with the brain. They also are believed to possess antioxidant properties. They’re easily stored, as well. The seeds can be fed also, and they are particularly high in Vitamin B12; many people believe they are also a natural dewormer. We feed a small chunk of pumpkin and a few seeds to each rabbit twice weekly in the fall and winter.
Strawberry plants are entirely edible. They are antiseptic and increase circulation to help cool the rabbit in hot weather. Leaves are rich in iron and are good to feed to pregnant does because they are supposed to prevent miscarriage. When available, we feed any damaged fruit (sparingly) to the rabbits, along with a leaf in hot weather.
Spearmint is a good source of Iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and folate. It’s also high in fiber. It’s believed to assist in regulating the digestive system and is good in treating a stressed rabbit. It is easily dried for winter use, as well. We feed it sparingly as a treat. We don’t recommend feeding it to very young rabbits or lactating does.
A word about feeding fresh food when you have a new litter of rabbits...use extreme caution. When you feed the doe, make sure the kits cannot access the greens. A change from mother's milk to greens can be fatal to the kits. We hand feed lactating mothers to be sure the kits do not accidentally consume the greens. At about 3 weeks of age, we begin to let the kits have a very small taste when we feed the doe. We gradually increase to allowing them small bites of plantain and dandelion. By the time they are 6 weeks old, we begin to give them very small amounts of leaves and grass, so that over the course of 2-3 weeks, they are able to handle a mostly fresh diet. We do offer our oat and pellet mix free choice starting at 3 weeks and continue for the next 6 weeks, regardless of how much greens they eat. Growing rabbits need an unlimited supply of food.
Some people have expressed interest in pasturing their rabbits and raising them on grass only. While that sounds very intriguing and ‘natural’, please keep in mind two things. First, rabbits are foragers by nature and benefit from a variety of foods---pasturing in tractors would severely limit the rabbits’ ability to gather all the nutrients its body requires. Secondly, there is a huge variety of parasites that are in the soil and on vegetation, waiting for the rabbit to consume; if you pasture, expect to have several losses due to parasite infestations, and plan to deworm all your rabbits on a regular basis. Breeders who raise their rabbits on pasture are mainly growing out their fryers for consumption and aren’t worried about the parasites the rabbits will encounter. If your goal is to maintain rabbits as breeders, we highly recommend you choose to forage for them. It is time consuming and an effort to forage and grow food for them, but you’ll be assured they are not ingesting parasites or chemicals or any other harmful substances.
There are many rabbit safe foods listed online; we’ve only discussed the foods we use in our rabbitry. We encourage you to do a search to find substitutes if you’re unable to grow or find what we’ve listed that works for us.
As always, we welcome comments and questions!
As always, we welcome comments and questions!