March 29, 2024

Bowlingual Dog

Animal Planet Directory

How to feed your pet rabbit to keep it healthy at different stages?

After dogs and cats, people are increasing welcoming rabbits as pets in their lives. These small, furry, and cute friends have now moved from farms to your homes. While rabbits prove to be great companions, they require proper care for a healthy and happy life. Although their popularity is on the rise, they are still not very common. You may have to put in a little more effort to find the best veterinarian for your pet rabbit to ensure its best health. It is always advised to buy insurance to manage vet expenses without any hassle. You can find plenty of information online to understand what is pet insurance? Along with medical attention, a properly balanced diet also plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy and long life of your rabbits. It is important to feed your rabbit with the right food according to the stages of its lifespan. This helps in maintain body weight and improve digestion and overall health. In this article, we provide an insight into the diet of a pet rabbit at different stages of life and ensure a long, healthy and happy association with our pet.

 

 

  • Noshing Baby rabbit

 

Like any other child, the journey of a baby rabbit in this world begins with mother’s milk. The baby relies on mother’s milk for nearly three weeks. This is essential as the mother’s milk contains antibiotics that help in preventing infections and diseases. From the fourth week, the kit starts gnawing pellets and alfalfa hay. However, this has to be accompanied by mother’s milk and should be given only in a limited amount. Depending upon the breed, a kit may stay for up to eight weeks on the mother’s feeding.

 

 

  • Juvenile rabbit food

 

From weaning from mother’s feeding to seven months of age, a young rabbit can take as much of alfalfa hay and pellets as it likes. You can also start feeding it with some vegetables from three months of age. Make sure that every new introduction in the diet is gradual. You can add one vegetable at a time to its diet. This will help you identify if any vegetable is causing digestion issues. If you face any such problem, discontinue that vegetable.

 

 

  • Young adult’s diet

 

A young adult rabbit needs pellets and alfalfa hay in very small quantities as these may result in weight issues. You should substitute these with increasing vegetables and introducing grass hay, oat hay, and timothy. You can also add fruits but only 1-2 ounce a day per 6-pound weight.

 

 

  • Feeding mature adult

 

A mature adult needs pellets and alfalfa hay in an even lesser amount. You should increase vegetables including dark, orange, yellow and green leafy. Ensure that you give three different types of vegetables to your rabbit. Oat, hay, grass hay, and timothy can be made available all day long. You can also treat your pet with fruits sometimes.

 

 

  • Food for seniors

 

The diet of a senior rabbit that is over 6 years old is similar to a mature adult rabbit. However, if your rabbit is facing weight loss problems, you can increase the number of pellets in the diet. A regular examination and tests would tell you about the calcium and other blood components. If these are in control you can also increase alfalfa hay to increase weight.