Feeding Rabbits
The nutrients animals need to survive come from the food they consume. These nutrients help
them to stay alive (maintenance), grow, reproduce and remain healthy. The downfall of many
many well planned rabbitries is often as a result of poor quality feeds and underfeeding.
What you can feed Rabbits
● Pelleted Ration - eg. Dry ration - provides the rabbit with fiber, protein, fats, vitamins and
minerals. Blended so that the rabbits receive enough nutrients at feeding.
● Indigestible Fiber - eg. dry coconut - This fiber cannot be digested or broken down as it
passes through the digestive tract. Despite this, it keeps the digestive tract healthy by
trapping waste materials.
● Grass - eg. white grass - Rabbits use grass to produce protein. They also use fiber to aid
in digestion.
● Water - Water is necessary for life and helps to keep the animal cool. Lactating females
need extra water to produce milk.
There are other food sources available for rabbits that provide nutrients. Use these in small
amounts when available to provide a varied diet for the rabbits.
★ Carbohydrates and Fats -
- Fruits - mangoes, bananas, oranges, pineapple cores
- Vegetables - Tomatoes, carrots, carrot leaves, celery, sweet peppers, bhaji, cabbage and
lettuce should only be fed occasionally and in small amounts
- Cereal grain - corn grains, oats
- Roots/Tubers - Boiled potatoes, Cassava, sweet potato and yam
- Table waste - boiled rice, roti, bread
- Vegetables oils/animal oil - cod liver oil supplements
★ Protein -
- Processed Processed cereal grain - brewers dried grains
- Oil seed meals (never feed stale or rancid oil meals)
- Legumes - leaves from: bodi, pigeon pea, acacia, kudzu, leucaena
- Grasses/Leaves - bermuda, elephant and para grass, vervain, water hyacinth
- Garden waste - hibiscus clippings (soft green tips), do not use lawn clippings
★ Mineral and Vitamins -
- Common salt
- Vitamin premix
★ Indigestible Fibre -
- Whole dry coconut, shredded banana plants and leaves, coconut and fig leaves, pigeon
pea pods and bodi pods.
★ Water - 2-3 liters daily (5 liters or more for a lactating doe)
How much to feed Rabbits
- Breeding buck - 80g/day
- Pregnant doe - 80-100g/day during 4 weeks
- Adult doe - 80g (non-breeding)
- Lactating doe - 120+10g/day per young in the liter
Fatteners
- 1st week after weaning - 30g/day
- 2nd week after weaning - 40g/day
- 3rd week after weaning - 50g/day
- 4th week after weaning - 60g/day
- 5th week after weaning - 70g/day
- 6th week after weaning - 80g/day
Tips on feeding Rabbits
★ Feed rabbits during early mornings and late evenings when weather is cooler
★ Avoid leaving bright lights on in your rabbitry at night. It reduces the amount your rabbit
eats in the night
★ Poorly dried grass and lean clippings are heated and cause digestive problems for the
rabbit. Feed rabbits wilted grass for 12 hours to reduce diarrhea
★ Provide the rabbit with fresh pellets everyday, do not leave pellets overnight they attract
rats instead provide wilted grass at night.
★ Ensure rabbits have enough salt in their diet and a variety of suitable plant matter
★ Ensure pellets are free of mold, rodent waste and chemical contaminants
★ Do not change feeds suddenly, gradually change feeds over a 2 week period.
- Breeding animals (especially does) should have a mineral supplement, if you fail to do
this you can have a reduced litter size and a very high mortality among your kits.
Plants you can use
● Kudzu
● Para grass
● Banana
● Pussley
● Bermuda Grass
● Vervain
● Bhaji
● Water Hyacinth
● Pigeon Pea
● Water grass
Plants to avoid
● Wild sage/Lantana
● Stinging nettle
● Bur Bur
● Milk weed
● Sensitive plant
