🥕🌾 A Guide to help you Hop to it with your rabbits diet! 🥕🌾

🐰 Are You Feeding Your Rabbit Right? (Let’s Talk About It)

Rabbits might be small…

but their diets are *not* simple.

In fact, they’re one of the easiest pets to accidentally get wrong—

not because people don’t care, but because there’s a lot of confusing (and sometimes very cute-looking) advice out there.

So let’s hop to it and break it down properly… Pickles style 👇

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🌾 1. Hay Isn’t Just Important… It’s Everything

If your rabbit had a food pyramid, hay would be the entire base, middle, and probably the roof too.

👉 **Around 80–90% of your rabbit’s diet should be hay.**

💡 Why?

Rabbits are designed to:

* Chew constantly

* Keep their teeth worn down

* Keep their gut moving *all the time*

Their teeth never stop growing (yes, really), so all that chewing on hay acts like a natural toothbrush and file.

At the same time, their digestive system relies on a steady flow of fibre. No fibre = things slow down. And when a rabbit’s gut slows down… it can become serious very quickly.

So if your rabbit is turning their nose up at hay?

That’s not them being fussy—that’s something we want to fix.

When rabbits stop eating - vets often need to intervene and help us get them munching away again - NEVER delay if your gut tells you theres an issue!

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🥬 2. Fresh Greens = Daily Variety (and a Bit of Joy)

Think of greens as your rabbit’s daily salad—but not the sad, boring kind.

We’re talking variety:

* Kale

* Romaine lettuce

* Coriander

* Parsley

💡 Why?

Greens provide:

* Extra nutrients

* Hydration

* Mental enrichment (yes, rabbits get bored too!)

Eating different textures and flavours keeps things interesting and encourages natural foraging behaviour.

The key is balance—too much of one thing, or introducing new foods too quickly, can upset their gut.

So slow and steady wins the race here.

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🥕 3. Carrots Aren’t the Main Character (Sorry)

We’ve all seen the cartoons… rabbit + carrot = perfect match.

Reality check: carrots are more like dessert.

💡 Why?

Carrots are:

* Naturally higher in sugar

* Not something rabbits would eat in large amounts in the wild

Too much sugar can upset the balance of bacteria in their gut—and rabbits rely heavily on that balance to stay healthy.

So yes, carrots are absolutely fine…

just in small amounts and not every day.

(A treat, not a lifestyle.)

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🧺 4. Nuggets vs Muesli – This One Matters

This is where things get really important.

👉 **We always recommend nuggets over muesli-style mixes.**

💡 Why?

Muesli mixes might look nice to us (colourful, varied, a bit like rabbit trail mix)…

but rabbits will naturally pick out their favourite bits.

This is called **selective feeding**:

* They eat the sugary or starchy pieces first

* Leave the rest behind

* End up with an unbalanced diet

Over time, this can lead to:

* Nutritional gaps

* Digestive issues

* Dental problems

Nuggets, on the other hand, are uniform.

Every bite contains the same balanced nutrition, so your rabbit can’t pick and choose—they get what they actually need.

Think of it as the difference between:

👉 A balanced meal

vs

👉 Picking the chips out of a mixed platter and calling it dinner

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💩 5. Your Rabbit’s Health Shows in Their Droppings

We talk about poo a lot here. No shame.

Healthy rabbit droppings should be:

* Small

* Round

* Dry

* Consistent

💡 Why?

A rabbit’s digestive system is constantly processing fibre.

When everything is working well, you’ll see it in their droppings.

If something’s off—diet, stress, too many treats—you might notice:

* Smaller droppings

* Misshapen ones

* Fewer than usual

And that’s often one of the *first* signs something needs adjusting.

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⚠️ Final Top Tip (A Really Important One)

If something doesn’t feel right with your rabbit—trust your gut and speak to your vet.

Rabbits are prey animals, which means they’re incredibly good at hiding when something’s wrong. By the time they show obvious signs, they can already be quite unwell.

They can go downhill quickly, especially when it comes to their digestive system.

So if you notice:

• Not eating

• Fewer droppings

• Behaviour changes

👉 Don’t wait it out—get them checked.

❤️ The Important Bit

Rabbits are brilliant little animals—but they rely on us to get the basics right.

And when you do, you’ll see:

* Better energy

* A healthier coat

* Normal, consistent digestion

* And a rabbit that’s generally much happier in themselves

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🐰 From Pickles Pet Pantry

If you’re unsure whether your rabbit’s diet is quite right…

Pop in and have a chat with us—we’re always happy to help you get to the root of it 🥕😉

No confusion, no judgement, just honest, practical advice.

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Because happy rabbits start with the right food 🌾