“Rabbit” is a nickname given to small rabbits. But did you know that baby rabbits eat a different diet than adult rabbits? baby rabbit food is different from adult rabbit.
In fact, like other young animals, rabbits eat according to their unique needs in the early stages of their lives.
The foods that rabbits eat must support their overall health and well-being and help their bodies develop into adulthood. Their eating habits from birth until they are fully grown help them develop good eating habits for the rest of their adult lives.
Before looking at what rabbits eat, it is important to know more about these soft, cute and small mammals.
First, Many species of rabbits?
There are 29 species, 10 genera, 17 species of cottontail rabbits. Of the 29 breeds in the world, the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) recognizes 49 breeds.
These are domesticated rabbits that are bred for their unique characteristics such as physical characteristics, health, behavior and size. Most of them reach an adult weight of 2.5lbs to 16 lbs.
But some, such as French Lopes and Angoras, can grow larger. Read more about types of rabbit.
What do rabbits and baby rabbits eat? Best baby Rabbit Food:
Their health depends on their food. If rabbits eat food they are not used to, it disrupts their digestion and can cause gas, poisoning, illness and even death.
Rabbits begin life on their mother’s milk surprisingly only taking milk once or twice a day for a total of five minutes. They continue to nurse this way until they are weaned at 6 weeks to 7 weeks of age.
Baby Rabbit Food: Baby rabbits add their first solid food at 15 days to 30 days of age. Then, between days 20 and 30 of life, the rabbits feed on their mother’s milk as well as eat the same food.
Because they are used to eating a lot of food during these first weeks around weaning, a rabbit’s digestive system is very sensitive during this time. This makes it very important for young rabbits to stay with their mother, follow her lead, and nurse until they are of weaning age. Simply, baby rabbit food and adult rabbit food are not much different.
A common rabbit diet after weaning is grass. They also eat different types of hay. But only baby rabbits can eat alfalfa hay. Adult rabbits should not eat alfalfa because it contains too much protein and calcium that a fully grown species does not need.
But feeding a rabbit or rabbit too many vegetables can cause various stomach ailments. So it’s quite the opposite of what most people believe about rabbits and hares enjoying foods like carrots and lettuce.
They should consume these foods in limited quantities and over healthy meals. Baby rabbits and adult rabbits in the wild forage by themselves. It is their main daily task from waking up to sleeping.
Hay is the most important food for Rabbit?
Domesticated rabbits are raised for their meat or fur, and pet rabbits are eaten while feeding their human owners. All species of rabbits around the world are completely dependent on grass and hay after they are weaned from their mothers.
Hay types very by geography and availability.
| Grass |
| Wheat Grass |
| Bermuda Grass |
| Garden Grass |
| Alfalfa Grass (as a baby only) |
| Oats |
What do rabbits eat in the wild vs. in captivity?
What rabbits eat in captivity is completely different from what they eat in the wild. Wild rabbits graze and eat grass throughout the day from 2 weeks of age. But weaned domestic rabbits under 8 weeks of age must be provided with milk formula prescribed by their veterinarians to their human owners.
This milk closely resembles the mother’s own. From 2 weeks of age, it is also important that domesticated baby rabbits eat nutritional hay pellets specially formulated for rabbits.
They need them with a running supply of alfalfa hay along with their mother’s milk or alternative formula. From 8 weeks of age, baby rabbits can eat very limited amounts of some garden vegetables.
Rabbits in captivity or raised as pets are often overfed. This can lead to digestive problems, health problems and weight problems. One of the most common problems with rabbit pet food is caused by overfeeding vegetables like lettuce and carrots.
Adult rabbits are also often mistakenly fed alfalfa hay, which contains too much protein and calcium for full-grown animals. Adult rabbits eat less hay than babies and may stop needing them altogether.
You may notice wild rabbits in your home garden from time to time. They snack on vegetables when available to them.
Although it is unhealthy to feed some types of vegetables to pet rabbits, wild rabbits only eat what they need.
When they get enough bounty in the garden they will go back to burrowing on the grass.
A complete list of 33 rabbit foods:
As herbivores, rabbits eat a combination diet of grass, hay and their mother’s milk. After they are weaned, they live exclusively in gardens or on wild and freshwater plants.
| Grass | Vegetables: | The Carrot |
| Wheat Grass | bell pepper | Collard greens |
| Bermuda Grass | Sprouts (alfalfa, radish and clover) | Broccoli (stems and leaves only |
| Garden Grass | Buck six | Chard |
| Alfalfa Grass (as a baby only) | Carrot tops | Dandelion greens (pesticide free) |
| Oats | Zucchini | the carrot |
| Radish Tops | Clover | |
| Endive | Spinach | |
| Escarole | ||
| Brussels Sprouts | ||
| Fennel | ||
| Lettuce | ||
| Okra leaves | ||
| Cucumber | ||
| Raddish |
Rabbits eat limited amounts of fruit once or twice per week without any digestive problems. Eight other foods a rabbit eats once or twice a week as treats include: the carrot, collard greens, broccoli, chard, dandelion greens, clover and spinach.
Dried corn, nuts, and seeds are foods that rabbits should not eat, as well as any food specially made for human consumption.
Do hunters eat rabbits?
Although rabbits eat only plant matter and are therefore herbivores, they are a favorite food for many hunters. Predators that eat rabbits include:
| The Fox | Raccoon |
| The wolf | The Bear |
| Dingo | Bird of Prey |
| Wolverines | The Snake |
| Coyotes | The Dog |
| Domestic Cat | Big Cat |
| Iguanas | Komodo Dragon |
| Ferrets | Weasels |
| The badger | Stotts |
| People |
Sources: rabbit org , best freinds
