Feeding Your Rabbit

                          
A rabbit's main diet should be good quality pellets, fresh hay (alfalfa, timothy or oat) and fresh vegetables. Anything beyond that should be given in limited quantities. Pellets must be high in fiber. Fresh foods also provide moisture in diet, which is good for kidney and bladder. When feeding with vegetables, dark leafed greens are suggested. 

Fruits can be given in small portions. Because some fruits contains lots of sugar and may cause your rabbit gain lots of unwanted weight when given too much. 

Suggested fruits are: Apple (without stem and seeds) blueberries, melon, orange (without the peel) papaya, peach, pear, pineapple, plums, raspberries,strawberries.  

You can also feed your rabbit with rabbit feed sold in supermarkets, petshops and veterinaries. They contain essential ingredients such as corn, wheat, peanut, sunflower seed, bean, pea, locust, barley etc. 

Avoid feeding your rabbit with the same food all the time, try to feed him/her with a wide variety of foods in small amounts. 

Always make sure your rabbit has fresh water all the time. 
Also avoid feeding your rabbit with plants, vegetables that you don't know, because they may be toxic. For a detailed toxic plant list, please visit: http://adoptarabbit.org/articles/toxic.html 

Cute Rabbit Memes

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Do I really want a rabbit? Are rabbits the suitable pets for me?

Coming soon...

Do I and will I have enough money to buy him/them food?

Your rabbit will need fresh vegetables and fruits, also some special products sold in supermarkets, petshops and veterinaries. They contain essential ingredients such as corn, wheat, peanut, sunflower seed, bean, pea, locust, barley etc. To help your rabbit to obtain enough fiber needed, you should feed him/her hay and fresh lawn.
Also she/he'll need to pay a visit to vet once in a while, to get her/his nails clipped or to get teeth filed. Maybe not as expensive as a dog, but these will still cost money.

Do I know enough about rabbits to start taking care of them?

If you have never had rabbits, it's normal that you don't know much about them. But before having a rabbit of your own, you need to make sure you create the suitable environment for him and know what you'll feed him. Don't hesitate making searches online when you don't know what to do. 
I'll write some articles about the good environment and nutrition in my blog soon.

Do I have enough spare time to spend with my rabbit/rabbits?

Rabbits may look very shy but they also like having some company. There are also some breeds who are very friendly, like Holland Lops. They don't like being lonely and they love having some action around.
They need to be petted, brushed, washed and they love following you all around, running with you, touching and smelling you.
So, make sure you spend enough time with your rabbit and don't lock them in their house or room the whole day.

Is my house/garden suitable for rabbits?

First of all, we need to admit that rabbits are outdoor animals. They love running on grass, digging holes, taste different kinds of greenies and play with dirt. They need exercise everyday, by running and hopping around, they also need to feel the soil beneath their feet. They like being outside when the sun is shining. These are just their nature.

I live in a house which has a garden but as my garden is not suitable for a safe and secure rabbit house, I have to keep my rabbit inside the house - which brings some problems and difficulties. I use my garden to walk and play with my rabbit.
For those who want to adobt rabbits, I really recommend you to have a garden - where you can build/place the house, making the garden their home. In winter though, when it's snowy and really cold, you may consider moving the house inside, or insulating the house - so that they won't feel cold in cold days. 
If you don't have a garden, there are some complications that you'll face; like smell, hygiene and possible damage to the room they will live in. 

THE SMELL and HYGIENE

Rabbits look like clean animals, they eat vegetable, fruits, hay and all organic food, but their faeces still smell - when they are fresh. Their urine smell really strong and the smell becomes stronger in a very short time. The male rabbits may urinate on the female, to leave their own smell on them - to mark them. This may cause some unwanted sprayed urine, which will in time smell really bad. In a closed space, like a room in house, it's hard to get of the smell - especially when it's too cold in Winter. You will need to clean the cage/house once in three days. But if they live outside in the garden, you won't have much problem as long as you clean their house often.  

POSSIBLE DAMAGE

As rabbits are rodents, they like teething, chewing and digging. With their short, little front paws, they most likely try digging even hard surfaces, which may scratch and remove the varnish. Although they tend to urinate a specific area when taught, they still may urinate on the floor, which is a disaster if you have wooden floors. You can cover the floor with plastic sheets or newspaper to avoid this. 
One more important fact to be considered is some rabbits try to chew electric cables - as they think they are roots. They really look like roots, don't they?  This may cause some serious health danger for your rabbits, so if your rabbits will stay in a room, you need to remove all electric cables or set them up somewhere they can not reach. 

                                                                      

Examples of wooden rabbit houses. (www.exacme.com)