Hay for a healthy rabbit: the importance of appropriate feed
Abstract
Rabbits are herbivores with teeth and a gastrointestinal system adapted for a high-fibre, low-nutrient diet. Providing an appropriate diet, based on grass or grass hay supplemented with vegetables and only small amounts of concentrates, is important for tooth health, gut function and maintenance of a healthy weight. Water is also essential, and most rabbits prefer a bowl to a sipper bottle. Rabbits that fail to ingest their caecotrophs and those with diarrhoea (which is rarer) may become soiled and prone to flystrike. Obesity resulting from excess concentrate feed can lead to health problems including soiling and arthritis, and obese rabbits are more likely to develop life-threatening hepatic lipidosis if they stop eating for any reason. Stress minimization is important in hospitalized rabbits to avoid anorexia, which has potentially life-threatening consequences.
Rabbits are now the third most popular pet in the UK. Unfortunately, many suffer from health problems that could be prevented with a little effort and understanding. While two important viral diseases — myxomatosis and rabbit haem-orrhagic disease — can be prevented by vaccination, many other common health problems in rabbits are the result of poor husbandry, and in particular incorrect feeding.
The most important parts of a rabbit to consider for its health are its teeth and its guts; if you can keep these healthy and working correctly, you are a long way towards maintaining a healthy rabbit.
While selective breeding has changed external features, such as the domestic rabbit's coat colour, fur length, ear shape and size, its underlying physiology is, or should be, similar to that of the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus.
Rabbits evolved in the dry grasslands of Spain and Portugal. They have evolved to chew and digest large quantities of high-fibre, low-nutrient food, but they are also adapted to eat high-quality food when this is available; they are known as ‘concentrate selectors’, which means they choose the most nutrient-rich parts of the plants to eat (Meredith, 2011). Unfortunately, like humans, this means that if large quantities of high-quality food are available, they may eat too much of the wrong food.
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