Choosing the Proper Diet for your Rabbit

To properly view this site, javascript must be enabled and Flash version 9 or higher must be installed.
Get the latest Flash player
  • Aileen Kara Hudspeth

    VP of Programs for Friends of Rabbits, Friends of Rabbits

    www.friendsofrabbits.org  
    703-400-7220

    About me:I first got introduced to rabbits as pets when a dear friend and fellow pet devotee Kris Ratliff helped me adopt my first rabbit, Mokona. She herself was going through vet school, and was a vet assistant at a local pet hospital in MD. Her experiences, and my own from there on out helped me perfect the basic forms of rabbit massage shown in a video here on Monkeysee. With a music therapy background, I knew that therapeutic goals are accomplished in many ways, some that might not always be viewed as successful as others. I believed that rabbit massage as therapy, and a connection between a rabbit and it's owner would not only increase happiness, but work on health related goals at the same time. This strive to achieve has been shown over the years with hands on demonstrations with my own rabbits, and with countless others. I believe the stronger connection between the pet (be it dog, cat or rabbit), the better the quality of life, and the closer connection between pet and owner.I started my work with Friends of Rabbits back in 2000 and have assisted in numerous spa days, educational events, fundraisers and overall activities. About the group:Friends of Rabbits is an independent rabbit rescue and welfare group based in Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia. Our goal is to rescue homeless and abandoned domestic rabbits and to promote the adoption and welfare of domestic rabbits through education and example. Domestic rabbits have been created through human intervention, and are dependent on us for survival. It is therefore our responsibility to care for them.Friends of Rabbits believes that all rabbits are valuable as individuals, regardless of physical attributes, personality or health. Friends of Rabbits does not condone the exploitation of rabbits for profit or medical research. Friends of Rabbits is not licensed to rehabilitate wildlife. All wildlife rescue cases will be referred to licensed rehabilitators.Friends of Rabbits believes all domestic rabbits should live indoors with humans. We believe all domestic rabbits should be neutered or spayed, except in case of other overriding medical concerns, and they should receive the same level of veterinary care as other companion animals. Friends of Rabbits believes all rabbits deserve a quality life, including toys, exercise, mental stimulation and social interaction with humans and other animals. These are as essential to ensuring a healthy life as food, water and shelter. Although our goal is to ensure all rabbits in our care are spayed or neutered, live indoors and receive appropriate medical attention, we also support sanctuaries that shelter abandoned, abused and unadoptable rabbits that may not always be able to meet these standards. Friends of Rabbits also recognizes other legitimate rabbit rescue groups, humane societies and animal shelters. Friends of Rabbits respects the privacy of its members and does not share its membership list with any other organizations.

  • Choosing the Proper Diet for your Rabbit

    As with humans, rabbit diet can easily be the key factor in keeping not only a happy & healthy rabbit, but one that will live longer as well. There are many choices available at stores and vet clinics, but knowing what the contents are of the food you choose will help you make sure that the diet your rabbit receives is correctly aligned with any dietary needs your rabbit might have. Even though your rabbit might prefer some type of foods over another, high sugar and calorie items should be given in moderation.

    This series: 9,809 views

    Rate this Video

    • Currently 0.0/5 Stars.
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    Download to Mobile Device
    Tags:

    Rabbit

    ,

    Bunny

    ,

    Pet

    ,

    Animal

    ,

    Care

    ,

    Training

    ,

    Handling

    ,

    Health

    ,

    Cage

    ,

    Bedding

    ,

    Food

    ,

    Pellets

    ,

    Hay

    ,

    Litter

    ,

    Litterbox

    ,

    Relaxing

    ,

    Massage

    ,

    Adopt

    ,

    Adoption

    ,

    Shelter

    ,

    Rescue

    ,

    Friends of rabbits

    Comments:

    0 (Read Comments) (Add Comment)

  • Transcripts

    Aileen Kara Hudspeth: Hi, my name is Aileen Kara Hudspeth (ph) with Friends of Rabbits. I am here talking about how to care for your rabbit and we are going to discuss diet. Rabbit's diet consists majority of hay. For instance, we have Timothy hay here. There is also a variety of others in front of me. This is rye, to my right I have clover with timothy, I have Alfalfa and I also have oat hay as some examples of the varieties that you can find. These tend to be a little less in calorie than the ones to my right. These should be used for younger rabbits who need that high calorie content to start building a healthy system. I also have some timothy pellets made from the same stuff here, but these are more of a treat where as you see, we have some fruits in front of us. We have bananas, we have apple and we also have treats that come mixed in with some of the pellets I had shown earlier. If it tastes good, it's probably bad for you. I am sure we have all heard. However, with rabbits, it tends to be same thing. You don't want to get a lot of foods that have high calorie content. If you want a healthy happy rabbit who is moving around a lot, you need to give them a good average balanced diet. If you give them too many treats then they will gain weight and then now we have something you have to work on eliminating with your veterinarian. In front of me you can see a rabbit salad. Now carrots, though rabbits do love carrots, should be taking in moderation. Moderation where only to be given as a treat every once in a while including the fruits which are high in sugars and these treats that I showed here are also high in calories. If you are going to provide pellets to your rabbit the best suggestion is the pellets here and I would suggest that you only use to start an eighth of a cup a day and obviously, you need to talk with your veterinarian to figure out diet wise what would truly be appropriate for the size of your rabbit and what they are currently eating. Now obviously, with everyone, we need water and as do rabbits. They need a large consistent bowl or bottle of water to be accessible so that they can keep themselves hydrated, keep good kidney function and organ function in general and those are some guidelines on how to create a balanced diet for your rabbit. Next we are going to discuss the importance of spay or neutering your rabbit.

Other Videos