Transitioning Foods When Your Bunny Comes Home
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This is one of the most important parts of bringing your bunny home - making sure they transition food brands (our brand to your brand) safely, slowly, and completely. We send our bunnies home with transitional pellets to make this easy. Take a look at our diagram below to see the best way to transition! The week labels stand for "weeks since coming home," the black bowls equal the percentage of our food, and the blue bowls equal the percentage of your food. So, for example, the top left graphic stands for "week one since coming home - 1/4 your food, 3/4 our food."
bunny diet
Feeding and Eating Schedules
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Bunnies are very routine animals, meaning they prefer predictable lives. Keeping your bunny on a feeding schedule is the best way to keep them satisfied and their gut healthy without any unexpected surprises. Every bunny should always have access to unlimited hay. Here are three of our favorite ways to keep hay stocked in your bunny's pen!
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All bunnies can be free fed plain brown pellets until they are six months old, meaning they can eat as many pellets as they want per day. We recommend filling a large bowl with pellets once a day, and refilling it again at the same time each morning. These are some of the most nutritious pellet brands out there for bunnies.
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Small Pet Select Adult Rabbit Pellets
Sherwood Baby Bunny Pellets + Sherwood Adult Bunny Pellets
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Once a bunny reaches six months, they will need to cut back on their intake since they've now finished growing. 1/4 cup of plain brown pellets is the perfect amount of pellets to maintain a healthy weight. These can be fed all at once in the morning, afternoon, or evening. However, if your bunny is a speed eater and tends to get tummyaches, you might want to split the 1/4 cup into two mini-meals per day, or use a forage mat to slow down their eating pace. We've linked some of our favorite feeders and snuffle mats below!
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Your bunny must always have access to water. If they don't have water, they can become dehydrated, which can lead to more severe gut issues. The best option for water is a gravity waterer, since these are difficult for bunnies to flip over. Weighted ceramic or large glass bowls are also great options! These three are some of the best bowls and waterers around.
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Fruits, Vegetables, and Treats
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Before a bunny turns six months old, their amounts of treats must be limited to prevent gut imbalance. One tablespoon of fruits/veggies per day is enough for a young bunny - if they are overfed, they may get sick or get a stoppage in their bowel. However, once your bunny is 6 months or older, they can have a little more fruits and veggies. A nice mixed salad every day is a great idea! Fruits are a little more tricky, since bunnies can't have too much sugar. Some safe fruits in safe quantities include:
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- a few pieces of dried papaya/banana with no added sugar
- 5-9 freeze dried strawberries, blueberries, or bananas
- 1-3 raisins
- fresh banana (about a tablespoon)
- strawberry tops
- 1-10 blueberries
- a slice of kiwi
- 1-4 apple slices without seeds
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Some safe veggies in safe quantities include:
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- 1-3 leaves of kale
- spinach
- romaine lettuce (no iceberg, it has no nutritional value)
- carrots and carrot peels (no more than 1/3 cup a day as they can cause gas)
- cilantro, basil, parsley
- dill stems
- bell peppers without the core
- cabbage
- wheat grass