When bringing home your first baby bunny, you are filled with questions and uncertainty, including “what do baby bunnies eat”. But, we all just want the best for our pets after all.
What to Feed Your Bunny
Feeding your bunny appropriate food will directly benefit their health. Providing your bunny with the appropriate foods in the first six months of its life will benefit its long-term health. The most essential foods are hay and water. A baby bunny needs more protein than a full-grown bunny. Therefore, it is essential to give them alfalfa hay and pellets. If your bunny has not been weaned yet, you can use kitten or goat milk to imitate their mother’s milk.
The Baby Bunny Feeding Guide – What do baby bunnies eat daily?
As a new bunny owner, you could be surprised to know that iceberg lettuce and carrots given excessively can cause health issues in bunnies. Your bunny mainly sustains itself on hay. The hay imitates the grass that wild bunnies graze on all day. It is impossible to provide your pet bunny with enough fresh grass to sustain itself. Hay is a healthy substitute for your beloved pet bunny to munch on throughout the day.
Hay isn’t the only thing your bunny would love. Fresh fruit, vegetables, and specialist pellets have also been bunny-approved. However, fruit and vegetables need to be offered sparingly, as too many of them could cause a stomach upset.
Once your bunny reaches adulthood, pellets become optional. For young and baby bunnies, pellets are essential. The pellets provide a range of important vitamins and nutrients. They are calorific as well. As your bunny gets older, pellets should be reduced in quantity. You don’t need to panic if your bunny has stopped eating pellets. The hay can sustain them. Always remember to have fresh water available for your bunny. It is extremely important to keep your bunny hydrated.
There are three core elements for a healthy diet: hay, pellets, and fresh veggies. Hay is seen as the most essential. The reason for this is that your bunny’s digestive tract has been engineered to process the fibre that is found in grass.
There are several different kinds of hay available:
Each kind has its own set of qualities.
- Grass Hay: Grass hay is the most popular amongst bunny owners. This hay consists of fresh grass that had been cut and dried out. It directly replicates a wild bunny’s diet.
- Oat Hay: Oat hay is made out of oat grass that had been harvested before blooming. If the oat blooms, the hay no longer contains any nutritional value for a bunny. It can, however, be used as bedding.
- Alfalfa Hay: Alfalfa hay is a legume, rather than a grass. This type of hay is usually fed to larger animals. It is great for weight gain as it contains more protein and calcium than other hays.
If your adult bunny seems to be a little overweight, it is time to sacrifice pellets completely. Unlike babies, adult bunnies can sustain themselves on hay alone.
Can My Baby Bunny Eat Meat
Meat should be avoided when feeding your bunny. Baby bunnies do need protein, but not from meat. Feeding your bunny meat could cause stomach upset as bunnies are herbivores. In addition, it is possible for your bunny to create a taste for meat. Therefore it’s best to avoid meat altogether. This counts for babies and adult bunnies.
Can My Baby Bunny Drink Water
Water is essential for baby and adult bunnies. Water drinking should be encouraged in baby bunnies. At around three weeks old, babies begin to hydrate from their mother’s water source. The more dry food a baby bunny eats, the more important dry food becomes. They need to hydrate regularly to stay healthy.
What do Baby Bunnies eat? Is Cow’s Milk Safe for My Baby Bunny
Up until eight weeks old, a baby bunny is dependent on its mother for milk. Therefore, it is essential never to separate a bunny from its mother before eight weeks. If it happens that you need to supplement a bunny with milk, avoid cow’s milk at all costs. Cow’s milk is too dense in calcium. You can, however, use kitten milk or warm goat milk as a substitute. It’s important to note that rabbit milk contains more calories than kitten milk. Therefore it is best to mix in a tablespoon of sugar-free heavy cream and feed the baby bunnies twice daily. Once the baby reaches two weeks, they need to begin solids and water in addition to milk.
In a Nutshell
Your baby bunny should receive milk in addition to water, hay, and pellets in the first eight weeks of life. After that, never feed your bunny cows milk or meat. Kitten milk is a safe alternative if your bunny needs to be fed by you. Always ensure that your bunny gets all the nutrients they might need by feeding them the right hay and occasional vegetables.
