Hay Makes Up 80% of What Your Rabbit Should Eat

Most Canadian rabbit owners get this backwards. They fill the bowl with pellets and sprinkle in some hay as an afterthought.

Your rabbit needs unlimited timothy hay every single day. Not a handful — unlimited. They should be eating a pile roughly the size of their body daily.

Second-cut timothy hay works best for adult rabbits. It's got the right fiber content without being too rich. Alfalfa hay is too high in calcium for adults, though it's fine for rabbits under six months.

The hay keeps their teeth worn down and their digestive system moving. Without enough fiber, rabbits develop GI stasis — a potentially fatal condition where their gut slows or stops completely.

Pellets Are Supplements, Not Main Courses

A good pellet brand should list timothy hay as the first ingredient. Avoid anything with seeds, nuts, or colorful bits — those are junk food that can cause digestive upset.

Adult rabbits need about 1/4 cup of pellets per 5 pounds of body weight. So a typical 6-pound rabbit gets roughly 1/3 cup daily. That's it.

Look for pellets with at least 22% fiber and no more than 14% protein for adults. Higher protein is fine for growing rabbits under a year old.

Fresh Vegetables Need Careful Introduction

Vegetables should make up about 10% of your rabbit's diet. But you can't just dump a salad bowl in front of them and hope for the best.

Start with one new vegetable at a time. Give a small piece and wait 24 hours to see how they handle it. Diarrhea or soft stools mean that vegetable doesn't work for your rabbit.

Leafy greens work best — romaine lettuce, cilantro, parsley, kale. Aim for about 2 cups of chopped vegetables per 6 pounds of body weight. Mix up the types to prevent nutritional imbalances.

Root vegetables like carrots are treats, not daily vegetables. The sugar content is too high for regular feeding.

These Foods Will Make Your Rabbit Sick

Iceberg lettuce has almost no nutritional value and can cause diarrhea. Same goes for any light-colored lettuce varieties.

Chocolate, avocado, and onions are toxic. So are beans, potato leaves, and rhubarb. Even small amounts can cause serious problems.

Anything high in sugar or starch causes digestive upset. That includes bread, crackers, and most human snacks. Canadian pet stores sell plenty of "rabbit treats" that are basically candy — skip them.

Seeds and nuts are choking hazards and too high in fat. Rabbits can't digest them properly.

Fruits Are Occasional Treats Only

A small piece of apple or banana once or twice a week is plenty. We're talking about a slice the size of your thumbnail for a 6-pound rabbit.

Too much fruit causes soft stools and can lead to GI stasis. The House Rabbit Society recommends no more than 2 tablespoons of fruit per 6 pounds of body weight — and that's the maximum, not a daily amount.

Dried fruits are even worse because the sugar is concentrated. Fresh fruit only, and very sparingly.

Water Needs to Be Fresh and Available All Day

Rabbits drink more water than you'd expect — about 50-150ml per kilogram of body weight daily. That's roughly 2-6 ounces for a typical pet rabbit.

A water bottle works fine, but many rabbits prefer a heavy ceramic bowl. Either way, clean and refill it daily. Rabbits are picky about water quality and will drink less if it tastes off.

If your rabbit stops eating or drinking suddenly, that's an emergency situation. You need to get to a vet within 12 hours — GI stasis kills rabbits fast.

Young Rabbits Need a Different Approach

Baby rabbits under 12 weeks shouldn't get any vegetables or fruits. Their digestive systems can't handle the complexity yet.

They can have unlimited pellets and alfalfa hay until they're about 6 months old. Then you gradually switch them to the adult diet — timothy hay, limited pellets, and slowly introduced vegetables.

The transition takes several weeks. Rush it and you'll end up with digestive problems that could have been avoided.

Finding Quality Food in Canada

Most Canadian pet stores carry decent timothy hay and pellet brands. Oxbow and Kaytee both make solid options that you can find at PetSmart or local feed stores.

For hay, you want it to smell fresh and look green, not brown or dusty. Poor quality hay won't tempt your rabbit to eat enough fiber. Many rabbit owners in Canada order hay online in bulk to get better quality at a lower price.

Your local exotic vet can recommend specific brands that work well for rabbits in your area. Diet problems show up quickly in rabbits, so getting the basics right from the start saves you emergency vet visits later. And speaking of health issues, many common rabbit health problems stem from poor diet choices that seem harmless at first.

The symptom checker on The Pawfect Pup can help you sort through digestive symptoms if your rabbit starts showing signs of GI upset after diet changes.

Get the diet right and your rabbit will be healthier and happier. Most rabbit care problems in Canada trace back to feeding mistakes that are completely preventable.