What you can not feed rabbits at home

A correctly selected diet is the key to health and beautiful coat in rabbits. These pets are very unpretentious in food, however, owners should know that this small creature has a very fragile stomach, so feeding is a very important and responsible process. How and how to feed pets, we will consider in this article.

What you can not feed rabbits

Experienced rabbit lovers know well: how to feed pets, and what to give is contraindicated. However, for novice breeders, pet feeding can be a big problem. So, a list of products that can not be pampered by eared animals.

Cabbage

Feeding rabbits with cabbage is allowed, but not with any variety and in very limited quantities. It is not recommended to give white-headed and red-headed, because these vegetables cause severe poisoning and can lead to serious consequences.

Potatoes

Eared pets should never be given green (not ripened), as well as young potatoes. This root crop can cause intestinal inversion, which will lead to death.

Sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds are not recommended as the main feed. In large quantities, this product can cause complications in the digestive system due to the large number of oils that it contains.

Also, do not forget that the fields are treated with pesticides. A little rabbit and a drop of poison is enough for serious poisoning.

Important! Seeds can be given in a few pieces only as a treat and exclusively in raw form.

Plants with lots of essential oils

Plants with a large amount of essential oils (mint, lemongrass, basil, acacia, lavender and others) are dangerous for the digestive and diuretic system of rabbits, so such oily plants must be completely excluded from the diet.

Nuts

Despite the fact that nuts have a huge amount of nutrients, this product is contraindicated for rabbits. Nuts are heavy food and adversely affect the pet’s liver. Peanuts and hazelnuts can cause severe poisoning. Walnuts and other nuts also will not bring the pet any benefit.

Milk

Milk and all dairy products to rabbits are absolutely contraindicated, since they contain animal protein, which adversely affects digestion and the general condition of the animal’s body. Even 1 mg of a dairy product can cause serious poisoning, and in some cases the death of a pet.

Meat

A big-eared animal is a herbivore, therefore it cannot receive meat in the natural environment. This means that there is no need to feed him animal protein at home. Such food will not bring any benefits to babies.

Find out if rabbits can be given quinoa.

Chocolate

Chocolate is a strong allergen, so do not feed the eared ears with a known dangerous product. Even a small portion can cause poisoning and Quincke's edema (swelling against the background of an allergic reaction). For such a small animal, such a reaction can become fatal. Rabbits are not recommended to give any sweet products (rolls, cakes), as this is too heavy food for a delicate stomach.

Useful food groups for rabbits

When compiling a diet, it is very important to know: what types of feed are and how to choose the right food that will replenish all the trace elements and substances necessary for the body.

Green

Green feeds are a set of herbs that consists of:

  • various wild plants (herbs);
  • grains and legumes;
  • tops and auxiliary herbs.
There are a large number of herbs that you can feed eared pets (alfalfa, clover, wheatgrass, yarrow, nettle). Grass must be bought from farmers or collected away from a dusty city. However, saturation of the animal organism cannot be done with greens alone. It is also necessary to add to the greens the tops of plants (potatoes, beets, swede) and grain with legumes (rye, corn, barley, peas, beans).

It is important to understand what plants you can feed animals, because useful sprouts are easily confused with poisonous, alkoloid-containing herbs.

Rude

Coarse food and fiber, which will improve digestive processes, as well as saturate the body, should make up 25% of the rabbits ’diet. The main "rough" product is hay. Long-eared pets prefer bean and bean-cereal species of dry grass.

Hay needs to be fed livestock daily, given that a small portion of the food will be smoked and left in the aviary in the form of bedding. It is advisable that access to hay be uninterrupted. Rabbits are prone to overeating, but hay will not cause any negative effect.

Important! For the winter, one rabbit needs about 30–40 kg of roughage, so it is important to make stocks in advance.

Juicy

Juicy foods are the main part of the diet from autumn to spring (when there is no way to feed rabbits with fresh herbs). Such foods include melons, root crops and silage.

Products related to succulent feed:

  1. Carrot. The most favorite delicacy of eared animals. It contains carotene and a large amount of vitamins.
  2. Beet. Improves immunity, normalizes blood circulation and accelerates metabolism.
  3. Stern zucchini. Helps in digestive processes.
  4. Pumpkin. Improves digestion, improves the quality of the coat.
  5. Watermelon and melon. It is allowed to use in feeding, but they do not bring special benefit to the animal.

Silo - a mixture of grass, vegetables and additional fertilizing (tops and wastes). An ideal option is a mixture of:

  • bean sprouts (30%);
  • the tops of carrots and the vegetable itself (60%);
  • crushed boiled potatoes (10%).

Concentrated

Concentrated feeds are the most nutritious and optimal for a complete daily diet. They contain a maximum of protein, while there is a minimum of fluid in them.

The higher the percentage of concentrated nutrition, the higher the rate of weight gain and growth. The recommended minimum of such feeding is 40% of the daily portion.

The combined feed includes:
  • corn;
  • oats;
  • wheat;
  • rye;
  • lentils
  • peas;
  • soybeans;
  • cake;
  • the beans.
Despite the fact that such nutrition is quite expensive, it allows you to completely close the issue of saturation of the animal's body. Such feeds contain the maximum necessary trace elements and essential minerals.

Allowable feed

Also, in addition to the above feeds, it is permissible to use special purchased substances as additional feed. They can be either compound feed or auxiliary fortified coarse food.

Read about apples to rabbits.

It is necessary to add chalk, salt, bone meal and red clay to the diet. These substances should occasionally be added to food for additional enrichment of rabbits with useful trace elements.

Some vegetables

In addition to the main food, as a variety and additional food, you can add some vegetables, fruits, grains, beans and even berries. However, it is important to remember that these supplements should be introduced into the diet a little.

Fruits

It should be noted right away that various exotic fruits (bananas, pineapples, mangoes, figs, etc.) are completely unnecessary for rabbits, since in the wild they have nowhere to get them.

Of the necessary fruits, dried apples, raisins, pears, grapes (seedless) can be distinguished.

Cereal crops

Grain contains a large amount of nutrients. The main useful grains for rabbits are:

  • oats - favorably affects the whole body;
  • wheat - has a high energy value;
  • corn - contains carotene, as well as B vitamins;
  • barley - favorably affects the digestive system.

Legumes

Legumes also have a beneficial effect on the digestive system, but there is a likelihood of gas formation, so it is necessary to feed the legumes with pets in moderation.

Most often in the diet are present:
  • peas;
  • beans;
  • the beans.

They must be given in crushed form or whole, previously soaked in cold water for about 3 hours (so that the beans are softened and it is easier to eat).

Berries

In addition to fruits and vegetables, some breeders recommend feeding eared pets and berries. The allowed fruits include:

  • Strawberries
  • blueberries;
  • currants;
  • raspberries.

Berries have a large amount of vitamins and minerals, however, it is not advisable to give them to rabbits more often several times a week.

Did you know? In the natural environment, rabbits eat a lot of grass, fruits and vegetables. In one day, the grass eaten by the male could fill a middle pillow.

How to make a ration of feeding rabbits at home

Depending on the time of year, the animal organism requires a different diet. In winter, a deficiency of vitamins always appears, and in summer you can replenish the necessary supply thanks to greenery. Consider the ideal food options for rabbits in winter and summer.

Summer

In summer, most of the diet is green feed. The ideal daily diet for rabbits of different groups:

Fattening750 g of grass, 65–70 g of concentrated feed, 1 g of salt and chalk.
Young growth400 g of grass, 40 g of concentrated feed and 0.5–1 g of salt and chalk.
Female reproductive and male in reproductive period800 g of grass, 80 g of concentrated feed and 1 g of salt and chalk.

In the summer, it is not necessary to add any vitamin supplements, since grass and concentrated feed will enrich the body sufficiently.

In winter

In winter, hay and succulent feed become the main food. An approximate daily diet of good nutrition should look like this:

Fattening150-200 g of hay; 500–550 g of succulent feed, 80–100 g of concentrated feed, 1 g of salt and chalk.
Young growth75-100 g of hay; 150–200 g of succulent feed, 50–70 g of concentrated feed, 1 g of salt and chalk.
Female reproductive and male in reproductive period150-200 g of hay; 200–250 g of succulent feed, 55–70 g of concentrated feed, 1 g of salt and chalk.

In winter, additional nutrition containing vitamin E will bring great benefits (germinated grains, baker's yeast, fresh grass sprouted at home).

So, feeding rabbits in summer and winter is very different due to the different needs of the animal organism. With a properly selected diet, the pet will always remain healthy and cheerful, and in case of deviation from the norm and the presence of symptoms of poisoning or ailments, you should immediately contact your veterinarian.

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