A lot of confusion surrounds feeding rabbits. One is dry weight vs liquid volume measurements. Big difference when feeding pellets. One is how much to feed? .5 ounce per pound? 1 ounce per pound? Free feed? 

Another is protein- 16% or 18%. 

Hay- yes or no. 

And so on.  For my purposes I will explain what I do only. The two biggest mistakes people make feeding rabbits are feeding too much and feeding too many types of things. 

My angoras are weighed when I clip and when I give Ivomec for fur mites. I keep a running record of their weights. 

I like my rabbits to finish all their food several hours before I feed them again. Unless they are under 6 months in which I free feed them. Its better for rabbits to be on the lean rather than the overweight side- especially wool rabbits that might develop blockages. 

I feed .5 ounces per pound. If you look at the top picture you will see difference between liquid volume and dry weight. The bottom thick line is 1/2 cup liquid. The top thin line is 5 ounces dry weight. A ten pound rabbit would get 5 ounces of dry weight pellets per 24 hour period. Hopefully they eat the whole thing. If they do wonderful. If they don't well could be intestinal problems ahead so watch them. 

My pellets are Nutrena Professional Rabbit 18%. That's what it's called and what I use. It is an alfalfa based pellet. 

I'm addition the rabbits are free fed hay from mangers. 24 hours a day. I keep two bales- one is orchard grass and one is pure timothy. They get 50/50 each everyday all they can eat. This is high fiber, good for their intestines, keeps them busy and helps keep tgeir teeth ground down. Better if they over eat on hay than pellets. 

I feed fresh greens and herbs nine months of the year. But in little treat quantities. If they have a balanced pellet and hay they don't really need a lot of fresh vegetables and it can be dangerous to feed them such. Just a little at a time as you carefully watch for changes in their poop output- too much cecotropes or diarrhea will indicate too rich of a diet. Also they will consume fewer pellets if fed a lot of other stuff. 

So yeah feed them these things but in very limited quantities while keeping a good eye. Carrots should be fed very sparingly due to high sugar content. I hope it goes without saying if you aren't growing these herbs and veggies yourself you are buying organic.

I also grow small quantities of alfalfa and clover hay that I dry. This is a TREAT only. They already have alfalfa pellets and don't need a steady diet of high calcium from alfalfa hay. 

 

(Disconsolate jack rabbit sitting in empty hay field I mowed wondering where the free food went.)

Rabbits in the wild prefer to eat bushy green alfalfa or clover to stuffing their faces on broccoli. I never have jack rabbits in my actual vegetable garden cause they lollygag all day in the hay I plant. A problem of a different sort-parasites and viruses-I will address elsewhere. 

I also grow and feed bunnies pumpkin. Pumpkin is very high fiber so its excellent for getting bunnies off their feed eating again or for concealing medications and additives in. I never give more than a tbsp a day. 

 

I provide the buns with dried apple sticks and dried willow wreaths. Good for their teeth and fun to play with. Spruce cones or pine cones are known as rabbits toothbrush. When you walk in the woods and see one gnawed down most likely it was a rabbit. Again- moderation is key. 

The MOST important thing though is water. Without water they won't eat. And dehydration is a key factor in. G.I Stasis and will kill a rabbit quickly. 

My rabbits are house rabbits so their water intake is fairly consistent. I expect rabbits over 2 years old to consume at least one quart bottle daily. Under 2 years want 1.5 quart bottles daily. If they aren't doing that I want to know the reason why.