Your Rabbit’s Unique Digestive System

Rabbits are herbivores, but did you know that they have evolved to develop a digestive system that is radically different from other herbivores? A rabbit’s digestive system is designed to take in large quantities of food while simultaneously separating the digestible components from fibrous waste, which happens in the colon. Interestingly enough, this system actually runs on fiber! That’s why good hay is such a crucial part of your rabbit’s diet. Once the colon has separated the digestible from the nondigestible parts, the digestible parts are sent to an organ called the caecum, which acts as a sort of reservoir for fermentation. It may be helpful to think of the caecum as a pouch filled with good bacteria. When the digestible parts of a rabbit’s diet enter the caecum, it is held there for about 4 hours in the process of fermentation–during which the bacteria break down the grass and hay to release energy and nutrients.

What Goes In, Must Come Out!

This is the part of the process where we need to talk about poop (yes, poop). When your rabbit’s caecum is done breaking down the nutritious part of their diet, it gets coated in mucus and released as cecotropes, which are (you guessed it) poop. Interestingly enough, cecotropes differ from the more common type of poop you will see in your rabbit’s pen: fecal pellets. While fecal pellets are large, dry, and somewhat round in shape; cecotropes are soft, mucus coated clusters of poop. Now, this is the part that shocks most first time rabbit owners: after your rabbit has disposed of cecotropes from their colon, they will turn around and eat them! While this may sound disgusting to us, eating their own poop (cecotropes, NOT fecal pellets) is actually a healthy and normal part of your rabbit’s diet! As a pet owner, you may not even see this happen, since rabbits typically ingest cecotropes immediately after producing them. If you do see a lot of cecotropes piling up in your rabbit’s enclosure, this may be a sign that something is amiss and you should speak to a veterinarian.

What should you feed your rabbit?

We’ve already mentioned how important fiber is to your rabbit’s digestive tract–this is what keeps their whole system running! That’s why grass and hay are a foundational part of your rabbit’s diet. Some experts recommend your rabbit’s diet being 85% hay, 10% leafy greens and herbs, and 5% pellets. A healthy rabbit will actually eat their body’s volume in hay everyday! While this may seem like a lot, it’s important to remember that hay is very lightweight, so your rabbit’s volume worth of hay is actually only a fraction of their body weight.

When it comes to choosing a type of hay to feed your rabbit, Timothy hay is the most highly recommended. When it’s not growing in meadows or on mountainsides, Timothy hay serves as an important source of fuel for not only rabbits, guinea pigs, and chinchillas, but also deer horses, and livestock animals! What makes Timothy hay so beneficial for rabbits is its high-fiber content and ability to file a rabbit’s continually growing teeth to a manageable length. Some sources even recommend a blend of Timothy hay and Orchard hay as a great base for your rabbit. Interestingly, Bermuda grass hay is a healthy food source with about the same nutritional content as Timothy and Orchard hays–but rabbits don’t find it as tasty!

Another type of hay that you may be familiar with is Alfalfa hay. While Alfalfa does have its benefits, it is important to know when and why to feed this type of hay to your rabbit. Alfalfa is a high calorie, high calcium hay that is typically recommended for rabbits who have trouble gaining or maintaining weight. It can be beneficial for young bunnies, and rabbits who are pregnant, nursing, elderly, or ill. However, it is not recommended for healthy adult rabbits. Alfalfa does not contain enough fiber to produce healthy rabbit droppings, and the high calorie and high calcium content can actually lead to “sludge” in their urine, excessive weight gain, and cecotrope pellets not being eaten (which takes us back to our earlier discussion about the importance of poop). It is not recommended to put bunnies on a strict Alfalfa diet, as this can lead to some of these issues as well.

In addition to hay, your rabbit will thrive with a variety of leafy greens and herbs in their diet. Some sources recommend about a large handful of safe, washed greens everyday–ideally a mixture of five to six different types! Some good foods are kale, celery, rosemary, mint, parsley, cabbage, broccoli, and spinach. While this may be a shock to your favorite cartoon rabbit, carrot taproots (the orange parts) are actually high in sugar and not a great source of nutrition–replace them with the leafy green carrot tops instead! It is also recommended to introduce new greens into your rabbit’s diet gradually, to avoid stomach upset.

To Treat, or not to Treat?

While a small, measured portion of high-quality pellets is considered beneficial for your rabbit, this should amount to no more than 5% of their diet. It is also not recommended to top your rabbit’s bowl with pellets, as this may lead to them not finishing their necessary portions of grass and hay! When it comes to sweet treats, like fruits, carrots, and root vegetables–these should only be occasional goodies. You don’t want your rabbit to over-indulge in sugar, as this can lead to a variety of potential health concerns.

Additional Sources

We hope this covers any questions you may have had about the best way to approach feeding your pet rabbit, but you may find these additional resources useful as well! Make sure you visit us in store to check out our selection of rabbit food and supplies, or to speak to one of our knowledgeable staff members about any questions you might have.

https://www.vetexotic.theclinics.com/article/S1094-9194(02)00024-5/fulltext

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/digestion/

https://hastingsvet.com/rabbit-food-the-best-and-worst-foods-to-feed-a-bunny/

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/rabbits/diet

https://sandiegorabbits.org/education/all-about-hay

https://www.kaytee.com/learn-care/small-animals/what-is-timothy-hay