These are some facts about rabbits and their diet you absolutely need to know before buying or adopting a rabbit. We all know that the cute, furry, and long-eared creatures found in almost all places around the world called rabbits or bunnies have been domesticated for ages. These pet animals are known for having distinct eating habits.While being a domestic animal, rabbits generally thrive when left in the open. They’re not dependent on their human friends and can live pretty decently if left to live for themselves. Wild rabbits or bunnies living in forests generally feed on weeds, hay, grasses, wildflowers, and any fruits or vegetables these pets can find.Yes, rabbits are herbivores. Their diet and metabolism changes according to the seasons and likewise, the availability of plants around them. Domesticated rabbits’ primary diet should include hay, leafy vegetables and occasional treats of carrots and root vegetables, as they are not used to daily consumption of root vegetables. Due to their plant-based diet, which does not include meat at all, rabbits come under the herbivores category of animals. A herbivorous diet generally includes plants, fruits, hay, grass, and leaves, they do not hunt or kill other animals for food. Rabbits and elephants are examples of herbivores. A carnivore’s primary diet includes meat which comes from other animals. These animals hunt other animals for food and are termed as predators. There are a lot of examples of carnivores like tigers, lions, hyenas. These animals do not eat plants, fruits, or grasses at all and survive solely on animal meat. Omnivore species are the animals that eat meat as well as plant-based food. One of the various examples of this category is bears. Bears particularly feast on sweet berries and twigs, while they also hunt for small animals and fishes. Even birds eat both grains and worms, making them omnivores.After understanding if rabbits are herbivores, do check our fact files on are rabbits nocturnal and are raccoons nocturnal?List Of Foods That Rabbits EatAs we mentioned earlier, rabbits are herbivores, they survive only on plant-based food sources like fresh leaves, fresh grass, twigs, flowers, roots, seeds, and fruits. There is a certain misconception that rabbits can solely survive on carrots every day. That is a total myth. These pets can eat anything that is near and they have access to.As much as carrots are very tempting for rabbits, only small portions of them should be fed to the rabbits on a daily basis. Carrots contain a lot of sugar, which could upset the stomach and digestive system of rabbits as they do not exactly depend on roots for their diet. The main ingredient which makes up the diet of rabbits is hay. It should be provided to the rabbits in abundance when they spend their time, particularly at dawn and dusk, grazing hay. Likewise, leafy vegetables with high content of cellulose, which are a little tedious for the stomach to digest, form an important part of a rabbit’s diet. Apart from that, rabbits tend to excrete two different types of feces. One of them is hard fecal pellets, which are normal feces like any other animal. These pellets do not serve any purpose other than waste excretion. The second one is called cecotropes, or night feces, which is soft and moist and easy to digest, working in a similar fashion in which cows ruminate. These excretions are a rich nutrient and protein source for rabbits. Rabbits tend to ingest these feces immediately to re-digest them and absorb all the nutrients, protein, and vitamins that were missed in the first journey of the digestive tract.Are rabbits herbivores, carnivores or omnivores?As explained earlier, both pet and wild rabbits are pure herbivores. Herbivores’ diet generally includes plants, fruit, fresh grass, and leaves and they do not hunt or kill other animals for food. Rabbits and elephants are examples of herbivores. Herbivores are usually termed as ‘prey,’ who predators hunt for food.A carnivore is an animal whose primary diet includes meat which comes from other animals. These animals hunt other animals for food and are termed as predators. There are a lot of examples of carnivore animals like tigers, lions, hyenas. These animals do not eat plants, fruit, or grasses at all and survive solely on animal meat. Omnivores include all the animals who eat meat as well as plant-based food. One of the various examples of this category is bears. Bears like to feast on sweet berries and twigs, while they also hunt for small animals and fish. Even birds eat both grains and worms, making them omnivores.Can rabbits eat meat?No, they do not eat meat at all, as they belong to the herbivores category of animals which is one of the three categories of herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. They are divided on the basis on which their entire food source is based.What foods are healthy for rabbits?Herbivores like rabbits gain nutrition from a plant-based diet which includes grass, hay, leaves, fruits, seeds, and flowers. Hay is the main staple for domesticated rabbits, which is good for their digestive system and provides them with nutrients and protein essential for their health. Apart from that, rabbits may feed on carrots and other fruits and vegetables rich in sugar content in small quantities from time to time. Water is a very important ingredient to be included in a rabbit’s diet. Without water, they can become severely ill and have deformed bunnies. Apart from natural food sources, you can also get industry-produced bunny food in pet shops which can be inculcated in their diet. Although this food is a great source of additional nutrients for the rabbit’s health and digestive system, it should be provided to the bunny in a limited amount, as it can get addicted to this kind of food and stop eating fibrous leafy plants, hay, and grass, which is its primary source of nutrition. Also, in order to ensure their physical health and to provide them with balanced nutrition, various pellets are available in the market which can be administered to the rabbits through their food.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for are rabbits herbivores, then why not take a look at are pythons venomous or rabbit facts.
These are some facts about rabbits and their diet you absolutely need to know before buying or adopting a rabbit.
