Pet rabbits have traditionally been fed this kind of food as the main part of their diet but the advice these days is only to feed dry food in small amounts, approximately 2 to 3 oz per rabbit per day...
By "dry / concentrate food" we mean any kind of commercial rabbit food available in petshops and other retailers.
Pet rabbits have traditionally been fed this kind of food as the main part of their diet but the advice these days is only to feed dry food in small amounts, approximately 2 to 3 oz per rabbit per day (approx. one eggcup full).
This is because if a rabbit has ad lib access to dry food, it will often choose to eat this instead of hay. Hay is essential to wear the rabbit's teeth down and provide the fibre it needs. So a rabbit which eats too much dry food is likely to be overweight, prone to teeth problems and producing "sticky poo" instead of the normal hard, round pellets.
Small amounts of dry food are beneficial to provide rabbits with the calcium and vitamins they need.
Muesli
As the name suggests, this type of rabbit mix looks like muesli i.e. made up of different kinds of dry food. This is not recommended as it can lead to selective feeding, where the rabbit picks out the bits it likes and leaves the rest, thereby missing out on some of the nutrients.
Nuggets
This type of dry food has been developed specifically to prevent selective feeding and is also higher in fibre than muesli type mixes. This is recommended by vets and can be fed to your rabbit in small amounts, approximately an eggcup full per day for a small/medium sized rabbit.
There are different versions of nuggets available, such as for overweight rabbits, baby rabbits or elderly rabbits. Refer to the feeding instructions on the pack or check with your vet for feeding advice.
