A healthy rabbit diet is built around one simple ratio: mostly hay, a measured amount of pellets, a portion of fresh leafy greens, and treats kept occasional. Get that balance right and most day-to-day feeding questions answer themselves.
Hay: the foundation of the diet
Fresh grass hay — Timothy, orchard, or a similar grass hay — should be available to your rabbit at all times, in effectively unlimited amounts. It keeps their digestive system moving and wears down their continuously-growing teeth, which is why a rabbit that isn’t eating enough hay is one of the more common causes of dental and digestive trouble down the line. If your rabbit is turning their nose up at hay, it’s worth trying a fresher batch or a different grass hay before assuming they simply dislike hay altogether.
Pellets: a measured supplement, not the main meal
A good-quality rabbit pellet fills in nutritional gaps that hay and greens alone might not cover, but it’s meant to be a small, measured portion each day rather than left out in unlimited amounts — free-feeding pellets is one of the more common ways rabbits end up overweight. Choose a plain, timothy-based pellet rather than the colourful “muesli-style” mixes with seeds and dried fruit, which encourage selective eating of the sugary bits and leaving the rest.
Fresh greens and treats
A daily portion of leafy greens (introduced gradually, one new type at a time, to watch for any tummy upset) rounds out the diet nicely. Treats — fruit, root vegetables, commercial rabbit treats — are best kept genuinely occasional; rabbits are prone to weight gain and digestive upset from a diet too heavy in sugar or starch, so “occasional” really does mean a small amount now and then, not a daily habit.
Common feeding mistakes
The most common ones we see: not enough hay relative to pellets, switching foods too quickly instead of transitioning gradually over a week or two, and treating a rabbit’s dry food like it’s optional once they’re getting “enough” greens and treats. Fresh water, changed daily, matters just as much as what’s in the food bowl.
Every pet is different — if your rabbit, guinea pig or chinchilla has a specific health condition, is a picky eater, or you’re changing their diet, it’s worth checking with an exotic-animal-savvy vet for guidance tailored to them.
Shop the essentials
Browse our rabbit food, hay and treats — including Timothy, orchard and alfalfa hay — with fast islandwide delivery, or check whether it’s in stock at one of our pet vending machines near you.