Is it possible to give rabbits sweet water?

A balanced diet and proper feeding of rabbits provides them with a beautiful and healthy appearance, and also increases their life expectancy. There are many menu options, depending on the purpose of keeping and breeding. But there are some foods that should never be given to rabbits. These animals have a special digestive system. Feeding prohibited foods can lead to gastrointestinal problems, illness and even death. Let us consider in detail the complete list of what you should not feed rabbits, as well as the possible consequences.

Do rabbits need water?

Clean water should be available in rabbit cages throughout the day. In winter, the water can be partially replaced with snow or ice, but it is still better to defrost the water in the drinking bowls with boiling water each time before feeding the rabbits.

Why is the presence of water in drinking bowls so important? In fact, everything is very simple, since water for rabbits has only benefits:

It is involved in the digestion of food and helps intestinal function;
Water has a positive effect on the absorption of beneficial minerals from feed;
Allows you to maintain the required body temperature, especially when it comes to hot summers.

With water, rabbits get sick less and this is a fact. No matter what anyone says, but, despite all the greenery that these animals eat, the presence of drinking bowls with water in their cages is simply a necessity.

These can be either drinkers made from plastic bottles or nipple drinkers for rabbits, which allow you to use water more efficiently.

Berries

In summer and autumn, watermelon and melon become available. Delicate fibers have a slight weakening effect, which helps with constipation in animals. Before feeding, the products are thoroughly washed, cut, and seeds are removed. The peels are removed and chopped into small pieces.

Feeding rabbits with berries

Vineyard owners pamper their pets with both berries and cut leaves throughout the season. Professionals advise using seedless varieties. In addition, animals can:

raspberries;
strawberries;
gooseberry;
sea buckthorn;
rose hip;
currants

When should you not give juicy berries? Lost fermented foods are contraindicated for rabbits. It is also dangerous to feed animals before the official melon season begins. Fruits are prohibited for pregnant females. The aroma of food attracts wasps and bees, which is undesirable for animals living in the open air.

How to water rabbits

Rabbits willingly drink water from drinking bowls, as long as it is clean and kept in their cages all the time. Rabbits drink heavily in the summer and at night, since these animals are predominantly nocturnal.

It is enough to check the water in the rabbits' drinking bowls every day and, if necessary, replace it with new water. Thus, the animals will always have clean water, which will certainly affect their health and well-being.

In addition, to increase the immunity of animals, you can add a couple of drops of iodine to the drinking water for rabbits. Water with iodine is especially useful for young rabbits, whose immunity is not as strong as that of adult animals. It is recommended to feed rabbits with iodine for at least two weeks from the beginning of birth.

Also, you should know that young and pregnant rabbits need water much more than older rabbits. Therefore, pregnant and lactating females, as well as young animals, must have drinking bowls with clean water in their cages.

Apples

Apples are one of the most common crops on domestic farms, so farmers often use the fruits to feed eared animals. The healthy product is a good source of iron, which is responsible for the normal growth and development of animals. The juice remaining after squeezing is easily absorbed and does not cause digestive problems.

Apple slices are given to strengthen rabbit teeth. Thanks to the hard texture of the pulp, the oral cavity is cleansed of food debris. This becomes a prevention of various diseases that occur during rotting food.

What fruits can you feed your pets? There are a number of important requirements for the delicacy.

Ripe. You should not give green waterfalls, which will cause digestive problems. It is recommended to feed the fruits in late summer and autumn.
Homemade. Store-bought products are treated with special compounds, so they can be poisonous to the weak stomach of rabbits.
Fresh. Never give out missing, rotten or moldy specimens. All affected areas are carefully removed.

Apples for rabbits

Apples are introduced into the diet of long-eared animals gradually, monitoring the body’s reaction. For the first time, you can give a small piece, and then increase the permissible dose. Even the largest fruit cannot replace good nutrition. One copy of the dessert is enough for an adult or a whole group of young animals.

In what form should apples not be used? Dried and heat-treated fruits are prohibited. The core of fresh products is removed along with the toxic pits.

How much water does a rabbit need?

Now regarding the question of the amount of water for rabbits. There should be enough water; it’s better to have a little left each time before replacing it than empty and dry drinking bowls, which indicate a lack of water. Speaking in numbers, one adult rabbit can drink up to 0.5 liters of water per day.

It all depends on many different factors:

The age of the animal (young rabbits drink water more often than older ones);
Positions (female rabbits, both pregnant and lactating, also consume an order of magnitude more water);
From feeding any specific food to animals;
Seasons.

Water is an integral part of all living organisms on our planet. So why, one wonders, do many rabbit breeders not know whether they need to give water to rabbits, how to feed them, and how much water does one adult animal require per day?

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Currently, technologies for raising rabbits exclusively on pellets are being increasingly introduced. However, you need to carefully select the appropriate feed, with the obligatory inclusion of grass meal. If you decide to use compound feed for pigs, add grass or hay to the diet to compensate for the lack of green feed. In addition to the fact that green food supplies essential amino acids and microelements, they also contribute to tooth wear, as they contain a natural abrasive.

Milk and sweets in the diet of dwarf rabbits

Questions about feeding rabbits regularly arise in comments to other articles. Owners of long-eared animals, in an attempt to please them, are ready to give their rabbits even dry dog food ! And all because a curious rabbit happily eats this same dog food. Like, if he eats, then that’s what he needs.

Moreover, recently one girl wrote to me that a decorative rabbit is eager to eat meat and drink milk, so perhaps this is its nature? I mean, I wouldn’t want to, I wouldn’t eat. But what about children who, for example, are ready to eat kilos of candy? Or with people who are obese but continue to eat everything in sight? Is this also necessary?

That is why today I want to talk again on the topic “ What to feed rabbits and what not to feed them.” Of course, I won’t talk about dog food And not only dry food for dogs, but also for cats. And I want to talk about milk and sweets.

Carrot

This vegetable is suitable for feeding rabbits. It is rich in carotene, vitamins C, B, and natural sugars.

Carrot complementary foods can be introduced from the age of 2–3 months. Although the animals love vegetables, they cannot eat much. With an excess of the product, the risk of bloating of the stomach or intestines and other digestive disorders increases.

The animals are given fresh carrots (forage and table varieties), mixed with other silage components, and also pickled or fermented. For the winter, you can pickle root vegetables; to do this, wash them, put them in a barrel, fill them with a water-salt solution (4–5%), and cover them with a lid. In this form, the product can be stored for a whole year.

Carrots are usually given to rabbits as part of mash. Before this, the fruit is peeled, cut into cubes and mixed with other ingredients.

It is recommended to feed carrot tops to rabbits who have recently been ill. It is given dried or dried. It is recommended to combine tops with fresh carrots as part of various feeds.

Sweets in the diet of rabbits: what is possible and what is not

What to feed your rabbit to make him happy? How to reward your pet? Give him pleasure?

First of all , forget about all the sweets that you eat yourself. No sweets, biscuits, cakes, chocolate. All this is not very useful for humans, let alone decorative rabbits?

However, dwarf rabbits have a terrible sweet tooth. They are ready to beg for chocolate and candy for hours. What to do? What treats are acceptable as rabbit food?

Some owners make the mistake of starting to buy treats at a pet store. I'm talking about drops, baskets and so on. All this is pure chemistry. Just look at the composition once. There's sugar, honey, and even eggs!

Water for rabbits: how much should you give?

I'll be honest, for a long time I didn't give my rabbits water, for some reason. I would like to note that all the animals grew up healthy and did not get sick. But I was wrong and am ready to admit my mistake.

Rabbits need water for one simple reason, because it plays a vital role in the body of any animal. In summer, water quenches rabbits' thirst, and in some cases, can even become a source of recovery.

To do this, iodine and potassium permanganate are added to the water, as well as some veterinary drugs that have a healing effect on the rabbit’s body.

Water for rabbits: how much should you give?

Clean water should be available in rabbit drinking bowls all year round. Of course, in winter, when rabbits are kept in enclosures, the water will freeze, which causes certain inconveniences for rabbit breeders.

However, when feeding rabbits, you can add a little boiling water to frozen water to melt the ice. You can even feed snow to rabbits in winter, but only without completely replacing their water.

So, rabbits need water to:

1. Animals could completely digest the food they ate; 2. To optimize the absorption of nutrients by the body; 3. To quench thirst, especially for the summer period; 4. To maintain optimal body temperature in rabbits.

Experienced rabbit breeders know how much rabbits suffer from the heat in the summer. So, to help rabbits withstand the heat, drinking water should always be fresh and in sufficient quantities.

The amount of water for rabbits depends on the volume of drinking bowls, but not only. Little rabbits drink relatively little, but often. As a rule, 200 ml of clean drinking water is enough for the daily requirement of rabbits.

Water is especially necessary for pregnant rabbits, who during childbirth, due to the lack of water in the cages, can eat rabbits. During childbirth, the rabbit experiences acute thirst, so the presence of water during this period is simply a necessity.

Many people mistakenly think that instead of water, small rabbits should be given milk. However, this should not be done for one simple reason: due to cow's milk, rabbits may experience bloating, which will not lead to anything good.

It is allowed to use cow's milk to feed baby rabbits only if the female rabbit dies, and then only in a diluted state. Due to the fact that cow's milk has a high degree of fat content, it must be diluted with water, and only then used as a feed for rabbits.

Photo gallery

Photo 1. White rabbit is offered strawberries

Photo 2. Baby rabbit nibbles a carrot

Photo 3. Rabbit licks ice cream

Do I need to give water to rabbits with iodine and manganese?

It is recommended to add a few drops of iodine to the water of rabbits in order to increase the immunity and health of the animals. There is even a certain feeding of iodine for rabbits, when over a certain period of time (at least two weeks) a little iodine is added to the rabbits' water bowls.

It is worth understanding that iodine can enter into a chemical reaction with metals, so the drinkers should, in this case, not be metal. You can also add a little potassium permanganate to the water for rabbits when, for example, the animals suffer from an upset stomach.

In general, water with a small amount of potassium permanganate has a healing effect on the health of rabbits. Feeding animals with potassium permanganate can strengthen their body and relieve some of the diseases mentioned above. Potassium permanganate is also given to rabbits as a preventative measure to prevent various types of diseases.

Is it possible to give rabbits snow in winter instead of water?

Some rabbit breeders are firmly convinced that rabbits can be given snow instead of water in winter. Rabbits’ bodies are indeed adapted to various methods of consuming moisture, including from snow. In the wild, these animals receive the necessary dose of fluid in winter just in this way.

However, you should know that when consuming snow, rabbits will expend an order of magnitude more energy from their body than when consuming ordinary water. Therefore, in the winter season, it is better not to experiment with feeding snow to rabbits, not to be lazy and heat regular tap water. In other words, snow can be given, but it should not replace ordinary water.

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Other Considerations

If you want to feed your rabbit eggplant, start small and watch for any side effects and make sure your rabbit tolerates it well before introducing it into their diet.

Eggplant can also cause inflammation if consumed in large quantities. So make sure your rabbit doesn't have any symptoms of inflammation as it can cause him much more harm.

When feeding your rabbit eggplant, make sure you start with a small amount and watch for any symptoms that may signal health problems caused by it. If your rabbit's reaction is normal, it is usually safe to feed him a small portion of eggplant two or three times a week in combination with the main food, which provides the fiber the rabbit needs.

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No animals should be given sugar!

For a cat or dog, frequent consumption of even small amounts of sugar can cause serious problems in all body systems. Which, sooner or later, will inevitably lead your pet to serious and sometimes incurable diseases.

Sometimes people give dogs chocolate.
So, know this: the substance theobromine contained in chocolate, which, together with other components, promotes the release of dioxyphenylethylamine (simply dopamine) in our brain, which leads a person to mild bliss, in the brain of a dog will cause the opposite reaction, since this same theobromine is for them with poison. Entering the bloodstream, it leads to poisoning of the animal; intoxication disrupts brain activity, which can lead to uncontrolled aggression!

What not to feed rabbits - prohibited foods

An improper diet primarily affects the digestive system, so rabbits experience a disorder manifested by diarrhea or constipation, bloating, flatulence, nausea and vomiting, and deterioration in general condition and appearance.

The food is based on vegetation, roughage, succulents, concentrates, but among them there are varieties that are prohibited for consumption.

Roughage

This category includes hay and branches of trees/shrubs, which should always be present in the diet at all times. The reason for this is the special functioning of the digestive system. If food does not enter the stomach, then the previous one does not move further, but stagnates in the stomach.

Despite all the benefits of roughage, the following types should be excluded from the diet:

branches of bushes - elderberry and wild rosemary, bird cherry and lilac, wolfberry;
tree branches - cherry, apricot, plum, sweet cherry.

When consuming these plants, poisoning occurs, since the branches contain toxic substances.

Juicy food

Juicy food includes berries, fruits, and vegetables. They should be part of the diet - they contain fiber, which improves the functionality of the digestive system, vitamins and other microelements that strengthen the immune system and other internal organs. Without succulent food, animals' fur quality deteriorates.

Along with this, vegetable and fruit crops contain sugar in high concentrations, so they need to be given to rabbits in portions.

Some types of fruits also have a negative effect, so they are excluded from the diet completely or partially:

Cabbage.

It is strictly forbidden to feed rabbits with stalks - harmful substances accumulate in them, especially if synthetic fertilizers were used during cultivation.

Potato. It contains starch, which is poorly digested by rabbit stomachs, but on the other hand it is necessary, as it gives energy and vitality. The daily intake of this product should not exceed 100-150 g. It is used raw. Never feed potatoes that have not yet ripened or, on the contrary, have sprouted - they contain a strong poison (solanine) that kills the animal within 5-6 hours.
Sunflower seeds. They are characterized by a high content of fats, which contribute to obesity. This is especially true for rabbits that lead an inactive lifestyle (when kept on large farms, when there is not enough space in the cage for games). If the animal consumes the seeds along with the shells, the stomach becomes clogged, which in turn leads to problems with the digestive system. It is enough to give sunflower seeds once a week.
Exotic fruits. These include oranges and tangerines, figs, papaya, and mango. This group contains persin, which is safe for the human body, but the substance is toxic for rabbits. After eating such fruits, the heartbeat quickens, breathing becomes difficult, submandibular edema and arrhythmia develop, as a result of which the animal dies.
Beet. It is allowed to give only sugar and feed, but not table food, since it contains too much organic acids and fiber, which disrupts the digestive process.
Dried vegetables. They consist of a huge amount of useful substances, but once they enter the stomach, they begin to swell and are slowly digested. As a result, the intestines become clogged.
The list of prohibited succulent foods includes garlic, onions, eggplants and red cabbage - the digestive system of rabbits cannot cope with such products.
Green food
Green foods include all kinds of herbs, but giving them without knowing the name is strictly prohibited. This is due to the toxicity of many of them, which results in poisoning and often death.
List of prohibited herbs:
rapeseed and buttercup;

spurge and datura;

lily of the valley and celandine;
hemlock and hellebore;
henbane and tansy;
nightshade and cloves;
marsh horsetail and horse sorrel;
daisy and rhubarb;
cactus and calendula;
clematis and bindweed;
periwinkle and hyacinth;
sleep-grass and dracaena.

All of the listed plants grow in Russia and the CIS countries, but there is also an impressive list of herbs that are extremely rare in our latitudes.

Concentrates

Concentrated feeds are high in nutritional value with low fiber and water content, so the daily dosage of concentrates should be from 30 to 40% of the total daily diet. There is no strict ban on them, but rabbits need to be fed in a certain way. If these rules are not followed, disturbances occur in the digestive system and the stomach and intestines become clogged.

Herbal treatment.

Experts identify a separate category of beneficial herbs for rabbits. Nettle, for example, dried at a young age, accelerates the growth of young animals and increases the amount of milk in pregnant females. Plantain is rich in minerals, protein and contains minimal fiber. If you have poor appetite, you can add yarrow or dandelion to your diet. Rest assured, everything will be eaten to the last blade of grass.

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Experienced rabbit breeders always harvest wormwood for the winter (it can also be used in the summer in dried form). In moderate quantities, it significantly strengthens the immunity of animals, increases appetite, and in case of failure, solves problems with digestion. It should be noted that most wild herbs have healing properties, so feel free to feed your pets burdock, mouse peas, wheatgrass (the enemy of vegetable gardens), shepherd's purse, tansy, sage, heather, wild cabbage... Study the characteristics of the growth of herbs in your region and feel free to use this wealth of nature.

What else should you not feed rabbits?

In addition to the main food intended for rabbits, there are a number of other products that farmers and breeders give to their pets. At the same time, not understanding that they are strictly prohibited from being included in the diet.

Pay attention to the following types of food:

Meat products, fish, sausages, sausages, offal. Rabbits are not carnivores, so they do not need animal food. Their digestive system will not be able to digest these products.
Baking, bakery products, pasta and everything made from flour. This food is rich in starch, which rabbits should not eat in large quantities. It is better to give them starch contained in vegetation.
Sweets. This includes sugar, chocolate, cakes, sweets, etc. The first reason why you can’t is that these products do not contain useful substances. Secondly, there is a violation of the microbiocenosis of the cecum, which causes stomatitis, diarrhea, and intestinal obstruction.
Nuts. Even in crushed form, rabbits should not eat nuts, as their composition negatively affects the gall bladder and liver. In addition, it leads to obesity.
Beans and grains. Not all of these crops are allowed for rabbits. The list of prohibited foods includes green peas, red and black beans, millet, rice, rye and millet. This food contributes to bloating, flatulence, and colic (due to its high fiber content).

Harvesting beet tops for future use

In dry tops, the laxative effect is reduced, and vitamins and nutrients are preserved. Adding dried leaves of the red root vegetable to food is very useful.

They must be prepared in compliance with the following rules: cut the rosette from the fruit without detaching the leaves, then tie it up and hang it in a ventilated, dry room.

Attention! Dry tops can be stored in plastic lattice boxes, creating a shelving structure.

What should you not feed pregnant rabbits?

During the period of gestation, female rabbits especially need vitamin and mineral supplements and increased nutrition, so breeders often begin to overfeed the females.

This cannot be done, because you need to take into account the fact that there are unborn rabbits inside and each of them has their own individual characteristics - if oats are beneficial for one, then they can be harmful for another.

In addition, there is a list of prohibited foods in absolutely all cases of pregnancy:

parsley - because of it, the release of milk will be delayed and when the female gives birth, she will have nothing to feed her offspring with;
herbs with bitterness (the list is extensive - yarrow, chicory, wormwood, etc.) - the milk will be bitter and the rabbits will refuse to drink it;
avocado - all rabbits need to eat it in limited quantities, and pregnant women should not be given even 10 g of fruits, leaves and branches, since the fruit leads to non-infectious mastitis and, as a result, loss of milk.

Pears

Rabbits really like the sweet, juicy fruits. Excess of them in the diet causes increased gas production. Overeating will cause indigestion. To avoid problems, fruit is given very rarely and in small quantities: no more than 80 g per adult animal.

You should not feed store-bought pears that are treated with chemicals to keep them fresh. Long-eared pets have a weak digestive system that reacts sharply to any harmful element. If it is not possible to use homemade copies, then it is better to abandon the product.

Often animals do not want to eat a juicy dessert due to special taste preferences. You should not experiment and force the animal to eat an unloved product. This is a delicacy, and it must be pleasant.

How are pears given to rabbits? Before feeding, always remove the center and poisonous seeds. The fruit is cut into small slices and offered to the ears. Do not mix pears with other fruits and hay.

What should rabbits not drink?

Inexperienced rabbit breeders in rare cases do not allow rabbits to drink, because they think that juice from freshly cut grass or succulent food is enough for them. In fact, the opinion is erroneous - long-eared animals need liquid more than food.

Daily consumption depends on the type of animal and type of feeding:

while feeding rabbits - from 2 to 3.5 liters per day;
when raising breeding individuals - from 0.5 to 1 l;
with a combined diet, the presence of succulent and roughage food - from 0.2 to 0.5 l;
when using granulated feed - from 0.5 to 1.5 liters.

The following types of water are prohibited:

technical purpose;
from a river, pond or other body of water;

Despite this, in winter it is allowed to give ice and snow, but you need to get used to it gradually.

Many people debate the benefits of milk and other fermented milk products for the rabbit’s body. It is believed that milk protein brings invaluable benefits to all living organisms, and even baby rabbits in infancy are fed cow's or goat's milk, sour cream, whey, kefir, yogurt, but in adulthood this is strictly prohibited.

There are several reasons:

Rabbits do not have enzymes that break down lactose, which causes diarrhea;
Milk protein is of animal origin, while eared ones need exclusively vegetable protein.

Herbs.

Herbs, like other green foods, are the main supplier of carotene, protein, vitamins, and microelements. When harvesting herbs, it is necessary to take into account that the most useful and nutritious herbs will be those of the first cut, those that have not grown to the point of coarsening the stems, that have grown far from highways and landfills, in other words, they are environmentally friendly. In overgrown grass, the percentage of nutrients is much lower and, on the contrary, the amount of fiber increases sharply. Rabbits digest and assimilate such grass less easily. This, of course, does not mean that you need to give up making hay from the second (third) cutting. It would be a real waste.