What Does A Newborn Rabbit Eat?

Knowing what a newborn rabbit eats is essential in order to provide it with the necessary nutrients. This is part of the care this pet will need during its growth phase . In this article we will show you how to feed a rabbit puppy, indicating how often and when.

Caring for an animal that is only a few days old can seem like a daunting task for those with little experience. So let’s see some practical suggestions so that you can manage the newborn rabbit in the best possible way.

The stages of feeding a newborn rabbit

The digestive system of newborn rabbits is very susceptible to changes  in their environment. A drastic drop or rise in temperatures or a too abrupt change in diet can adversely affect health.

Therefore, it is advisable to follow a series of guidelines  that will allow you to properly feed this little rodent, day by day. It is evident that the type of feeding will change as the bunny gets bigger:

• Up to 3 weeks of age it is advisable to feed the rabbit only with mother’s milk or one that replaces it. In case the mother is not available, try to buy a type recommended by the vet, which will probably be high in calories.
• For 3-4 weeks, you should continue to feed the rabbit milk, but you can start adding alfalfa, which will provide the calcium and protein you need. Adult rabbits, and especially pregnant females, are often fed alfalfa for their valuable nutritional contribution. The best way to incorporate this plant into a rabbit’s diet in the weaning process is to mix it with water or milk.

• After 12 weeks you can start including different types of vegetables. Your rabbit’s gut flora will take some time to get used to this new acquisition, so try to feed him a different type of vegetable each time and wait a while before giving him a new one.
• After 4 months, things start to get easier. Your pet rodent’s diet is now that of an adult and, as such, will consist of large quantities of hay (80%), fresh vegetables (10%) and feed (10%), as well as fresh water.

Easily overcome the barrier of four months of life, you can definitively abandon the milk and start administering simple food for adult rabbits. At this point you can also reduce the amounts of alfalfa and increase the amount of hay.

Caring for a newborn rabbit

Newborn animals depend on their mother’s presence to learn some basic habits and reflexes. Not surprisingly, early weaning can lead to behavioral disturbances in babies. Generally, by nature, all mothers tend to stimulate their babies’ sphincters to regulate their intestinal transit.

In case the cattery mother is not present, you should try to do the same and replace these treatments as much as possible. In the case of regulating bowel movements, you should stimulate her genital area with a small wet handkerchief.

The environment in which to raise the newborn rabbit must be warm and welcoming. You will have to try to recreate a real den, like the one that the mother rabbit would set up. Then, try to assemble a small bed of clean straw, under which you will place some absorbent paper.

Sometimes, the bunny’s mother is present, but she is indifferent to the newborn. If you are sure that she does not want to interact with the little ones and that this behavior does not tend to change, you will have to separate them from the mother, before there can be any risks for the puppies.