The picture of a rabbit with a carrot has done more harm than any other image of a pet. A carrot is a sugary root vegetable — a one-bite treat. A rabbit's real food looks duller: it is hay.
Hay, always and without limit
Hay must be available around the clock. It provides the long fibre without which a rabbit's gut stops moving, and it wears down teeth that grow for life.
A simple guide: in a day a rabbit eats roughly its own body volume in hay. If the pile has barely gone down by evening, look at your rabbit more closely.
Meadow or grass hay is right. Alfalfa (a legume hay) is given to adult rabbits only occasionally: it is high in calcium and protein.
Greens and vegetables
Fresh greens are the second most important part of the diet: leaf lettuces, parsley, dill, coriander, dandelion leaves, carrot tops, basil, mint.
Introduce new plants one at a time and in small amounts, watching the droppings for a day or two. A sudden change of greens is a common cause of digestive upset.
Give rarely and in small pieces: carrot, apple, sweet pepper, cucumber, pumpkin. These are extras, not food.
Pellets
Pellets are a supplement, not the basis of the diet. A healthy adult rabbit gets a limited amount, and a commonly quoted guide is on the order of a tablespoon per kilogram of body weight per day.
The exact amount depends on age, weight and condition — discuss it with a vet who treats exotic pets.
Buy uniform pellets without grains, seeds or coloured pieces. From a muesli mix a rabbit eats the sweet parts and leaves the fibre.
Water
Water must always be available. Most rabbits drink more from a bowl than from a bottle; change it daily.
Never give
Bread, biscuits, rusks, porridge, pasta. Milk and dairy. Nuts and seeds. Chocolate and sweets of any kind. Meat. Potato and onion. Avocado. Pet-shop "treats" with sugar, honey or yoghurt coating.
Do not pile up freshly cut grass either: it heats and ferments quickly. Grass is either picked and eaten straight away, or dried into hay.
Warning signs
The rabbit has not eaten for a day. There are few droppings, or none. It sits hunched, still, grinding its teeth.
This is not a "wait until tomorrow" situation. A rabbit's gut shuts down quickly and the clock runs in hours — get to an exotics vet.
Working it out
Mr. Petman calculates a daily amount for a rabbit from its weight and age, and shows how much of it is hay, greens and pellets. Weigh your rabbit weekly: weight loss under fur is not obvious to the eye, but it is obvious on a chart.
This article is a guide, not a prescription. The diet of a particular rabbit — especially when ill, pregnant or recovering from surgery — is set by a vet.