Your rabbit will stop eating when it's satiated or during rest. However, it's important to keep in mind that it's normal for rabbits to eat numerous times throughout the day.
Overeating can quickly lead to obesity in rabbits, which is a very dangerous condition. Since rabbits have such a sensitive digestive system, they run the risk of developing complications in their gut that will require medical intervention.
Rabbits should be fed and provided with fresh water daily; hay should always be available. As nibblers, they should have food available at all times.
It is possible for your pet to grow tired of eating the same kind of hay every day. Offering new types of hay opens your pet up to a variety of new tastes and textures to make mealtime exciting.
When a rabbit isn't eating, it's usually because they are very ill or stressed. Conditions such as GI stasis, dental disease, or chronic anxiety are likely culprits. If your rabbit ever stops eating for more than 10 hours at a time, they should be brought to a veterinarian for emergency care.
How do you tell if your rabbit is ill? If your rabbit is quieter than normal, is sitting still and hunched up, does not want to move about, or has not eaten for more than 12 hours, contact your vet as soon as possible.
Rabbits that become depressed will usually sit around for most of the day. They will often lose interest in eating, grooming, or even socializing. Some rabbits who become depressed will even resort to aggressive behaviors, such as biting and swatting.
The total amount of fresh food that you may give to your rabbit daily (once your bunny has been gradually introduced to it), is a minimum of 1 heaping cup (loosely packed), per 5 pound of body weight, given two times a day.
If rabbits live in small hutches with nothing to do and no space to move, they get bored. Boredom can cause some serious health problems: Bored rabbits will fill their time by eating. If they eat too much and don't move around they'll put on weight.
Unlike many other species, who can cope with occasionally missing a meal, rabbits need to eat regularly to keep their guts moving. If your rabbit stops eating, even just a little bit of time, this is a serious concern.
Rabbits need a constant supply of hay or fresh grass to nibble on – in fact, 85 to 90 per cent of their daily diet should be made up of the stuff. This should be available to them throughout the day.
Yup, a hay only diet is perfectly acceptable. Both of my bunnies are pretty much on a hay only diet, except for a negligible amount of pellets in the morning.
Feed your rabbits a small amount of good quality pellets or nuggets daily. Give them the right amount - measure 25g (an eggcup-full) of pellets per kg of your rabbit's body weight. For example, for a medium-sized rabbit (2kg), feed a maximum of two full egg cups.
Myth #3 - Rabbits eat lettuce
Some lettuce is 'worse' than others - light-coloured varieties are high in water and have very little nutritional value, so are not recommended. You can feed darker, more leafy and fibrous varieties (e.g. romaine lettuce) to your rabbit, as these are higher in fibre and actual nutrients.
Feed one-half in the morning and the other half in the evening. Feed your rabbit three types of vegetables per day, with at least one vegetable being high in vitamin A.
Rabbits like to play and need plenty of exercise to stay healthy and happy. Ideally you want to provide them with up to 4 hours daily of supervised time out of their cage. Rabbits are subject to depression and poor health if they're not provided with daily interaction and mental stimulation.
Even a house rabbit, that will live indoors and be free roaming throughout your house, still needs a hutch to hop back to at night time. Rabbit owners may worry it is cruel keeping a rabbit inside a hutch. But that isn't true, as long as the hutch is safe, comfortable and meets the welfare needs of your rabbit.
Signs that your rabbit might be bored
Rabbits might start chewing things that they shouldn't, destroying their pen, or trying to dig out. They might also start to over-groom themselves to give them something to do.
What can rabbits not eat? These foods are poisonous for your rabbit and could make her ill: Potatoes, daffodils, tulips, rhubarb, lillies, mushrooms, avocado, broad beans, sweet peas, buttercup, kidney beans, jasmine, foxglove and iceberg lettuce.
You may worry that your rabbit will be lonely. If you spend a lot of time with your rabbit, they will undoubtedly miss you when you're away, the same way you miss them. The two of you have developed a bond and friendship that your pet rabbit also understands.
Grunting: Grunting noises are angry reactions towards another rabbit or a person and should be heeded as a warning to back off; otherwise the rabbit might escalate by scratching or biting. Rabbits grunt when they feel threatened or territorial. Thumping: Thumping is an attention getting behavior.
Grooming can be a self-comforting behavior for rabbits. If they are stressed, anxious, bored, or even a little sick, a rabbit might try to feel better by self-grooming more often.