Should you give your pet rabbit water at home, and what should you feed it normally?

The rabbit is a very common animal in daily life, and its figure can now be seen in many parts of our country. The rabbit's appearance is very cute, so many people like it, and therefore some people keep it as a pet at home. However, when raising it, people have differing opinions on the question of whether water can be given.

Do you need to give rabbits water

Rabbits need to be given water appropriately, but some points need attention:

1. In fact, rabbits, like most pets, need fresh, clean drinking water. If they do not drink water, they may even die.

2. You must prepare fresh, clean drinking water for the rabbit.

3. As for how much drinking water should be prepared, it depends on what food each rabbit eats. When eating dry feed, the water should be a bit more; when eating watery foods such as vegetables, not too much water needs to be given.

4. If the rabbit at home has soft stool, it means too much water; if the rabbit drinks its urine, it means too little water was given.

5. Remember that an appropriate amount is enough. A raised rabbit is very likely to have accidentally drunk dirty water or eaten rotten vegetable leaves, which then causes acute enteritis, diarrhea, and death.

What to feed a rabbit kept at home

1. 1-6 months: an appropriate amount of alfalfa hay plus unlimited timothy hay plus young rabbit pellets plus boiled water.

2. Over 6 months: unlimited timothy hay plus adult rabbit pellets plus boiled water plus a small amount of vegetables and fruit (the vegetables must not carry moisture); the rabbit pellets only need to be given as a small handful, and if there is no grass at home, you can buy sugar-free oats to temporarily replace it; those are for people to eat, and they are sold in supermarkets.

Points to note in raising and feeding rabbits

1. Feed according to the rabbit's body size. Generally, large adult rabbits should be fed more, while young rabbits and baby rabbits should be fed appropriately less, and green roughage should be matched and fed according to the season.

2. Feed according to the rabbit's degree of fatness or thinness. Fatter rabbits should appropriately have their concentrated feed reduced and be given more green roughage. Thin and weak rabbits should be given more concentrated feed, and appropriately supplemented with some soaked, cooked soybeans or crushed bean dregs.

3. Feed according to the dryness or wetness of the droppings. If the droppings are dry and hard, then increase the amount of green feed, and mix the feed with a bit more moisture. If the droppings are too soft, then reduce the amount of green feed, and it is better to mix the feed a bit drier.

4. Feed according to hunger and fullness. Generally, rabbits should be fed to about 80 percent full; feeding too full can easily cause indigestion, enteritis, diarrhea, and so on. Feeding too little will affect growth and the normal display of production performance.

5. Feed according to hot and cold weather conditions. When the temperature exceeds 30°C, feeding in the morning and at night gives better results, and it is better to feed cold, cool feed or green feed; in winter when it is cold, concentrated feed is best mixed with hot water and rolled into balls for feeding. Rabbit feeding should be based on actual conditions, and they cannot all be treated the same; only in this way can the economic benefits of rabbit raising be maximized.

What rabbits cannot eat

1. Steamed, boiled, or fried food: rabbits eat raw food, and fried food is even more unsuitable.

2. Frozen food: frozen food will make the rabbit's stomach and intestines very unaccustomed and cause diarrhea; vegetables and fruit just taken out of the refrigerator must be left until they are the same as room temperature before they can be given to the rabbit.

3. Rotten food: do not think that animals are not as delicate as people and that it is fine to eat spoiled food people cannot eat; rabbits are especially fragile, so this must never be done.

4. Candy and sweets: candy and sweets are high-calorie, high-sugar foods and really have no benefit for rabbits; besides making them excessively obese and causing digestive tract diseases (sugar can cause abnormal fermentation of chyme in the intestines), they can also make rabbits develop tooth decay.

When feeding rabbits, they can actually drink an appropriate amount of water, but if the vegetables contain moisture, then it is fine not to feed water. There are also particular points about rabbit food; generally foods such as carrots and vegetables are fine, and remember that the vegetables must be fresh, so that eating them will not cause discomfort in the rabbit.