Reasons for Feeding Rabbits Salt and the Appropriate Amount to Add

Sodium: widely distributed throughout the rabbit's body, it maintains the balance of water, electrolytes and acid-base levels in the body, so that the rabbit will neither become "shrunken and dry" nor develop edema; sodium also regulates normal cardiac physiological activity, and to a certain extent promotes nerve conduction and gastrointestinal motility.

Chlorine: mainly distributed in the extracellular fluid, it is the raw material for forming gastric acid and a component of gastric juice. Gastric acid can stimulate appetite, enhance digestion, and increase the digestion and absorption rate of protein and fat.

If the rabbit's diet lacks salt, it will cause reduced appetite, loose and disheveled fur, and pica such as drinking urine and gnawing at random objects, and in severe cases it will affect body weight. Since rabbits are mostly fed plant-based feed, and plant-based feed contains very little sodium and chlorine, salt must be supplemented additionally. Feeding salt can also change the taste of the feed, enhance palatability, and stimulate appetite. Feeding salt in winter and spring can prevent constipation in rabbits, and feeding salt in summer and autumn can prevent uterine inflammation. Adding 0.5% salt to the rabbit's diet is required to meet its needs. In addition, in the diet of growing rabbits, about 0.6% potassium should also be supplemented.