Feeding Rabbits and Keeping Them Healthy

1What rabbits eat

Rabbits are herbivores. Good foods for them are:

• grasses and legume leaves such as desmodium;
• vegetable leaves: sweet potato vines, carrot tops, and a little cabbage;
• maize bran or ready-made rabbit pellets, to help them grow;
• clean water, every day.

A rabbit's front teeth never stop growing. Chewing lots of grass wears them down, so grass is very important.

2Feeding rules

• Give fresh, clean food in the morning and the evening. Rabbits eat a lot at night.
• Never give wet or rotten (mouldy) food. It causes a swollen belly (bloat) and runny droppings (diarrhoea). Spread freshly cut grass in the shade for a few hours to dry first.
• Never give poisonous plants. Avocado leaves and skins are poisonous to rabbits.
• Change the food slowly, not all at once.
• Give a doe that is feeding kits more food and water.

3Common rabbit diseases

Every day: look at each rabbit, clean the hutch, and put a sick rabbit in a room of its own at once. Ask the sector veterinary officer (the vet) for help, and wash your hands after touching rabbits.

4Why farm rabbits?

• Food: rabbit meat is rich in protein, which helps children grow.
• Money: rabbits and their meat can be sold at the market.
• Manure: rabbit droppings and urine are excellent manure for the garden.
• Skins and fur can be used.
• Easy to start: rabbits need little space, eat grass and leaves, and multiply fast. A doe is pregnant for about 31 days and has about 6 to 8 kits at a time, several times a year.

Try it yourself

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