Fibrevores Up Close
Health problems related to poor diet
Vets report that four out of five rabbits that come into practice have a health problem that is directly related to poor diet. Common ailments are constipation, overgrown teeth, obesity and other problems related to these primary issues. The good news is that many of these are easily prevented if owners understood a bit more about what their pet rabbits should be eating and why.
Burgess Excel call rabbits 'fibrevores' for a very good reason! It's to really drive home the message that rabbits need extremely high levels of fibre in their diets above all else.
A day in the life of a wild rabbit
Consider a day in the life of a wild rabbit. He would spend 70% of his time above ground searching out or 'foraging' for food while keeping a beady eye out for predators, to make sure he wasn't going to end up as someone else's dinner! As a ground feeder, his diet would be mainly made up of grasses, hay, herbs and bark - all high fibre foods! He couldn't climb trees to get fruit, and he wouldn't actually go around digging up carrots either. His territory would be the equivalent of around 30 tennis courts meaning he'd get a lot of exercise every day searching out food across that area.
The rabbit's whole existence has evolved around this high fibre diet.
Indigestible Fibre
Firstly the rabbit's digestive system needs to be kept moving. This is one reason why the rabbit constantly nibbles on grass, hay and bark; the larger stalkier bits known as 'indigestible' fibre help to keep the gut moving along nicely (the same way bran flakes would do for you and I). If the rabbit doesn't get enough 'indigestible' fibre he becomes constipated (the same as we do without enough fibre), but unfortunately in a rabbit the consequences of constipation are fatal.
Secondly, fibre helps the rabbit to maintain the right balance of 'friendly' bacteria in his digestive system.
Digestible Fibre
The smaller, juicier fibre particles from grass and hay known as 'digestible' fibre are sent to the rabbit's caecum (the appendix to you and me). In this giant appendix are bacteria, which break the 'digestible fibre' down into volatile fatty acids, more bacteria and vitamins. This is a process known as fermentation.
At certain times of day the caecum expels this mucus covered fermented soup as clumps of tiny sticky droppings called caecotrophs (which now contain lots of lovely nutrients - rather like the 'yakult' of the rabbit world) that the rabbit eats straight from his bottom. (You might have seen your rabbit doing this but thought he was just cleaning himself). Once in the stomach, acid dissolves the mucus around these caecotrophs, and then kills the bacteria, so that the rabbit can digest all the remaining products and nutrients. This whole cycle is perfectly balanced and dependent on the rabbit getting all the 'digestible' fibre that it needs. Without all that 'digestible' fibre the cycle is upset and the consequences can lead to bloating and even anorexia, which are all just as dangerous as constipation.
Growing Teeth
Nibbling all that hay and bark all day in the wild has a second benefit to the rabbit too. Their teeth constantly grow (up to 12cm in a year) and so have to be worn down, otherwise they become too long and it becomes painful for the rabbit to eat. As we know if a rabbit stops eating his gut will stop moving and this can be fatal. So that is why we need to make sure he has a constant supply of good quality hay to nibble on that is also rich in calcium (such as Timothy Hay). The nibbling/grinding action of eating the hay keeps the teeth worn down and the calcium helps to keep teeth and jaw structure strong.
Foraging for hay, grass and herbs is what keeps the rabbit busy and occupied in the wild, and this is no different for our domestic pets. Let's face it - it must get very boring sitting in a hutch for most of the day! So giving our pet rabbits something to do is very important to prevent them developing behavioural problems. Hiding hay and healthy herbs as well as occasional greens around their hutch encourages rabbits to work a bit harder for their food, keeping them occupied and exercised (of course it's essential to give them lots of additional exercise out of the hutch too).
Hopefully it is becoming clear why high levels of fibre are so important to a rabbit's digestive, dental and emotional health?
The problems with muesli style foods
Historically rabbits have been fed the muesli type foods without any additional hay or grass. These foods can be quite high in starch and sugar, and the elements that are really healthy like the grass pellets often get left behind - as rabbits (like children) will tend to choose the 'sweetie' like bits. This means they get an imbalanced diet, and miss out on essential fibre and other important vitamins and minerals.
The Excel Feeding Plan
Here at Burgess Excel, after years of research with leading experts in this field, we developed The Excel Feeding Plan as an easy five step guide to help owners ensure their rabbits get all the fibre, vitamins and minerals they need for a healthy balanced diet. The Excel range is based on all the natural foods a rabbit would get in the wild, which is why it is the UK's No 1 vet recommended range of food for rabbits.
