Free care guides for rabbit people
Hay, hops & happy bunnies
Guides, a food checker and a daily diet calculator for bunny owners everywhere.
Help me
What do you need right now?
Quick routes to the pages people need most.
My rabbit stopped eating
Not eating or pooping is an emergency. Here is what to do.
Act nowFind a rabbit vet
Where to look and what to ask before you book.
Find a vetI just got a bunny
Housing, food and routine for the first weeks.
Start hereIs this food safe?
Check a food before you feed it.
Food checkerStart here
New to bunnies? Begin with these.
Six guides that cover the basics, written in plain language for rabbit people.
Rabbit Diet 101
What to feed, how much, and what to skip.
Read the guideLitter Training
Set up a box that works and keep accidents to a minimum.
Read the guideBunny-Proofing
Protect your cords, baseboards and plants from a curious chewer.
Read the guideBefriending Your Rabbit
Earn trust and build a bond at your bunny’s pace.
Read the guideRabbit Body Language
What binkies, thumps, flops and ear positions mean.
Read the guideNew Bunny Care Basics
Housing, vet care and daily routine for a brand-new bunny.
Read the guide
The book
Bunnies Love Flowers
Nine flowers your bunny can nibble, treat recipes to make at home, and the flowers to keep out of reach.
- 9 edible flowers
- 4 treat recipes
- Feeding tips
- Flowers to avoid
- A flower crown craft
- A flower lunch poem
Food check
Can my bunny eat this?
Search common foods or filter by how often they're OK. Every bunny is different, so add new foods one at a time and keep an eye on the droppings. Flowers are on the list too. Only offer blooms that haven't been sprayed. Foods marked higher-oxalate contain more oxalates, which bind calcium. A lot of them every day may add up to bladder or urinary problems over time, so rotate them with lower-oxalate greens like romaine.
Daily plate
What a day of eating looks like
Slide to your bunny's weight and see the daily amounts. Most of what a rabbit eats is hay, with a salad on the side and only a spoonful of pellets.
- Hay, about 80%
- Greens, 10–15%
- Pellets, about 5%
- Treats, 0–5%
Hay
Unlimited
A fresh pile of grass hay at least as big as your bunny, every day.
Leafy greens
2½ cups
Packed cups, split across a few kinds. About 1 cup per 2 lb.
Pellets
4 tbsp
Plain, timothy-based. About ¼ cup per 5 lb. A spoonful, not a bowl.
Fruit & treats
3 tsp
The most for the whole day. About 1 tbsp per 5 lb.
These are guidelines for healthy adult rabbits. Babies, seniors and bunnies with health problems need a plan from a vet who treats rabbits.
Know the signs
Stopped eating or pooping? Call a vet now.
Rabbits hide illness until it's serious, and a slowed gut can turn life-threatening fast. Don't wait for morning. Call a vet who treats rabbits, or an emergency clinic, if you see any of these:
- No food eaten or no droppings for 12 hours
- Tiny, misshapen or very few droppings
- A swollen or hard belly
- Loud tooth grinding, hunched and still
- Head tilt or loss of balance
- Open-mouth or noisy breathing
- Dragging or not using the back legs
- A wet, dirty bottom or ongoing diarrhea
- Panting, limp or very hot ears in warm weather
Keep your vet's number and the nearest 24-hour exotics-friendly clinic saved in your phone before you need them.
Quick guides
Bunny care, in short
The essentials for a new bunny parent, and a good refresher for the rest of us.
Housing & space
- Skip the small cage. A bunny should be able to stretch out fully and take a few hops inside the pen.
- Use a solid floor with a rug or grass mat. Bare wire is hard on feet.
- Add a hideout. Rabbits feel safer with somewhere to duck into.
- Keep the space away from drafts, direct sun and loud appliances.
- Plan on several hours out of the pen every day to run and explore.
Litter training
- Rabbits pick a bathroom corner. Put the box there and pile hay at one end.
- Choose paper-based litter or aspen. Avoid clumping clay and cedar or pine shavings.
- Spayed and neutered bunnies train far more reliably.
- Clean accidents with white vinegar to remove the scent.
Bunny-proofing
- Cover cords with split tubing or lift them out of reach.
- Offer something better to chew: willow balls, cardboard and untreated apple twigs.
- Move houseplants out of reach and check each one against a rabbit-safe list.
- Block gaps behind furniture where a curious bunny can squeeze in.
Handling & bonding
- Sit on the floor and let your bunny come to you. Being picked up feels like being caught.
- Never lift a rabbit by the ears. Support the hindquarters whenever you carry one.
- Pet the forehead and cheeks. Most bunnies dislike belly rubs.
- Introduce two rabbits on neutral ground, slowly, and both should be fixed first.
Enrichment
- Stuff hay into a cardboard tube or paper bag so lunch becomes a game.
- Offer a digging box of shredded paper.
- Scatter greens around the room instead of serving them in a bowl.
- Rotate boxes, tunnels and chews so the space stays interesting.
Health basics
- Find a vet who treats rabbits before you need one.
- Ask about spaying or neutering. It helps behavior and protects females from uterine cancer.
- Ask your vet about vaccination against RHDV2, a deadly rabbit virus.
- Check droppings daily. Big, round and dry is what you want.
- Weigh your bunny on a kitchen scale every month to catch changes early.
Heat & cold
- Rabbits overheat easily. Anything above about 80°F (27°C) is a danger zone.
- Keep your bunny in a cool room, offer a ceramic tile, and set a frozen water bottle wrapped in a towel nearby.
- Indoors is safest year round.
The Bunny Treat Shelf
Printable help for bunny life
Checklists and planners you can print and stick on the fridge. Digital downloads only, so there's nothing to ship.
New Bunny Starter Kit
A setup checklist, shopping list and first-week routine for a bunny who just came home.
Coming soonBunny-Proofing, Room by Room
A walk-through of cords, baseboards, plants and gaps, with a checkbox for every fix.
Coming soonA Year of Bunny Care
A month-by-month planner for nail trims, weigh-ins, vet visits and seasonal checks.
Coming soonVet Visit & Health Log
Track weight, droppings and appetite, plus a page of questions to bring to appointments.
Coming soonGood company
Rabbits make wonderful companions
Gentle hands, calm voices and plenty of patience go a long way.
Membership
The Burrow Club
A little extra care every month. Members keep the free guides free for everyone and get more to use at home.
Coming soon- A new printable enrichment idea every month
- Seasonal care checklists for heat, holidays and molting
- First look at new guides and tools
- Member pricing on the Shelf
Gear guide
What to look for when you shop
Skip the guesswork. Here's what matters in each category, with picks to browse when you're ready.
Hay
Look for green, fragrant, dust-free grass hay. Buy smaller bags more often, since stale hay loses its smell and its appeal.
Coming soonPens & housing
Choose a pen big enough to stretch out in and tall enough that your bunny can't hop out. Many rabbits need 36 inches.
Coming soonLitter & boxes
A large, shallow box with paper-based litter works well. Skip clumping clay and cedar or pine shavings.
Coming soonChews & toys
Untreated willow, apple twigs, plain cardboard and woven grass keep teeth busy and brains happy.
Coming soonWater bowls
A heavy ceramic bowl is easier for most rabbits to drink from than a bottle. Rinse it daily.
Coming soonCarriers
A hard-sided, top-loading carrier makes vet trips calmer for both of you. Add a towel for grip.
Coming soonSome links on this page may earn Bunny Treat a small commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate disclosure.
Our story
Meet Cinnabun and her babies
During the COVID lockdown, a mother rabbit hopped into our yard.
We took her in, and two weeks later she had all of her babies. We've been keeping them ever since, and today nine rabbits share our home.
Bunny Treat is our way of sharing care tips with other rabbit people, from one full house to another.
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One short email a week with a care tip, a seasonal checklist and one thing to watch for. No spam, and no selling your email.