# Does rabbit drink milk??



## sha10ly88

Well ... a while ago I just shared an experience of Baby eating the nut in M&M chocolate. How he actually crush the chocolate and discover the nut inside. Then a user actually warned me that chocolate is actually unsafe for rabbit. Then I got curious ... does rabbit actually drink milk? Oh what about eating juicy fruits like watermelon, or banana? I've never seen rabbit eating them or drinking milk. Its just a question out of curiosity.  N i am kinda new with Baby. I had him since ... mmmm June this year.


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## Luv-bunniz

Rabbits are lactose intolerant and therefore shouldnt be given milk. Nor chocolate. They will also eat water melon/banana etc but obviously that depends on the rabbits individual tastes.


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## pamnock

Rabbits aren't actually lactose intolerant (they drink bunny milk and eat yogurt just fine!)

However, like humans, some individual rabbitsmay lose their ability to digest milk enzymes well as they get older because the gut bacteria has altered. 

Don't feed rabbits candy, sugar, chocolate or a lot of nuts.

Pam


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## sha10ly88

*pamnock wrote: *


> Rabbits aren't actually lactose intolerant (they drink bunny milk and eat yogurt just fine!)
> 
> However, like humans, some individual rabbitsmay lose their ability to digest milk enzymes well as they get older because the gut bacteria has altered.
> 
> Don't feed rabbits candy, sugar, chocolate or a lot of nuts.
> 
> Pam


Aha ... that means its important to feed the rabbit fresh vegetables everyday?
I bought this rabbit food from a pet store. Its dried rabbit food of course, packed in a big packaging and I can see that it contains quite variety of nuts but little ones. I guess the small ones are seeds. Is that ok for my rabbit's diet?


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## pamnock

Fresh foods are great for your rabbit's diet. However - make any diet changes slowly!!!!!

Avoid feed mixes with seeds.

Pam


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## aurora369

I moved your thread to Nutrition and Behaviour, because your question is all about food and nutrition.

You should read through the information that we have in the library regarding how to feed your rabbit:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12046&forum_id=17

A rabbits diet should be mainly fresh grass hays. They should have a plain pellet with no seeds, coloured bits, or dried fruit/nuts in it. They should also have some fresh green leafy vegetables.

And just re-enforcing what Pam said above, that all changes to your bunny's diet should be done very slowly. For example, if you need to change their pellets, you should start by mixing in a little bit of the new pellet with the old pellet. Start with 1/4 new food and 3/4 old food. Then slowly add more and more new food each week. So that after a month or so, the bunny is eating only the new food.

--Dawn


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## ra7751

Rabbits are lactose intolerant and do not handle dairy product well at all....and that includes all dairy products including milk, yogurt and other dairy products. Rabbits (wild and domestic), squirrels and opossums are all lactose intolerant. The formulas that skilled rehabbers feed baby neonates are low or trace level lactose products. I have had rabbits(and other species)die a painful and unnecessary deathfrom severe GI pain caused by cow's milk. Using yogurt is still something that is out there....it's old school and ineffective at best....and sometimes it's dangerous. Many vets still suggest this course of action due to inexperience in dealing with the guts of hind gut fermenters. In reality, a small amount probably won't do a lot of damage....but who knows where the threshold is when it comes to the point of no return. I deal with very sick rabbits all the time....and many times it's wildlife that has been fed milk by well intentioned but mistaken people. The guts of wild rabbits and domestic rabbits are identical. Any product that contains dairy products should be considered inappropriate for*any* hind gut fermenter.

Randy


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## Flick

:yeahthat: 

Medirabbit agrees with Randy. 

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/yogurt.htm

No milk products. No yogurt.


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## ec

It's true (Medirabbit, and what Randy said).

I have friends who nearly lost their bunny because someone was sneaking their leftover cereal milk to the bun. They went through a horrible stasis episode because of it.

(But as Pam said, baby rabbits can handle their own moms' milk just fine.)


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