Testimonials

"The most important element in a rabbit's diet is fibre. In my opinion, the Excel Feeding Plan is the best way to ensure your rabbit gets sufficiently high levels of fibre. The plan, which was developed with the help of vets and animal nutritionists, incorporates plenty of fibre-rich forage, which is vitally important in maintaining good dental, digestive and emotional health. It also includes Rabbit Excel, which was the first nugget-style food on the market. Feeding a muesli-style diet will lead to a nutritional imbalance as a rabbit will selectively feed - picking out the bits they like and leaving the rest. Every Excel nugget contains all the essential nutrients a rabbit needs, which helps prevent the many health problems associated with selective feeding. "As well as water and fresh greens, Excel Nature Snacks complete the plan. Lots of people give their rabbits sugary foods as a special treat, without realising the damage this can do. Excel Nature Snacks are made from pure grass supplemented with herbs, and are a great way to get some variety into a rabbit's diet. The Excel Feeding Plan is the only complete diet for rabbits, and I have no hesitation in recommending it."

Matt Brash B.VET.MED MRCVS

Sharon Redrobe, Head of Veterinary Services, Bristol Zoo Gardens, and Head of Rabbit Clinic, Bristol, is a strong supporter of 'Fight for Fibre'. She says:

"A rabbit's daily diet should consist of large quantities of hay as this provides the high levels of fibre that rabbits need. Hay also plays a significant role in dental health. Pellets are used to supplement the hay with additional fibre, protein and other requirements for a balanced diet. Fibre plays a crucial role in a balanced feeding plan and this must be communicated to rabbit owners."

"In the wild, rabbits eat a lot of grass and as a result their digestive systems have adapted especially for a high-fibre diet. A well-balanced food, preferably in nugget form - so they can't pick and choose what they eat as with muesli-style foods - will go a long way towards avoiding many serious common complaints including diarrhoea, dental problems and obesity. Providing your rabbit with plenty of extra hay is not only important for giving them the fibre they need, but it also provides emotional stimulation by giving them something to forage and play in." TV Vet Marc Abraham

Supporters of Fight for Fibre from left to right: Paul Miley - Burgess Pet Care MD, Anne McBride - Small animal behaviourist, Marc Abraham - TV Vet, Matt Brash - TV Vet, Anne Mitchell - Rabbit Welfare Association.

"The single most important component of a rabbits diet is fibre. A high fibre diet is vital to ensure good dental wear and also optimal digestive health. Of the two types of fibre ,disgestible and indigestible, it is the indigestible fibre which is of paramount importance - a high intake of indigistable fibre is needed every day to ensure the teeth are sufficiently worn and the digestive system is kept working well. If the fibre intake falls too low, painful teeth spurs, diarhhoea and possible gut stasis ( which can be fatal) can occur. The importance of fibre in a rabbits diet can never be understated." Anne Mitchell - Rabbit Welfare Association

Brigitte Reusch,Lecturer in Rabbit Medicine and Surgery, University of Edinburgh says: "Hay and grass help to prevent many diseases in rabbits including dental disease, gut stasis, sticky bottom syndrome and obesity. It is very important these are fed in large quantites as part of the rabbit's feeding plan."

Sean Wensley, Senior Veterinary Surgeon at leading veterinary charity PDSA, says: "Latest statistics from PDSA show that over the last five years the number of dental procedures carried out on rabbits at its PetAid hospitals has almost quadrupled. Over the same period, the number of rabbits seen increased by just 35%.* Most of the dental disease seen in rabbits is because of their poor diet and as such we wholly support this campaign.

"In line with guidance from rabbit veterinary experts, PDSA recommends that rabbits should be fed at least their body size in hay each day, a handful of fresh vegetables morning and evening, and one tablespoon of commercial rabbit nuggets once daily for rabbits under 3.5kg, or one tablespoon twice daily for rabbits over 3.5kg. Published data suggests that at least one in three rabbits (and probably more) are still being fed traditional muesli-type rabbit mixes which can lead to painful dental disease. A fifth of all rabbits (more than 300,000) may not be receiving enough hay in their diet. A rabbit's diet should always be changed gradually to avoid digestive upsets."

* Based on 30,000 rabbits seen at PDSA PetAid hospitals.

Odies Warren
At Odies Warren for Rabbits Rescue Centre (charity number 112849) we are fully aware of the problems that result from lack of fibre in the rabbits diet. This is seen through dental and digestive problems. There have been quite a few rabbits arrive with bad teeth, but, once their diet has changed (just by adding fibre), their problems soon disappear. The same goes for the digestive problems. It doesn't take that much to add hay or change the food to Burgess Excel. Once the diet has changed you can soon see the difference to the rabbit, and we have seen this many times, especially with the Excel Herbage (it also just happens to be quite tasty according to Flapjack).

Flapjack arrived with her 2 siblings at 6 weeks of age, but sadly they were put to sleep due to stomach problems. However, Flapjack has discovered that eating the Junior and Dwarf food does wonders for growing! She also likes to help herself to the food if its not actually given to her! Everyone here loves to eat, so having a healthy diet easily available makes their lives happy and healthy. It is amazing after 8 years of looking after rabbits how much the food has changed for their benefit.

Emily Hauth
Odies Warren Rabbit Rescue