Rabbit Food Calculator
Pick the breed, age stage, and current weight; the plate visual splits the daily ration into hay (80%), pellets (10%), fresh greens (5%) and treats (5%) following the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund standard. Quantities scale to body weight — 1/4 cup pellets per 5 lb, 1 cup greens per 2 lb. Breed multiplier accounts for giant-breed metabolism and dwarf dental constraints.
Breed
Most popular pet breed. Susceptible to malocclusion — pellet share must drop in favor of long-stem hay (Timothy, orchard grass) by adulthood.
Life stage
RWAF 80/10/5/5 standard split — Timothy hay free-fed, pellets 1/4 cup per 5 lb
Weight
≈ 1.36 kg
Adult standard 80/10/5/5 — unlimited Timothy or orchard hay, 17 g pellets (≈0.15 cup), 75 g greens (≈1.50 cup), max 4 g treats. Weigh weekly; pellet share drops if weight creeps above breed mean.
Safe greens list — rotate 3-5 per day
| Green | Frequency | Oxalate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romaine lettuce | daily | low | Base of the greens portion. Never iceberg (water + no nutrition). |
| Cilantro / coriander | daily | low | Aromatic herb; rabbits love it. Daily safe. |
| Basil | daily | low | Anti-inflammatory. Rotate with cilantro. |
| Parsley (flat / curly) | few-times-weekly | moderate | High calcium — limit to 3-4 times per week to prevent bladder sludge. |
| Dandelion greens | few-times-weekly | moderate | Diuretic — supports kidney function but moderate oxalate. |
| Spring greens / collards | few-times-weekly | low | Calcium-rich; rotate to avoid bladder issues. |
| Kale | few-times-weekly | low | Goitrogenic if fed daily — 2x/week is the cap. |
| Bok choy | few-times-weekly | low | Crunchy; rabbits enjoy. Goitrogen content lower than kale. |
| Spinach | rare | very-high | Very high oxalate — once per fortnight maximum. Causes bladder sludge in long term. |
| Carrot tops | daily | low | Carrot tops are safe daily; carrot root is a sugary treat. |
| Mint | daily | low | Calming herb; some rabbits ignore, others adore. |
| Wheatgrass | daily | low | Nutrient-dense; sprouts from pet shops are safe. |
| Endive | daily | low | Crunchy and bitter — promotes saliva and dental wear. |
| Arugula / rocket | few-times-weekly | moderate | Peppery; rotate to avoid oxalate buildup. |
Sources: House Rabbit Society Diet Primer; RWAF safe-food list; Oxbow Animal Health forage guide.
Never feed — toxic or harmful
- ×Iceberg lettuce (zero nutrition + lactucarium toxin)
- ×Avocado (cardiotoxic — persin)
- ×Onion, garlic, leek, chive (hemolytic anemia)
- ×Rhubarb leaves (oxalate poisoning)
- ×Potato, tomato leaves and stems (solanine)
- ×Chocolate, sugar, dairy, bread (GI stasis trigger)
- ×Grass clippings from a mower (heated, ferments)
- ×Beans, peas, sweetcorn kernels (gas, bloat)
- ×Nuts, seeds (fat overload + choking)
- ×Yogurt drops, fruit-and-nut commercial treats (sugar)
If suspected poisoning: contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control (888-426-4435) or RSPCA emergency line immediately.
Pellet portion table — by body weight
| Weight (lb) | Weight (kg) | Pellet cup | Pellet (g) | Greens (cup) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.45 | 0.05 | 6 | 0.5 |
| 2 | 0.91 | 0.10 | 11 | 1.0 |
| 3 | 1.36 | 0.15 | 17 | 1.5 |
| 4 | 1.81 | 0.20 | 22 | 2.0 |
| 5 | 2.27 | 0.25 | 28 | 2.5 |
| 6 | 2.72 | 0.30 | 33 | 3.0 |
| 8 | 3.63 | 0.40 | 44 | 4.0 |
| 10 | 4.54 | 0.50 | 55 | 5.0 |
| 12 | 5.44 | 0.60 | 66 | 6.0 |
| 15 | 6.80 | 0.75 | 83 | 7.5 |
| 18 | 8.16 | 0.90 | 99 | 9.0 |
| 22 | 9.98 | 1.10 | 121 | 11.0 |
1/4 cup per 5 lb is the RWAF and House Rabbit Society standard. Pellet density ≈ 110 g per cup (Oxbow Essentials Adult).
The method — body-weight scaled split
pellet_g = body_lb x 5.5 x stage_mult x breed_multgreens_g = body_lb x 25, hay_g = body_kg x 30, treats_g = (body_lb / 5) x 6Worked: a 3 lb Holland Lop adult. Pellets = 3 x 5.5 x 1.0 x 1.0 = 16.5 g (≈0.15 cup). Greens = 3 x 25 = 75 g (≈1.5 cup). Treats cap = (3/5) x 6 = 3.6 g (one slice of apple). Hay is free-fed.
Sources: RWAF (Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund) 80/10/5/5 standard; House Rabbit Society Diet Primer; Oxbow Animal Health feeding charts; PDSA PAW Report 2024.
Saved plans
Calculate above to save your rabbit's plan. Stored in this browser only.
Build the daily plate in 5 steps
- Pick the breed. Breed multiplier nudges pellet quantity — Flemish Giants need slightly more per pound; Netherland Dwarfs slightly less.
- Pick the life stage. Juveniles get unlimited alfalfa and pellets; adults get the 80/10/5/5 split; seniors drop pellets by 25%.
- Enter weight. Grams scale by body weight; the pie redraws and the legend updates.
- Hay is always unlimited. The plate shows a reference quantity but real-world hay must be available 24/7 — fresh-stocked twice daily.
- Cap treats. The treat slice is a maximum not a target — give fewer when possible.
From muesli mixes to the 80/10/5/5 plate
In 2026, a new rabbit owner in Manchester opens a bag of supermarket muesli rabbit food — colorful pellets, dried fruit, sunflower seeds — and pours it into a bowl. Two months later, the rabbit's incisors are misaligned, weight is up 18%, and a soft cecotrope smear has appeared on the hocks. The 80/10/5/5 plate exists because the rabbit-feeding industry was wrong for forty years.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, “rabbit mix” meant cereal-based muesli with little hay. The Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF), founded 1996 in the UK, pushed the “hay first” campaign that became orthodoxy. Their 80/10/5/5 split — hay, pellets, greens, treats — is the global standard adopted by the House Rabbit Society (US), the British Veterinary Association, and major brands (Burgess Excel, Supreme Selective Science).
Hay is the dental and gut foundation. Rabbit incisors and molars grow continuously through life; only side-to-side grinding wear from long-stem hay keeps the dental arcade aligned. Pellets and greens do not grind hard enough. RWAF data shows that rabbits without 24/7 hay develop molar spurs within 4-8 weeks; spurs require surgical filing under anesthesia.
Pellets exist as insurance against micronutrient gaps. The 1/4 cup per 5 lb rule (Oxbow Animal Health, House Rabbit Society) caps calorie intake while delivering vitamin and mineral coverage. Muesli mixes fail because rabbits selectively eat the high-sugar bits and leave the pellet — “selective feeding” — which produces nutritional imbalance and obesity simultaneously. RWAF and Burgess have run multi-year campaigns specifically against muesli.
Greens deliver hydration, micronutrients, and variety. The 1 cup per 2 lb rule and the daily-rotation requirement come from the House Rabbit Society Diet Primer (Cottontail Cottage). Rotating 3-5 different greens daily protects against oxalate buildup (spinach, parsley), goitrogen accumulation (kale, bok choy), and calcium overload (parsley, dandelion).
Treats are the smallest, most-mismanaged category. RWAF caps treats at 1 tablespoon per 5 lb body weight per day — and most pet rabbits in the UK PDSA PAW Report 2024 exceed that cap several-fold. Yogurt drops, biscuits, and dried-fruit-and-nut commercial treats are the largest single contributor to pet rabbit obesity. The treat slice on this plate is a maximum not a target — owners are encouraged to give fewer.
For breed-aware weight monitoring, pair this calculator with the sibling rabbit weight calculator; for hydration math, see the rabbit water intake tool. Senior rabbits over 5 years (or giants over 4) benefit from the senior stage above plus a yearly blood panel — kidney and liver enzymes — at the exotic vet.
Trusted by rabbit-savvy vets, RWAF rescues, and exotic nutritionists
“I open this calculator on the exam-room iPad during nutrition consults. The plate visual converts the 80/10/5/5 RWAF rule from abstract percentages into actual tablespoons and grams that owners measure at home. Compliance jumps.”
“Every adopter takes home a printout of this. The "do not feed" list catches the avocado-and-bread household before they accidentally poison a new pet. Best onboarding tool I have used in 12 years of rescue.”
“The breed-specific pellet adjustment is the missing piece — Flemish Giants need more pellet by mass but less per pound than Netherland Dwarfs. This is the only calculator I have found that handles giants correctly.”
“For senior rabbits losing teeth I switch the stage to senior and the pellet drops to 75% — matches the geriatric rabbit protocols from the AAEX. Excellent diet science compressed into a single plate.”
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