8 Best Weight-Gain Foods for Rabbits in 2024 – Reviews & Top Picks

As long as rabbits eat a healthy and balanced diet and get enough exercise, they tend to maintain a healthy weight. When a rabbit loses weight, it’s usually an indication that there’s an underlying health issue. The first thing that you must do is see your vet if you haven’t already done so. Changing a rabbit’s diet to encourage weight gain is pointless if the underlying condition hasn’t been treated.

But if your rabbit is now recovering and you’re planning on increasing their weight through diet, you’ll need to find rabbit food to safely do so. Here, we researched and developed reviews of the best rabbit foods that can help your bunny put on weight. Also, the buyer’s guide goes over what ingredients and food types work best at helping your rabbit gain weight.

Important Note: Always consult with your veterinarian before changing or adding to your underweight rabbit’s diet, depending on any underlying health conditions and their age, not all foods on this list will be suitable for all rabbits.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2024

Image	Product	Details
Best Overall	Manna Pro Small World Complete Rabbit Food	High in fiber and protein Helps the digestive system Boosts the immune system	Check Price
Best Value	Oxbow Oat Hay Small Animal Food	Affordable High in fiber Helps wear down teeth	Check Price
Premium Choice	Mazuri Timothy-Based Rabbit Food	Nutritionally complete Contains omega-3 fatty acids for healthy coat Comes in a resealable bag	Check Price
	Bluebonnet Feeds Rabbit Booster 16% Protein Rabbit Food	High in protein and fiber Helps boost a rabbit’s growth Uses prebiotics and probiotics	Check Price
	Oxbow Essentials Adult Rabbit Food	Timothy hay is the main ingredient Prevents selective feeding No artificial ingredients	Check Price

The 8 Best Weight-Gain Foods for Rabbits

The best overall rabbit food for your underweight rabbit is Manna Pro’s Small World Complete Rabbit Food. It’s high in protein and fiber, which will aid your rabbit’s digestive system and help add weight. It contains plenty of vitamins and minerals to boost your bun’s immune system, which can help if an underlying condition is causing the weight loss. It also doesn’t contain corn or preservatives.

The main problem with this food is that it can be dusty.

The best rabbit food to aid in weight gain for the money is Oxbow’s Oat Hay Small Animal Food. This is simply oat hay, which is high in fiber and will help keep your rabbit’s teeth and digestive system healthy. It will contribute to weight gain and can also be used as bedding.

However, the quality of the hay can be inconsistent and sometimes contain things like pieces of wood. It can also seem a bit old and dry.

Mazuri Timothy-Based Rabbit Food is our pick for premium choice for your rabbit, which is completely balanced in nutrients. It contains probiotics that support the immune system and aid in digestive health and omega-3 fatty acids that will give your bun a healthy and shiny coat. It’s also preservative free and comes in a resealable bag, which should help keep things fresh for longer.

But we found that this could be hit or miss with rabbits, and being a premium choice, it is expensive.

Bluebonnet Feeds Rabbit Booster 16% Protein Rabbit Food is high in protein and is called a booster for contributing to a rabbit’s growth. It contains yucca schidigera cactus extract, which reduces ammonia levels and protects gut health. It keeps your rabbit’s fur healthy and overall health with prebiotics and probiotics. It’s designed for baby rabbits and breeding rabbits, which means it can put weight on your recovering rabbit.

The biggest issue is that while some rabbits seem to love it, pickier rabbits might refuse to eat it.

Oxbow’s Essentials Adult Rabbit Food has the all-important timothy hay as the main ingredient, which provides important nutritional value for rabbits. It is also nutritionally balanced for adult rabbits with the right combination of protein and calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. It’s quite high in fiber, has no artificial ingredients, and prevents selective feeding.

But it can be dusty and is more expensive than some other brands.

Sherwood Pet Health Timothy Pellet Adult Rabbit Food features timothy hay as the main ingredient and has balanced nutrients for better urine and poop and healthier skin and fur. It’s also formulated to give your rabbit more energy and maintain a healthy weight. It’s free from soy, grains, and molasses.

That said, it’s expensive and the pellets are fairly small. If you have a large bun, you should find pellets that are larger in size.

Science Selective Adult Rabbit Food is quite high in fiber and contains the right balance of calcium and phosphorus for your rabbit’s overall health. The food also has linseed oil for healthy skin and coat and prebiotics for the digestive system. The high fiber helps your rabbit’s digestion and promotes dental health, and there are no added sugars.

But this food is fairly expensive, and the pellets are large, which might put off some rabbits.

Oxbow’s Critical Care Herbivore Apple-Banana Health Supplement isn’t exactly rabbit food, but rather a supplement that can be administered as a food topper, taken from a syringe, or placed in a bowl for your rabbit to eat. It adds vital nutrients to their diet and is high in fiber and protein. It has prebiotics and chelated minerals to support overall health without added refined sugar, simple carbs, or artificial preservatives.

However, picky rabbits might decide that they want nothing to do with it, and the expiration date is quite short, which means you don’t have much time before you’ll need to throw it away.

Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Weight-Gain Food for Your Rabbit

Before you make your final decision on rabbit food, let’s discuss the tactics that you should use and the kinds of ingredients that you should be giving your rabbit to help them put on weight.

Veterinary Care

As long as a rabbit has a proper diet and care, they shouldn’t have any trouble maintaining a healthy weight. So, if your rabbit has lost weight and you’re unsure why, see your vet before changing your pet’s diet. They will treat the problem and will likely recommend the best diet for your rabbit.

Hay

Green and leafy hay is a staple food for rabbits; their diet should be about 80% timothy hay, and it should be available at all times. Good quality hay is essential for a healthy rabbit, as well as providing the nutrients they need, it keeps their teeth worn down and gastrointestinal tract functioning properly. Dental disease and gastrointestinal issues are two common causes for a rabbit not eating enough food and losing weight.

Alfalfa

Alfalfa is a kind of grass with high protein and fiber. It is typically used for feeding young growing rabbits, so it can be an effective way for recovering rabbits to put on weight. It isn’t usually something that you would give to a healthy adult rabbit due to its high calcium levels that might lead to bladder stones. Basically, you should speak to your vet before feeding your rabbit anything with alfalfa.

Pellets

Pellets should comprise about 5% of your rabbit’s diet or approximately 1/8 to ¼ cup for every 5 pounds of your bun’s body weight. That said, when trying to increase your rabbit’s body weight, you may be able to give some extra pellets. However it is still very important they eat enough hay and don’t fill up on pellets for the reasons we discussed above.

You might want to consider pellets meant for young rabbits, which will have extra nutrition. They contain more calories and protein, so you won’t necessarily need to increase the overall number of pellets. Always speak to your vet before changing though as growing rabbit pellets may not be suitable for your individual rabbit.

Fresh Fruits and Veggies

Rabbits need a large handful of safe, leafy greens each day. Having a variety is important and can encourage them to eat. Certain fruits and vegetables are higher in calories than the usual leafy greens given to rabbits. You can also try small portions of carrots, apples, parsnips, and sweet peppers. Just be aware that some rabbits might experience stomach upset when eating fruit, so observe your pet after giving them any.

Oats

Oats are not generally recommended for rabbits because they don’t add any real nutrition to their diet. That said, oats are among the most effective methods to help your rabbit gain weight. You’ll need to mix the oats in water to make a kind of porridge — about 1 tablespoon daily should do the trick. Many picky rabbits tend to love oats, so you might find this method quite effective.

Diet Change

Keep in mind that any changes to their diet might cause digestive issues in your rabbit, so you need to offer new food gradually. Most of these suggestions are meant to be in addition to their usual diet, so the changes should be minor. Nonetheless, if you try something like fruit or oats, start with tiny amounts, which you can build up gradually.

You want the weight gain to be slow and gradual, which is healthier for the rabbit in the long run. Remember to keep an eye on your rabbit once you’ve introduced something new, and speak to your vet with any questions or concerns.

Conclusion

The best overall rabbit food to help rabbits put on weight is Manna Pro’s Small World Complete Rabbit Food. It’s high in protein and fiber, which will help them gain weight and aid the digestive system.

The best choice for the money is Oxbow’s Oat Hay Small Animal Food, which is plain oat hay. It is high in fiber and will help with digestion and adding weight, all for a good price.

Finally, Mazuri Timothy-Based Rabbit Food is the premium choice pick for your rabbit because it’s nutritionally balanced, contains probiotics and omega-3 fatty acids, and comes in a resealable bag.

We hope that these reviews have helped you find the right balance of food and treats so your rabbit can regain weight and remain healthy and happy.

Featured Image Credit: Kaewmanee jiangsihui, Shutterstock