What do rabbits eat?

Rabbits are herbivores and primarily consume a diet rich in plant material, such as grasses and forbs (herbs other than grasses). Their diet is rich in cellulose, a complex carbohydrate that is a key component of plant cell walls. Cellulose is difficult to digest, but rabbits have adapted to efficiently process cellulose.

The plant material consumed by rabbits accumulates in the large cecum, a secondary chamber between the large and small intestine containing large quantities of symbiotic bacteria that break down cellulose and also produce certain B vitamins. Soft, black, and viscous feces form in the cecum and are consumed by the rabbit once excreted (the act of eating feces is known as coprophagy) and redigested in a special part of the stomach. This double-digestion process allows rabbits to extract any nutrients not absorbed in the initial passage through the gut, ensuring that they derive maximum nutrition from the food they consume. Besides soft feces, rabbits also produce hard droppings.