The handful rule, and where it sits in the diet
Fresh food for a rabbit is a daily layer over a hay foundation, not the main course. An adult rabbit should never be without grass hay, should receive a measured small portion of pellets, and then gets its greens: at minimum a big handful of leafy vegetables and herbs each day, scaled a little for a very large rabbit or a small dwarf. Measuring by the rabbit's own head size is a handy check — a pile of greens about that volume is a sensible daily serving for most adults.
Serve it in one meal or split between morning and evening, whichever matches your routine; the total across the day is what counts. For bonded pairs, serve a pile per rabbit and spread it out, because one confident rabbit will happily eat a shared portion meant for two and the quieter partner's intake is easy to miss.
What the handful should be made of
Leafy greens and herbs carry the day: romaine, spring greens, coriander, parsley, dill, mint and dandelion leaves from a pesticide-free source all suit the daily pile, with vegetables such as broccoli florets, celery leaves and pepper in supporting roles. Aim for a small mixture each day and rotate the cast through the week, so no single plant dominates and the rabbit gets variety in flavour and nutrients. Wash everything, shake off the worst of the water, and serve at room temperature.
Kale and spinach are fine in rotation but should not be the daily headline every single day, and pale, watery lettuce adds bulk without much else. Root vegetables and fruit belong in the treat column: a thumb-sized piece of carrot or apple now and then, not a daily bowlful, because their sugars feed exactly the gut bacteria a rabbit does worst with in excess. Never feed onion, potato, rhubarb or lawn clippings, which can carry hazards from mould to chemicals.
New greens arrive gradually or not at all
A rabbit's gut is tuned to consistency, so every new green starts as a single leaf or small piece alongside the familiar mix. Watch the droppings over the next day: firm, round and plentiful means the new item can grow slowly into the rotation, while soft, clumped or smeared droppings mean step back to the old menu until things firm up, then retry smaller or choose a different green. Young rabbits moving onto solids and rabbits newly arrived from rescue need the slowest introductions of all.
Sudden abundance is the classic mistake — a whole bag of rich greens offered to a rabbit used to very little can trigger gut upset within a day. If your rabbit produces uneaten soft droppings stuck to its fur or leaves its hay untouched after a diet change, simplify back to hay and familiar greens and speak to a vet if normal droppings do not return promptly, because a rabbit who stops eating needs help quickly.
Keeping the daily total honest at home
Greens are the part of the diet most likely to be doubled by kindness. One person serves the handful, another adds a top-up, and a third hands over carrot pieces as treats, until a hay-based diet has become a salad-based one. A note on the fridge or a shared record of who fed what keeps the total where you set it, and treats for training or bonding should come out of the day's greens rather than on top of them.
In KinsLe, Family Sharing puts that feeding picture on the pet profile the whole household uses, so the morning feeder's handful is visible to everyone else before a second one is offered.