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Rabbit Digestion: Not Your Average Stomach
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Jun 29, 2025
Learn about their interesting digestive processes.
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rabbits may look simple but their
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digestive system is anything but
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ordinary you might wonder are rabbits
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monogastric like many other
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mammals the answer might surprise you
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monogastric animals have a single
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chambered stomach which is common in
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many species including humans dogs and
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pigs these animals typically digest
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their food primarily in the stomach and
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small intestine rabbits however have a
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unique digestive system that sets them
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apart while they do have a simple
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stomach their digestive process is quite
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different from monogastric animals
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rabbits are what we call Hind gut
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fermenters in a rabbit's digestive
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system food passes through the stomach
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and small intestine relatively
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quickly the real magic happens in the
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seeum a large pouch located at the
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beginning of the large intestine this
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organ acts as a fermentation chamber
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where benficial bacteria break down
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tough plant fibers that the rabbit
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couldn't digest earlier in the process
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this fermentation process produces
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essential nutrients that the rabbit
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needs to make the most of this rabbits
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have evolved a special behavior called
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psychotrop they produce two types of
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droppings hard dry pellets and soft
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nutrient-rich pellets called cat
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tropes rabbits eat these cat tropes
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directly from the anus allowing them to
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extract maximum nutrition from their
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plant-based
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diet understanding that rabbits are not
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monogastric is crucial for their proper
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care and feeding their unique digestive
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system requires a diet high in fiber to
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keep their gut bacteria healthy and
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their digestive process functioning
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correctly so while rabbits may have a
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single chambered stomach they are not
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considered monogastric animals their
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complex hind gut fermentation system and
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psychotrophic behavior make them
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fascinating examples of evolutionary
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adaptation to a herbivorous diet
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