Daiy veggie routine

[user 18188]

Hi guys, I have had my little guy for almost two months now and I am still reluctant to give him many greens as not entirely sure what to feed him. When we first got him we were told he had suffered from bloat, but after a word with the vet, they didn't seem too concerned and believe we could have even been misinformed.

I have two guinea pigs and currently feed them spring greens, celery, green beans, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, baby sweetcorn and the occasional bit of parsley. I was wondering how much of this I can share with the rabbit? I'm sure you can appreciate how much it would cost to buy two separate variants of veg ;p I also give him the occasional carrot - how much can rabbits actually have? I'm sure they have a lot of sugar in them and this is why my piggies rarely have carrot.

Any suggestions for cheap, easily accessible veg would be really appreciated. I have seen a list of vegetables I have never heard of or cannot get my hands on so am struggling somewhat.

Thanks.

 

[BlueMoods]

Parsley, apple, carrot, cabbage, leaf lettuce (not iceberg), bananas, all good for rabbits. I'd start with 1 TSP a day and work up to 1TBS per 5 lbs of rabbit per day. Add 1/2 tsp more once a week as long as the rabbit is eating it all and has normal poops and no bloat.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Best thing to start with are fresh herbs, parsley,bail, cilantro, dill, sage,rosemary, most herbs and they count as leafy greens. Even better, they are easy to grow yourself so cheap. You can also feed other leafy greens, mine love watercress and rocket, dandelion leaves you can pick wild but make sure you clean, kale, carrot, beetroot and radish tops and mine also love cabbage and cauliflower and broccoli although some buns have gas problems with these so keep aneye on them if you do feed them this type of veg. Carrots and any fruit should be given as treats and sparingly, mine adore banana but only have it a couple of times a week.

 

[Azerane]

I agree that fresh herbs are the best thing to start with with rabbits. Cilantro/Coriander, basil, oregano, parsley (not daily since it's high in oxalates) and romaine and other lettuce varieties (not iceberg) are fantastic starter greens for your rabbit.

I'm not sure what you mean by spring greens, but celery is very bunny safe, I would personally consider peppers and tomatoes (fruit only, leaves etc are poisonous) a treat food, in addition to carrot and fruit and I think the generally recommended amount is no more than 1 teaspoon per day of treat foods. Broccoli can be fed, though it commonly causes gas and if fed too much/often the gas can lead to GI stasis. Some bunnies are fine with it though. Many people feed cabbage, though I personally disagree with feeding it, again it can cause gas. The sweetcorn is a no go because the corn can't actually be digested, and can cause digestive blockages, though again, some people may feed it and get away with it, but if you did feed it, I would be making it very small amounts and infrequently.

With any of the foods though, you need to introduce them one by one and very slowly, to give the rabbit time to adjust and to see if your bunny has any adverse reactions to any of the foods.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Just fed mine dandelion today which they love. I do agree that cabbage, broccoli and other cruciferous veg can cause gas in some buns but I wish people would try it. Mine each all of these regularly and love cabbage leaves but I have never had any issues. I only give them the outer very green loose leaves and not the tight lighter coloured leaves, same with cauliflower leaves. Here they are enjoying the feast.