getting picky rabbit to each veggies

[ToffeeBun]

Hi there! My holland lop bun is almost 7 months old and I can't entice her to eat any veggies! She likes kale, but I was told that could only be fed sparingly, and she LOVES banana, but thats a treat, so I'm stuck. I've tried all the herbs, carrots, mustard greens, and every other veggie listed that are safe for buns to eat. I'm wondering if I'm presenting it wrong. Anybody have ANY tips or tricks to successfully introduce veggies to your bun?

 

[Blue eyes]

Yes. A couple ideas....

My first thought would be to find out what else she eats. Hay? What kind, how much? Pellets? What kind, how much? Often rabbits that are overfed pellets will refuse their greens or their hay.

The other idea is to stick with it. Choose one green to start. (think more in terms of "greens" than "veggies." A popular starter could be cilantro or green leaf lettuce.
Offer just that one-- a thumb-size piece. If she ignores it, fine. The next day, offer it again. Do this every day for several days. It can take them awhile to recognize it as something familiar and that familiarity is what can get them to try it.

Here's a list of some other options on this page of my website.
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/greens--veggies.html

 

[ToffeeBun]

Thank you so much!! That is a terrific insight into the presentation of the greens for her to get familiar with them over a longer amount of time -not sure I would've ever thought about it in that way. Super helpful and really excited to try that out!

Also, right now she gets unlimited all-natural timothy hay, wafer cut, from Kaytee, and she eats oxbow essentials young rabbit pellets. The pellets amount is about 1/4 cup in the am and 1/4 at night, which is what I was told was the appropriate amount for her.
It totally makes sense that she'd prefer pellets to greens, so that'll be easy to lessen if needed in order to see if she'd be more interested in the greens then. Any advice on how to go about that? remove food bowl in the morning, or just cut the serving in half? I'd love to know what you think!

 

[Blue eyes]

At 7 months, she should be transitioned to adult pellets. Those baby pellets are simply too rich for her and certainly could explain her reluctance to try greens.

You can transition her by mixing adult pellets in with the baby pellets. Do you know her approximate weight? That will help determine the proper amount of pellets.

 

[Preitler]

Patience. Every year in late fall when forage gets too scarce I introduce the veggies: topinambur, kale, apples, a few carrots, and pumpkin. That last one can be fustrating, some rabbits eat it right away, others turn up their nose for up to 2 months. But they come around at some point, although I guess mostly from greed.
I also feed the stuff they don't like that much first, what little pellets they get are a treat and reward for them at other occations (like for returning to their hutch or into the house at nightfall), not something they can stuff their faces with at feeding times.

 

[samoth]

My rabbits weren't a fan of greens outside the five or so I commonly fed.

I found that it took time. I'd reintroduce a green every 4-6 weeks (often when their preffered greens weren't available), and eventually they started to eat the new stuff.

 

[Madelyn L.]

What I did to get my rabbit to eat veggies was to take a small piece of whatever veggie your using and put it in your rabbits food bowl. Add the pellets on top. Gradually increase veggie amount and slowly decrease pellet amount. I give my bun about 1/8 cup of pellets with his veggies. I hope this helped!

 

[ToffeeBun]

At 7 months, she should be transitioned to adult pellets. Those baby pellets are simply too rich for her and certainly could explain her reluctance to try greens.

You can transition her by mixing adult pellets in with the baby pellets. Do you know her approximate weight? That will help determine the proper amount of pellets.

Oh that's good to know- I was told by my vet that she should have young bun pellets until she's one year old. She's approx. 3.75/4 pounds - she wouldn't stay on the scale very long, : )

 

[ToffeeBun]

Patience. Every year in late fall when forage gets too scarce I introduce the veggies: topinambur, kale, apples, a few carrots, and pumpkin. That last one can be fustrating, some rabbits eat it right away, others turn up their nose for up to 2 months. But they come around at some point, although I guess mostly from greed.
I also feed the stuff they don't like that much first, what little pellets they get are a treat and reward for them at other occations (like for returning to their hutch or into the house at nightfall), not something they can stuff their faces with at feeding times.

Thanks for the info! That's good to know that kale isn't that terrible for her since that's the only one she likes right now, so maybe i'll try putting other greens in with the kale and see what happens. I will be patient! Now that I know that it takes time and it's normal for them to be reluctant to try them, I'll change my game plan to accomodate that.

 

[ToffeeBun]

What I did to get my rabbit to eat veggies was to take a small piece of whatever veggie your using and put it in your rabbits food bowl. Add the pellets on top. Gradually increase veggie amount and slowly decrease pellet amount. I give my bun about 1/8 cup of pellets with his veggies. I hope this helped!

That's A GREAT IDEA!! i can't wait to try that out! Thank you!

 

[Madelyn L.]

That's A GREAT IDEA!! i can't wait to try that out! Thank you!

Your welcome!

 

[Blue eyes]

Oh that's good to know- I was told by my vet that she should have young bun pellets until she's one year old. She's approx. 3.75/4 pounds - she wouldn't stay on the scale very long, : )

Yeah. The vet was probably just going by what's on the bag. But it isn't good for rabbits to be getting all of that rich food once they are adults (6 months of age).

You can start the switch right away by mixing adult food with the current food. Here's how to do it safely:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/pellet-food.html
Then you can begin reducing the amount of pellets. She'll probably do well with 1/4 cup per day. (Though sometimes the smaller buns (under 5 lbs) may need a little more depending on individual metabolism.)

Between changing off of the rich alfalfa-based pellets and reducing the amount, she should be more willing to try the greens.