good starter veggies?

[Imbrium]

so my little Gaz just hit the 12 week mark which means I can start introducing veggies one at a time in little amounts.

to celebrate, I bought her a birthday veggie. I went with lettuce 'cause I figured "what bunny doesn't like lettuce?"... bought a little package of romaine hearts and tried to offer her about 1/4 of a leaf. she looked at me like I was trying to feed her dirt or poison or something.

I'm looking at the veggie list here: http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html
and I don't even know where to buy half this stuff... maybe they sell it at the grocery store and I just don't pay attention... (I'm wanting to feed something off the "Leafy Greens II" list)

I have no idea what a baby bunny getting to eat her first veggie would like and I'm crazy picky about veggies so things that can be purchased in small amounts in case neither of us will eat them are preferable.

 

[mdith4him]

Our bunnies all love romaine, cilantro, and basil. Junie is very picky, too, so I just keep offering her foods until she eventually tries it. It sometimes takes awhile, but once she finally tries it she usually likes it. Try offering the romaine again and see what happens.

Cilantro and parsley both come in relatively small bundles and it's less than a dollar each, so I'd try those. Basil is more expensive at the store, but we grow it ourselves. It's simple to grow and the buns love it! Ours also like mint which is expensive, but I've heard it's easy to grow, too.

Some veggies are harder to find, but try going to another store. I don't know what you have in Texas, but up here in Virginia, stores like Harris Teeter and Wegmans have more variety than stores like Safeway or Giant.

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, I pushed the romaine issue a bit just now... Nala (the 11 week old bunn) came by and managed to swipe a piece when my head was turned away from the veggie bowl; it was less than a square inch of lettuce leaf though, so I didn't have the heart to take it away from her for being a few days too young, lol.

after she saw Nala eating it, Gaz actually tried a piece! when she was almost done with it, I reached towards the bowl 'cause I was gonna grab another piece to offer her - she ran off behind the cage like she thought I was going to take away the piece she was eating . I put the bowl behind the cage with her and she munched up the last few little bits. she ate maybe 1/5 of a leaf of romaine

I may give a bunny garden a try later, but I have a bad habit of killing plants by forgetting to water them, lol. is there stuff that's easy to grow inside? 'cause I have a feeling heat will murder any veggies I might try to grow outdoors.

 

[kjm84]

quite a few of the veggies listed in the leafy greens II section are within a bag of mixed greens from the bagged salad section of the grocery store.

My bunny loves cilantro and dandelion greens. Cilantro should be easy to find in the herb section. Dandelion greens are super cheap and are available in some grocery stores, or pick some from your yard if it is pesticide free. Good Luck!

 

[ldoerr]

I have never met a rabbit that did not like dandelions. Most of the time their favorite part was the flower. I know that I would pick a big dandelion plant from our yard and give it to Tiger and she would eat the whole thing in under a minute. She always started with the flower. If you tried to offer her a leaf but you had a flower in your hand she would not eat the leaf until you had given her the flower. I miss her soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. She was the best rabbit EVER!!!!! She was also the best mom you could imagine.

 

[JessicaK]

It took a couple tries before my bunnies would touch lettuce.
Cilantro and celery (cut in small pieces) seemed more interesting to them, perhaps because of the stronger smell?

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, I contemplated celery when I was shopping for Gaz's birthday veggie, but I knew it was on the list of veggies they should have smaller portions of and the romaine was on the list they should have lots of.

now that I (or rather, little Nala and her thieving) convinced Gaz to try some lettuce, she LOVES it. I took half a leaf yesterday and tore it up into little pieces and sat there and fed them ALL to her one at a time - it was TOO cute! Nala seemed jealous, I can't wait until she can have her daily veggies too.

 

[ldoerr]

Try some celantro. I gave that to my rabbits for the first time yesterday and Shiny Things LOVED it. Beauty will never eat in front of me, but when I checked on her a little bit after giving it to them it was all gone.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Ours just love cilantro. Also Parsley, Italian Parsley, Dandelions, Carrot greens, Romaine lettuce, Carrot, and Apple--dried or fresh.

 

[Imbrium]

gaz is nuts for the romaine now... she'll take a little piece from my hand, go a couple feet away and munch on it. if I reach out to try to pet her, she'll turn away from me like she thinks I'm gonna steal it, lol. soon as she finishes, she comes back for another piece. she kept coming back looking for more for 5-10 mins after I'd given her the last bit of the leaf tonight