How much do you spend on veggies?

[Island_Girl]

Hi everyone



I have never had bunnies before, and now I have two, they are not very big, but they seem to eat A LOT. I don't feed them pellets, I just haven't found any that look healthy enough for our home. We eat organic but because the bunnies seem to eat so much I can't afford organic for them all the time.

I am just wondering how much everyone spends on feeding their buns per week. I try to rotate their diet but they usually end up eating more romaine than anything. I know how much everyone spends also depends on where you live and how much your buns eat, but I was just curious on a rough estimate.

They go through a 5lb bag of timothy hay in about 4 days.

I know that they all have different eating habits, but I have never seen bunnies eat as much as these two do, they are still young, born in May.

Will their appetite lessen whwn they get older? They can eat all day, hay, different veggies, treats such as carrot tops, cilantro (which they LOVE) cucumber, etc and I'll show them a piece of carrot or other veggie at the end of the dayand they act like they hadn't eaten in a week!

I was just curious how common that is :?

 

[Pipp]

Hey, welcome to RO. Can you put your location in your profile? That will help us help you.

If you're in an area close to horses, it's always waaay cheaper to buy hay by the bale. If you don't have storage, maybe you can run a craigslist ad looking for people to share it with.

I pay $8 for a 2 lb bag of pet store hay and $15 for a 60 lb bale of grass hay.

I also get most of my veggies for free from the local organic produce store because I get it before it goes into the compost. Your produce manager can be your best friend.

Rabbits can eat a lot of the non-human parts like carrot tops, beet greens, the outer leaves of the cabbage, the leaves and stems of the broccoli, kale stems, the leafy ends of fennel, etc.

If you ask for those parts, they will eventually get to know you and trust that you're not eating it yourself and they'll give you better stuff. Try a number of stores and also distributors.

If you can't get them free, you might at least get some serious discounts by buying the stuff that they're going to throw out. (Limp parsley doesn't sell, but it sure perks up when you stick it in a bowl of water and put it in the fridge. And those black spots on a deadish head of cauliflower can be cut off with the rabbits getting a bit of the stems).

And of course they can always have the 'bones' of veggies used to make your own food. The broccoli heads go in the stir-fry, the middle stem goes to Pipp and the big bunnies get the bottom part of the stems. They get the spinach, parsley and dill stems, and love them. Carrot ends and the cores of the lettuce are also popular. Celery leaves are a huge hit.

Try them on odd things like bell peppers, several of my bunnies like them. A bit of leftover everything can add up.

It can make the humans eat a lot healthier when there are rabbits around.

I usually just end up buying the more delicate herbs for my divas, the rest is free from a number of stores.

You can also find pesticide free plant that are edible, like dandelion leaves, and there's always freshly pulled grass. (It breaks down quickly so it has to be a pre-dinner picking session).

And yes, the young'uns do eat a lot. I think they'll eat less as they age. But a rabbit not eating anything else can and will eat its weight in veggies.

Especially if they're indoor bunnies, I'd give them rabbit pellets to augment their diets, as much as they want when they're babies, but just a couple of tablespoons when they're mature.

But their main diet should still be grass hay, so best to buy it by the bale.

Good luck!


sas :bunnydance:

 

[golfdiva]

When there is snow on the ground, I spend about $6.00/week on veggies (I only have 1 rabbit. The rest of the time I spend $0.00 because I pick weeds that rabbits naturally eat in the wild.

 

[BethM]

I usually spend about $20/week on veggies for four rabbits. The normal salad for each rabbit is 2 cups, mixed, cilantro, parlsey, organic dandelion greens, and leaf lettuce. I will also toss bits of other stuff in, depending on what veggies I'm eating that week.

I plan on starting a garden next year, so I'll save a bunch on veggies during the growing season.

 

[kirbyultra]

I usually spend about $10 a week for 2 buns. The produce sellers in the city are really pretty... gross? Food stores are run as a pure business. Anything they don't sell is absolutely inedible and a lot of the questionable stuff is still on the shelves. I wouldn't feed anything to my bun that I didn't think was salvageable for human consumption. I also have a habit of only getting vegetables that I like to eat for my rabbits so, they don't get things like kale, cilantro... but I do give them parsley which I don't eat but they love too much for me to keep from them.

 

[undergunfire]

I spent $0 because my bunnies waste salads when I give them to them over a course of time. I just give them a few slices/pieces of veggies as treats every now and then.

I would feed your rabbits pellets. Let us know which pellets are available to you in your area, and we can help you decide the best one for your bunnies. I am a firm believer that rabbits need their "vitamins"...which is what pellets are.

 

[Island_Girl]

Thanks for sharing
I will try to find more places that have left overs, but I tried before and people just weren't very willing. I get a I think its a 3lb bag for $4? The bales at the feed supply store here are dry hay, not green.
I haven't found any good pellets when I have been to the pet stores, but I find something I think would work I'll mention it, I would rather they get their nutricion from fresh food, but if they are so hungry all the time, goodness! and it really shows in their little boxes. I have two in there and withing two days they are both full and soaked!