Veggies for my bunny

[bunnyluv96]

Hello there, I was wondering about feeding my bunny veggies. The breeder told me that if I feed him vegetables of any kind it will kill him, but I've read about six books that all say certain ones are o.k. Also, I read that grains are really bad, and my breeder fed oats to the bunny before I brought him home! So I'm a bit confused. I don't want my little bunny to get sick. He is only eight weeks old, should I wait until 12 weeks to start feeding him vegetables? Should I give them to him gradually as he gets used to them? Thanks for the help!

 

[elrohwen]

There's a feeding section in the library that will help you out with an approved veggie list: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12046&forum_id=17

According to the HRS veggies are an essential part of a house bunny's diet - it won't kill them! However, they can be hard on a young bunny's gut, so it's not recommended to give them right away. I personally waited until 12 weeks, some people advocate waiting until 6 months. Whatever you choose, make sure to introduce only one at a time and give it in small quantities for about a week until you know if it will upset his tummy. Once he's doing well on them, you can start giving larger quantities.

 

[kirbyultra]

I'm going to echo what elrohwen said about the veggies -- 3-4 months is a very commonly acceptable time to start introducing fresh greens to a young rabbit. Fresh greens are a welcome part of a rabbit's diet for essential vitamins and minerals, but if they start on it too young, it could lead to mushy poo issues. Again, to echo, when your bun is old enough, start with feeding just 1 type of dark green leafy veg, like parsley or romaine lettuce, and see how he takes it for several days. If all is well, you can try feeding a different vegetable. At about 3-4 months old, about a 1/4 cup of greens is fine. It's not much, but it's a start!

Breeders would notoriously feed young bunnies oats -- it plumps up the buns. Oats are ok to feed to an underweight, or sometimes geriatric,bunny to help it build up some weight, or even a little bit as the occassional treat. But by no means would I consider it a staple food in a healthy rabbit's diet.

 

[bunnyluv96]

I had a feeling it was ok but wanted to check first. I would feel terrible if I made my little bun sick! I was thinking don't wild rabbits eat plants? lol Thanks all for the replies

 

[Amy27]

I agree with the above posters. My rabbits use to be on a veggie and hay diet only. They get pellets now but still love their veggies. Cilantro and dandilion are the favorites in my house.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

bunnyluv96 wrote:

Hello there, I was wondering about feeding my bunny veggies. The breeder told me that if I feed him vegetables of any kind it will kill him, but I've read about six books that all say certain ones are o.k. Also, I read that grains are really bad, and my breeder fed oats to the bunny before I brought him home! So I'm a bit confused. I don't want my little bunny to get sick. He is only eight weeks old, should I wait until 12 weeks to start feeding him vegetables? Should I give them to him gradually as he gets used to them? Thanks for the help!

try medirabbit.com--safe,,and unsafe list-of plants,,etc.//.adoptarabbit.com,,also--there is also an excellent section on diet and nutrition..sincerely james waller:wave::rose:inkbouce:

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

bunnyluv96 wrote:

I had a feeling it was ok but wanted to check first. I would feel terrible if I made my little bun sick! I was thinking don't wild rabbits eat plants? lol Thanks all for the replies

Yes, what the others said, after 14 weeks or so, you can introduce some veggies. A great one to start with is Alphafa Sprouts. Start slow and see if it causes and diahearra. If not, you're good to go.

Here's a thread from our Library on Veggies:

Veggies

 

[bunnyluv96]

Thanks for all the links and tips! It helped a ton!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

bunnyluv96 wrote:

Thanks for all the links and tips! It helped a ton!

You're very welcome. Let us how you get on with him. What you're feeding, what's working, what's not.

 

[Pipp]

Bunnies should start getting hay, grass and bits of veggies in the nest (as should their mothers) mostly so they're better equipped for any diet they may be on in the future.

Breeders who only feed their rabbits pellets are the main reason why veggies can be a problem. Rabbits don't adapt well to sudden diet changes. Rabbits go to pet stores or home to pet owners with little regard for this.

Pellets alone are unhealthy. There's a few current threads about this including this one:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=56010&forum_id=48&jump_to=758712#p758712


sas :bunnydance:

 

[bunnyluv96]

There is more than one kind of hay? All I know of is timothy and alfalfa..What else is there?

 

[elrohwen]

There are some other kinds of grass hay that you can feed in addition to (or as a substitution) for timothy. They include brome, orchard, meadow, botanical, and oat hays (and I'm sure I'm missing some). I try to pick up a variety of whichever hays my local store has and feed a mixture (though I don't feed alfalfa anymore, since both of my bunnies are adults).

 

[Erins Rabbits]

Pipp wrote:

Bunnies should start getting hay, grass and bits of veggies in the nest (as should their mothers) mostly so they're better equipped for any diet they may be on in the future.

Breeders who only feed their rabbits pellets are the main reason why veggies can be a problem. Rabbits don't adapt well to sudden diet changes. Rabbits go to pet stores or home to pet owners with little regard for this.

Pellets alone are unhealthy. There's a few current threads about this including this one:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=56010&forum_id=48&jump_to=758712#p758712


sas :bunnydance:

I have to disagree. My pellets are specifically formulated for rabbits, and feeding them, I have a guarantee about nutritition and content. With veggies, nothing is set in stone. Why is it that so many pets on all veggie diets have digestion issues, when in my almost five years of breeding and owning rabbits on an all pellet and hay diet I have had not a single problem with digestive systems? Aside from on a rabbit who had a two day bout of mucoid enteritis because her previous owner didn't provide enough food for a proper transition.

I won't call your way of feeding unhealthy, if you don't call mine unhealthy. Fact of the matter is, a rabbit can be healthy and well on a well regulated diet of Pellets and hay, and they can be kept healthy and lead a long life. As is the same with other diets.

My rabbits get occasional treats. Like, once every few months. And I am a FIRM believer of the fact that young rabbits should not be given any veggies prior to six months of age.

 

[andreabaylon]

welllll, i too read that we shouldn't feed rabbits fresh veggies until they were older, and we did wait until my nibbler was about 10 weeks before offering him any, But last week we brought him a wife, who is only 8 weeks. we put them in his pen together and it didn't occur to me to take out his veggie treats. she went straight for them and hasn't had any problems so far, and she is also eating pellets. My bunny wabbits get carrots every day, and spinach leaves every day, and i also add a few pieces of other random veggies that were on sale that week. i've used radishes, snow peas, and swiss chard (which they both hhated). I went to the 99 cent store and got several different types of wire/mesh baskets. I jam the carrots and/or radishes through the mesh and fill the baskets with their hay or alfalfa or spinach. i've hung them in various places around their cage and throughout the course of the day they sample from each one. it provides them treats and gives them an activity.

 

[Snowballbun]

My 5 month old bunny enjoys romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, parsley, cilantro, and dandelion leaves as veggies. As fruit treats she loves apple, banana, carrot (fed infrequently like a fruit).

I've been giving her veggies since about 4 months old and she has tolerated them well. She has a lot of calcium in her urine, so the vet recommended more veggies/less pellets.

I give her lots of Timothy Hay and have been mixing other hays like have been mentioned above. She has Timothy pellets, however I do not limit them---if it's a baby, they should have unlimited pellets. But, my rabbit prefers to eat the veggies and hay, and then the pellets. She seems to know what to eat to balance out her diet.

Babies should have alfalfa hay, (more protein and calcium for growing buns) but I started mine on Timothy earlier because of her calcium issues. However, I think the vet was not rabbit savvy and it seems young to take away the alfalfa. I have just started feeding a small amount to her a couple of times a week in addition to her other hay.

Everyone seems to have a different opinion on whether rabbits should be fed pellets. But pellets provide essential nutrients and vitamins and are good to at least have a small amount in the diet, and especially for young bunnies to have a lot.