Very Safe Veggies?

[ams1786]

Hi all,

Sorry to start two threads right after one another but figured these questions should be separate. I'm currently giving bun two large handfuls of cilantro and parsley every night, but I'd like to increase the vegetables. However it seems like every vegetable on the rabbit-safe lists has a disclaimer about what too much could do. Cilantro and parsley seem like some of the only safe ones for consistent use. I was wondering if there were any others because all the lists are so conflicting. Problem is if I buy a bag of a certain vegetable she needs to be able to eat enough of it so it doesn't go bad first, so the whole "one leaf twice a week" thing doesn't really work. Any suggestions? She's a Rex (10 months, I'd guess) so I think a bit more sensitive to the "occasional" vegetables than some.

 

[LakeCondo]

I'd recommend romaine lettuce.

 

[JBun]

Green and red leaf lettuce, and romaine lettuce are all ok to feed everyday

 

[lagomorph]

I am a believer in giving small amounts of many different greens. Too much of one or two foods and not enough variety is what I think can cause problems, such as nutritional imbalance, just as with people. We usually give a morning salad of mixed baby greens, plus at least 3 of the following: sunflower sprouts, dandelion greens, pea tendrils, baby bok choy, various herbs in the carrot family (parsley, dill, cilantro) romaine lettuce, kale and swiss chard. A little bit of each. Have been doing this for over 6 years with no problems.

 

[mochajoe]

House Rabbit Society has one of the best lists in my opinion. Being able to give a variety of greens a day would be great but I think for a lot of people, especially those with one or two bunnies that is hard to do as they can't eat it fast enough before it goes bad. If your bunny is getting unlimited hay and a serving of pellets a day...so any veggies you give your bunny is going to be beneficial. Just think, some bunnies live their whole lives! My bunnies get red/green lettuce, romaine, or escarole (one of my bunny's favorites) and cilantro every day...as they are all safe to give daily. Sometimes they will get parsley or whatever we have in the house...as long as they have had it before. It is far worse to give a bunny too much of something they have never had than to give them no greens at all. Everyone has to do what works best for them!

 

[Chrisdoc]

Mine love any fresh herbs, dill, cilantro, parsley, sage, basil, tarragon, endives, carrot tops, radiccio, escarole, cauliflower leaves, beetroot and turnip greeens, watercress and rocket, red and green chard and loads of other things. I love to give them a variety and love to see them enjoying them all.

I was in the supermarket this morning and a lady behind me had two bunches of carrots with the tops on. I was with a friend an we were laughing saying the carrot tops looked really fresh. The lady was a bit confused as she said she didn´t know what to do with them. We laughed saying that we wanted them for the bunnies. And guess what....the girl on the till went to get a knife and she gave me the two bunches of carrot tops....I was so happy as it didn´t cost me a penny and my bunnies will be so grateful to have them. Just shows you that sometimes you have to be a bit cheeky. :happyrabbit:

 

[1357bunnylover]

My get all sorts of herbs, and herbs are better for them than veggies.. My get dill, parsley, coriander, rosemary, thyme, basil, mint, they also get carrot tops and rocket and watercress with the occasional carrot or kale. But mine prefer their herbs over any veg.

 

[ldoerr]

I would not give parsely every day. I think that it is high in calcium or something else. It is ok to give every so often, but not every day. Mine get romain, and cilantro when I get veggies. I also rotate between turnip, mustard, and collard greens. Some times I do not feed any of these. (When I am being lazy and watching costs). In those cases I just get a tub of spring greens from the salad section and give that.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We give small amounts of various herbs and veggies from the HRS list in the morn and eve--that way they just don't get a lot of one thing only.

 

[1357bunnylover]

No I don't give all them herbs and veggies everyday, they get about 3-4 different veggies and herbs everyday, so parsley is fed 1-2 times a week usually. But all herbs have quite a lot of calcium in them which is good for bunnies teeth and bones, if not fed in large amounts. Turnip, mustard and collard greens are also quite high in calcium, but I don't see as giving calcium a bad thing if not given a lot of.

 

[tamsin]

Are you good at eating your veggies? I don't buy specific, Scamp gets a portion of what we are eating which gives him a nice varied diet without costing a fortune! Things like carrot tops, the outside leaves of cauliflower, broccoli stalk are great 'free veggies'.