What veggies are the healthiest?

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

My bunnies diet:

Lila is 4lbs(currently pregnant)

Lila gets 1/2 cup of pellets per day.
Free choice hay/grass.
3/4 cup parsley, 3/4 cup spinach, 3/4 cup mustard greens.

Charlie is 3lbs.

He gets 1/4 cup of pellets.
Free choice hay/grass.
Same veggies but 1/4 cup of each.

So I feed my rabbits veggies everyday. Is this correct to feed them veggies everyday? Also is the quantity of veggies enough or too much?

Are these good veggies to feed them everyday? Charlie seems to be eating only parsley so I don't know if these veggies are good for them to be eating on a regular basis.

I've looked at websites that have lists of veggies but I really just want to know the 3 or 4 healthiest veggies to feed your rabbit on a regular basis that are the most nutritious and don't cause bloat or any other problems

Any suggestions would be great! Thanks everyone

 

[ldoerr]

I would not feed spinach. It is high in calcium. So is parsely, brocoly and a few other things. My rabbits get cilantro, OCASIONAL parsely, OCASIONAL mustard greens, collard greens, turnup greens, romaine lettuce, kale, red and green leaf lettuce (not their favorites), OCASIONAL celry, and their might be one or two that I am forgetting. If I were you I would look at the lists of rabbit safe veggies and not get any that are high in calcium and this other thing (sorry can not remember). Most of the things that you listed are not good to feed very much of. I did a lot of research before I bought veggies. I now whenever I go to the store have a list of good and bad veggies with me for refference.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

Thanks for replying!

Do your rabbits get those veggies everyday? And what amount? What 3-4 veggies do u think I should feed my bunnies? I will also look online for veggies low in calcium

 

[ldoerr]

This weeks veggies included romaine, cilantro, parsely (a rare treat), turnup greens, and kale I beleave. (I went a little overboard when buying). For 7 days I bought 2 bunches of the romaine, 2 each of the turnip and kale, 4 of the cilantro, and 2 of the parsley. This was devided up between the 2 rabbits. This is the video that shows how to prepair veggies. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpINm6pVh5s&feature=plcp[/ame]. I do this each week with my rabbits veggies.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

If I introduce those veggies do I have to do it slowly? Also should I change up the veggies each week or just keep it consistent?

 

[Imbrium]

variety is good... and yeah, I'd introduce one at a time.

if you check out these two veggie lists, you can figure out which veggies need to be fed in moderation (the first site doesn't list high calcium veggies/the second site doesn't list high OA veggies so you really have to look at both to get the full picture):
http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html
http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#greens

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Ours get cilantro, parsley, italian parsley and carrot and romaine lettuce in the morning. In the evening they get the first 3 herbs plus dandelion and a small bit of apple. We quit spinach and kale as it was calcium overload for 2 of our buns and eleiminated cruciform veggies--GAS--cauliflower, brocoli, et. al.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

Thanks so much everyone!!

 

[LakeCondo]

Your pregnant rabbit certainly can use more calcium, but I don't know how someone deals with the problem of weaning her off them later.

Of the nearly 50 foods whose calcium & oxalate amounts are given in Rabbit Nutrition, those with the most are
almonds & other nuts
arugula
basil
cabbage [which has gas problems as well]
dandelion greens
dill
kale
lamb's quarter
mustard greens
parsley
purslane
rolled oats
shepherd's purse
spinach

But carrot tops have, by far, the most calcium: nearly 2,000 mg per 100 grams, vs dill's 200 mg.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

Are these good veggies to feed my bunnies everyday? (I put down the amount of calcium each veggie has)

10 mg Alfalfa sprouts
16 mg Cilantro
18 mg Chard, Swiss
19 mg Radish seed sprouts
20 mg Lettuce, Romaine (per 100g serving)
20 mg Squash, zucchini
21 mg Jerusalem artichoke
24 mg Pumpkin
26 mg Endive
26 mg Squash, summer
28 mg Asparagus
28 mg Cauliflower
28 mg Purslane
28 mg Radishes

The three veggies I was thinking of starting with are cilantro, romaine lettuce, and alfalfa sprouts. What do you guys think?

 

[Imbrium]

I have no idea what purslane is. cauliflower should only be given in very small amounts, as it can cause gas. pumpkin should also be limited, as I believe it qualifies as fruit.

radishes, artichoke, squash and asparagus aren't on any of the veggie lists I've seen (though raddicio is, no clue what the diff is between that and radishes), so personally, I wouldn't feed them.

the rest of the stuff is just fine.

 

[whitelop]

Raddico is like a small bitter red cabbage, so different than a raddish. So if cabbage causes gas, my guess would be raddico would too.

 

[napagirl]

I am a believer that if you stick to the safe food lists, the next step is to see how your rabbit reacts to the fresh veg/fruit you give it AND the amount. Yes, there are certain fresh veg/fruit you should limit, and those are usually well documented on various sites. But what I watch for is stool consistency. I have a neighbor who gives his rabbit tons of fruit/veg, and constantly bathes it because of runny stool! I told him this is very unhealthy, that stool should be of normal round, firm consistency, and a rabbit shouldn't need to be bathed because of its diet. I told him to consult a vet.

At any rate, Dimi gets mostly Romaine lettuce. She loves it, and it is very healthy. She gets kale 1-2x a week, and I have read online via vet studies that kale is now considered SAFE feeding, oxalate-wise. I have not confirmed with a vet, so I currently limit Funny, but Dimi HATES carrots! She loves arugula, which I feed ~4x a week. Sometimes I add in grapes from my vines, but only as a treat. I very much limit sugary stuff like fruit. Grapes occasionally, a bit of apple. She won't eat basil or sage... tends to stay away from aromatic herbs (except arugula). She loves pansies, and I buy and plant organic pansies for her to feast on naturally. I plan to add dandelion greens to her diet as well, and am researching more as I go along.

 

[SaruCharmed]

Just look up veggie lists for rabbits and look at the first three results. All three lists together give you a pretty good idea of what's good for a rabbit, what's not, and what should only be given in moderation. I wrote my own list based on these that was a little easier to understand and I take it with me when I buy veggies for my bun.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

napagirl wrote:

I am a believer that if you stick to the safe food lists, the next step is to see how your rabbit reacts to the fresh veg/fruit you give it AND the amount. Yes, there are certain fresh veg/fruit you should limit, and those are usually well documented on various sites. But what I watch for is stool consistency. I have a neighbor who gives his rabbit tons of fruit/veg, and constantly bathes it because of runny stool! I told him this is very unhealthy, that stool should be of normal round, firm consistency, and a rabbit shouldn't need to be bathed because of its diet. I told him to consult a vet.

At any rate, Dimi gets mostly Romaine lettuce. She loves it, and it is very healthy. She gets kale 1-2x a week, and I have read online via vet studies that kale is now considered SAFE feeding, oxalate-wise. I have not confirmed with a vet, so I currently limit Funny, but Dimi HATES carrots! She loves arugula, which I feed ~4x a week. Sometimes I add in grapes from my vines, but only as a treat. I very much limit sugary stuff like fruit. Grapes occasionally, a bit of apple. She won't eat basil or sage... tends to stay away from aromatic herbs (except arugula). She loves pansies, and I buy and plant organic pansies for her to feast on naturally. I plan to add dandelion greens to her diet as well, and am researching more as I go along.

Dimi is adorable! I used to have abunny that looked SO much like her-I miss mine so much!