When to start on veggies

[KittyKatMe]

I have heard different opinions on this one. The babies are now all, exept the runt, weaned. They are 7 weeks and are eating alfalfa hay and Oxbow Juvenille pellets. I have given them a few mint leaves and a little basil, but I have heard not to start on veggies until 3 months of age. This is coming from the people who think it is cruel to keep a bunny in a wire floor cage, but I still am not sure. They seem to be fine on what I have been giving them, but I want to start trying out different things. Also, the bunnies got homes! They all got out in pairs, and are waiting just one more week to go. Yay!

 

[majorv]

I've heard others recommend starting at 6 mos, but I suspect you could start earlier with no problem. As with anything new, you just have to start small and go slow. We breed/show rabbits so we don't feed ours greens. They stay healthy on pellets and hay, with occasional treats of rolled oats, Cheerios or black oil sunflower seeds.

 

[agnesthelion]

I started at 3 months but there are people on here that advocate waiting until 6 months. I have heard of people starting after they are weaned but not very often.

If you do offer one at a time so you know if it gives you trouble. Good luck!

 

[agnesthelion]

Vicki, I'm curious, do breeders and people who show not feed veggies? I'm not disputing your comment or anything, just genuinely curious about the correlation

 

[KittyKatMe]

Yes, that is interesting. Are they bad for them? I don't give them to mine a lot, but I will stop if it is bad.

 

[woahlookitsme]

Its not bad at all. Franklin loved his veggies and did totally fine on them. We just for one don't have the fridge space for so many veggies since we have 20+ bunnies right now it would be a lot to give each veggies daily. I am thinking that's the most popular reason veggies aren't given by breeders. All the treats we buy can be sold cheaply in large quantities and easily found at a feed store. Veggies aren't as available for us. And we are on the smaller side of being a rabbitry so I can imagine people who have 50+ rabbits especially don't have the means to do veggies.

It is much more popular in the pet homes because people usually only have 1-2 rabbits (maybe more but no where near a rabbitry size) and have the fridge, funds, and time to give veggies.

I totally agree with Lisa make sure to introduce one thing at a time so in case you see a problem you know what caused it

 

[wendymac]

Mine get the occasional watermelon (when it was hot, I froze chunks and fed them that way) and romaine lettuce. But usually it's just oatmeal or sunflower seeds.

 

[majorv]

Sarah's right, most breeders have too many rabbits to make it economical to feed greens/veggies. Trying to keep track of who likes what and what upsets who would be too much to track. Also, we strive for consistency in our rabbits...weight, condition...and adding veggies can change/upset that since they're getting a balanced diet already.

 

[agnesthelion]

Aaah, I get the correlation now. An economical thing and the amount of rabbits makes it more difficult.

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[KittyKatMe]

Oh! These ate pet bunnies and we have a huge garden so it only makes sense. Thank you for the clarifacation.