Herbs and rabbits

Hey all I have my first rabbit called smudge, my friend is a rabbit breeder and has told me ample about nutrition and maintenance however she knew little about the role herbs play in a rabbits diet, she said they are much like grasses that they could graze all day but this was an unconfident answer so I was wondering what role do herbs play in their diet? How often can I feed my bunny and how much? Thank you in advance

I personally feed my rabbit herbs/greens twice a day. In total she probably gets about 3 cups. She gets a large variety of herbs including: basil, cilantro, chervil, dill, dandelion(in moderation), tarragon, oregano, parsley(in moderation), sage, mint. I also feed her different lettuces: arugula, kale(in moderation), romaine, green and red leaf and carrot tops. Each meal usually consists of a type of lettuce plus 3-4 different herbs. My rabbit weighs 4.5 pounds.

There are many other rabbit safe herbs, those are just the ones I've chosen to give her. Some of them she didn't want when I first introduced them but she loves them all now.

You also have to be careful when giving something new because some rabbits have sensitive digestive systems and giving too much of a new food can cause them gas or diarrhea so give a small piece for a few feedings and monitor them.

You can also include some flowers as an occasional treat: dandelion, chamomile, clover, borage, nasturtiums, plus any of the rabbit safe herbs that flower you can give them the flowers.

Basil is really tolerant of the desert heat we get all summer. My bunnies get that as long as I have it growing. I've also grown cilantro, parsley, romaine. In the winter, I buy romaine, red or green leaf lettuce and other greens.
Mine get 2-4 cups per day...

Oh wow so a lot then, where do you guys source the herbs other then growing your own? Can you get them from like a supermarket type situation and mix selected ones together?

Herbs can be expensive at the grocery stores. But the stores are ok for the lettuces, kale, carrot tops, --oh, cilantro and parsley aren't bad at the stores either. (But things like basil tend to come in tiny, expensive packs.)

I didn't ask the age of your bun. Unless younger buns were exposed to greens with their momma, then it is best to wait until 12 weeks of age before introducing greens. They do need to be introduced gradually and one type at a time. Each new introduction can then be checked to see how bunny tolerates it.

As SophiesHumble mentioned, kale should be fed more sparingly (it is high in calcium). Other greens like parsley, mustard greens and spinach are also high in calcium. So it's a good idea to check some bunny green charts to see which ones are fine for daily use.

:bunny17:Its actually best to wait until a rabbit is 6 months before giving it any greens, greens can cause diarrhea which can end with your bunny dying so, slowly start with the greens of introduction and its best to wait till they're six months of age as then their digestive tracts are fully formed and they can handle the greens in small moderation.

No you dont have to wait until their 6 months.....
Greens can be offered at any age as long as its a slow introduction and you keep an eye out for gi upset.

Exactly. DO shop around to your local produce departments. Flat parsley is so much tastier than the curly stuff, which is mainly used for deception anyway! My bunny lived on herbs, other greens and hay for the most part. She rejected pellets the day we brought her home. You need to be careful about greens with too much Potassium, like Kale and cabbage family products and spinach, those are best in limited quantities, but Miss Hoppy had Parsley nearly every day of her life - all 11 years!

You will become buddies with your produce department workers, that's a good thing! Mine would save discarded carrot tops for my bunny when other people left them behind!

The others have all given good advice, you can feed them as small amounts for treats, or up to 2-3 cups per day depending on how your rabbit handles them. If you're going to start feeding them, only introduce one type at a time, and start with a small amount (eg 1 basil leaf) to make sure it doesn't cause any upsets and slowly increase the amount. After one week without any upsets, you can introduce a new kind.