What veggies and how much?

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Ashley S

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I've been getting very unclear answers about which veggies and how much to feed my rabbit. I'm nervous about lettuce only because he had a full leaf of red leaf lettuce once and got some bad gas (presumably from the heart portion of the leaf). He gets Cilantro daily but is starting to lose interest. He's around 4 pounds and 8 months old. Can I please get some help and direction in what and how much to feed him daily veggie wise??
 
Maybe try out some basil or sage. It has a strong smell so your rabbit might not take it, but my rabbit loves it. Maybe some spinach in moderation too. I give my rabbit lettuce occasionally and it is romaine. He loves it and I have not had problems with bad gas. I tried cucumber and he didn't like it very much so I don't recommend that. Try out bell peppers, my bunny loves those. And maybe tomatoes? I wash the tomato juice out before I give it to him.
 
Basil is a good choice. I grow it in my garden since it is so hardy and grows so fast. I can feed it daily to my rabbit.

I would not assume that the red leaf lettuce was the cause of gas by itself. Lettuce is not a usual culprit when it comes to causing any gas. It is possible that it was just too much all at once. (How old was bunny at the time of offering? That could also have had a bearing.) Or it could have been stress and might not have had anything to do with the red leaf lettuce.

When introducing any new green, it is very important (most especially with those rabbits that are more sensitive tummy-wise) to go very slowly and only introduce one new type at a time.

The idea is to offer a little bit of one type on one day and check for reaction (poo changes). If all is well, then offer the same type the next day - just a little bit more this time. Again check for changes. Continue over several days. This is how you can know whether a particular green is tolerated.

After that, you can try a different type of green and go through the same process. This process is described here along with a list of what greens are good for every day and which should be limited.

Eventually, you will be able to offer a variety of greens every day (or one type for a few days and then a different type the next few days, etc). Then, it is ok to offer 2-4 cups of greens each day.
 
My bun loves kale, carrot tops, romaine lettuce, and sometimes cauliflower greens (not often however!)
 
Hi Ashley S,
Maxi is two-years old already, and the memories of giving him fresh greens have started to fade with me, but I paused now, and thought of how would I could best approach this question if it were an answer I needed today. Here is what I thought. Have in mind while reading my suggestions that I gave Maxi small parts of Cucumber, Tomato, Culinary Apple, Arugula the latter of which I ate at the time, too, but never Cabbage or any Herbs. He was at the time an individual from a pair, and his brother was eating a lot more of a lot more fresh produce, and lived with the colleagues of my mother. Maxi rarely had issues with what I gave him, but it is possible that I could have taken some sensitivity influences on myself instead of him suffering as I was much older, and could readapt more easily, possibly.
Right now, if I had to choose, I would approach this in a manner of thinking about the average Rabbit population of the country and the areas I lived in, what they were like, what type of care they received, and what type of food was relating to their lives and well-beings, because, in my view, the Rabbit is connected to their natural environment in many forms of balance, re-balance and disturbance of the balance of that natural environment. I also would think of my own predisposition as an observation of what I like to eat and why. As people, we are brought up by parents who might have not had the ability to adapt their understanding to the changing status of their environments, and we could have been brought up based on a collective memory and adaptation only in selected aspects of the reality we were introduced in as newborns. I would assume the same, or a similar process, is true for the Rabbit, but in particularity to the house Rabbit it could be that the owner is the source of know-how, wisdom, experience, or their lack. That is why at the time I gave Maxi mostly food prepared by companies which were selling packaged food for Rabbits, like Versele-Laga, and offered hay in moderation.
If I had to choose, realizing now how complex the life of a Rabbit is, and how much it has to be independent from the life of people, I probably would have never accepted to care for one such animal. We worry about isolated details, as those surrounding food or "bedding", as if those who seemed to have offered the terms like "bedding" really knew what they were talking about. But, as the situation is that you care for a Rabbit, I hope you will be able to compensate the mistake we all make in the care with your love.

Regards,
Sonya and Maxi

It might do well to remember that today's pet rabbits are domestic. They are not wild. Indeed they have even lost much of their "wild" instincts. The care for domestic rabbits is therefore different than would be the care for a wild rabbit. Their diet, housing, and social needs have likewise become different as well. I do not believe that the life of the pet rabbit "has to be independent from the life of people."

As the role of domestic rabbits has changed over the decades from simply livestock and meat to household pets, the knowledge of their care has likewise adapted. What had been recommended for "pet" rabbits a mere 20 years ago has changed as the scientific knowledge has grown & expanded to see rabbits as companions. Quality of life and longevity are now directing the continued research of pet rabbit care.

So while you say you regret having decided to own a pet rabbit and seem to be apologizing on the behalf of all of us for our apparent woeful care advice, I do not believe that much of the modern care recommendations for domestic rabbits are as bleak as you seem to think. Their increasing longevity can attest to some of that.

The domestic rabbit has been adapting as a household pet over the years. That rabbit/human relationship may not be as developed as dog/human or cat/human but has nevertheless come a long way. I don't think it would be unfair to say that, like our pet dogs and cats, the domestic rabbit is in a totally different category than wild rabbits.
 
I feed my two 13-week old bunnies about 1 - 1 1/2 servings of veggies a day, but obviously, most of their food is Timothy Hay, and about a cup of alfalfa pellets per day. Below is a list of fruits, veggies and herbs that my bunnies LOVE (they will bite your finger, haha).

Veggies/herbs: Green leaf lettuce, baby carrots (not daily), parsley, cilantro, basil, peppermint leaves

Fruits (a small serving every 2 - 3 days as a treat): Strawberries, banana, papaya, apple, black plum (only gave them once, because they are high in sugar).

I eat a lot of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, but I read that it should be avoided to give them to rabbits because they can give them gas and such.

Hope this helps :)
 
Both of my 9 year old rabbits get about an inch of carrot, a thin slice of Gala apple and lots of green leaf or Romaine lettuce daily. I was told that Iceberg lettuce is not good for rabbits (or humans) but don't see it anywhere in the HRS list. They get a lot of orchard grass hay and occasionally parsley when I can find it. I don't like the idea of giving nuts to rabbits but that might just be me.
 

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