Are Jalapanos and Bean Sprouts safe?

[GreenApple]

hello,

I went out with my friends today and we stopped at a local petshop. I observed that the baby bunnies (~2 months old) were being fed jalapenos and bean sprouts on top of their hay. I was surprised because I have never read that spicy food is good for rabbits, specially young rabbits. I asked the manager and he told me that he has been feeding young rabbits lettuce, jalapenos, bean sprouts, fruits and others for the more than 10 years that he has been on the business. He assured me that it was ok, and that he had never had a problem with this diet. He explained that he feeds rabbit a diet consisting of 70%hay, 20% pellets and 10% others.
Honestly I dont believe that jalapenos and bean sprouts and lettuce are good food sources for baby bunnies. I have a bunny of my own and before adopting her I read a lot of articles and info on their diet and most of the information out there suggested that rabbits should not have vegetables until after 6 months, because they have a very weak digestive system. Also lettuce should be treated with care because it can cause diharrea.

Please let me know what you think about this situation. Is the manager correct in his information?

I should also note that the jalapanos and bean sprouts came from the leftover pho vietnamese soup that he had that day.

Thanks

 

[Imbrium]

.....

I don't even know what to say to that. they shouldn't really be getting veggies at 8 weeks anyway. for older rabbits, bean sprouts are ok in moderation. I would NEVER feed jalapenos or any other type of spicy pepper to a rabbit or any other animal, regardless of age.

while some sources say 6 months, HRS (a reliable source) and my own personal vet both say 12 weeks is fine to intro veggies unless you find that the rabbit doesn't tolerate them well at that age. I've been feeding veggies to mine since 12 weeks old and they've done just fine.

the fact that said foods came out of leftover soup is perhaps even more concerning than the fact that they're being fed at all. soup will have all sorts of seasonings in it which soak into the veggies - seasonings are a big no-no for animals... especially since for all he knows, there could be onion and/or garlic (fresh or powdered) in the soup and those things are toxic for pretty much all animals. from what I heard in a recent conversation on a sugar glider forum, the "toxic" affect of onions isn't generally an immediate one - it's a longer-term/build-up sort of issue.

as for lettuce, only iceberg causes diarrhea and it should NEVER be fed. darker-leaf lettuces are perfectly fine (my bunnies get a romaine heart daily).

as for his crap about "he's been feeding it for 10 years and never had a problem"... who's to say that that isn't due to the fact that the bunnies get sold within a few weeks? there could be long-term negative effects from the way he feeds them that he's completely unaware of because he doesn't keep the rabbits long enough.

TLDR: he's high out of his freaking mind if he thinks what he's feeding those babies is 100% healthy and appropriate.

 

[missyscove]

Typiclly they're served along with the pho and probably never touched the actual soup.
Veggies are okay for baby buns if they're offered them basically since birth (so if mom is eating greens and they start nibbling on them as they're weaned). The bean sprouts probably won't hurt in moderation.
I'm pretty sure rabbits can taste spicy (there are some animals, like birds, that can't) so I can't imagine they're enjoing jalepenos.