Can rabbits eat romaine (cos) lettuce? Red and green lettuce?

[amandaaaa_xxo]

So I'm trying to add different types of greens to my rabbits diet. I've always been hesitant to give him lettuce. First of all, is romaine lettuce, cos lettuce? Because I've asked around for romaine lettuce here and no supermarket has heard of it? Is this another name for Cos lettuce?

Is it safe to feed that lettuce and red lettuce to rabbits? I know on the Internet it says it's safe but I would rather the opinions from rabbit owners perhaps because of the experience with it (ie, whether it caused digestive issues or not)

Thanks

 

[MaryAnne]

Yes, romaine = cos. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romaine_lettuce) I feed lots of romaine and sometimes butter/bibb/boston lettuce. The only no-no I'm aware of is iceberg, but mainly because it is high in water and low in nutrients. (The high water content may lead to it retaining more pesticides and fertilizer, unless it's organic). Note that this is a subject of long debate in the rabbit community, in which I don't care to participate. I simply don't feed iceberg.

 

[Blue eyes]

Red leaf lettuce looks just the same as green leaf lettuce except it has red color near the top of the leaf. Here is a photo of green leaf lettuce. Both of these are different than romaine lettuce. Basically any dark green lettuce (as opposed to iceberg) is fine.

How a rabbit may react to any green or any veggie can vary. But green lettuces are well tolerated by most rabbits. In the winter, mine get a couple cups per day. Never had problems feeding lettuce to any of my past or current rabbits.

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

Okay great thank you both for your helpful replies! I always knew that iceberg lettuce causes digestive issues and because of that, I thought that applied to ALL lettuces. Will go buy cos, red and green lettuces to feed him now! Thanks

 

[Blue eyes]

Remember to only introduce one type at a time, a little bit. If bun tolerates it, then offer the same for several days in a row with gradually increasing amounts. Once you see him doing fine for several days with one type then add that one to his "safe" list.

Then you can go through the same process with another type.

In time, you'll have a list of greens that you know your bunny tolerates. From there you can offer any of those from then on.

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

Yes of course I will introduce one type at a time. I just hope that he TRIES it even because I've introduced kale, spinach and silverbeet to him for several days to one week, and he wouldn't show interest in them. So I hope the lettuces work!

 

[Gnoccibun]

If you're in Melbourne like me, try buying some Chinese broccoli and Bol Choy from an Asian grocer or fruit shop. It's super cheap and stays fresh for ages if it's in a container in the fridge. Make sure you wash it though! My bunny LOVES both and I give her 2 leaves of bock Choy and a big leaf of Chinese brocoli every morning and evening. I was unsure about the different lettuces as well and now I'm going to give them a try too!

 

[flemishwhite]

Our bunns like romaine lettuce. The usually just eat the green part and leave the stalks. Romain lettuce and other greens, particularly when bought from the main large chain grocery stores, can add up to be relatively expensive when feeding two large growing bunnies. We make a Saturday morning trip to the local farmers market to get free carrot tops and fennel tops. It's free. When someone buys a bunch of carrots or fennel, the vendor tears off the leafy part and throws it away. My wife has two large shopping bags were she gets this for free. Our bunns really like carrot tops and fennel. After farmers market, we go to Asian grocery stores (Vietnamese or Chinese). Their veggies are quite a bit cheaper. Romaine at a national chain grocery store can sell between $2.00 and $3.00. At Asian stores it's $0.99 to perhaps a little over $1. 00 a head.

We buy Bok Choy at Asian grocery stores. The bunns eat the green leafy part. My wife takes the uneaten stalks and uses them as soop ingreadients! We figure bunnies have clean mouths plus the fact the soop is brought to a boil before we eat it!.