Greens. How often?

[Deapea]

I have seen articles about feeding greens to bunnies and which ones are safe. What I find contradicting is how often you feed them greens, and the amount. I have seen some sites suggest only once every one to two weeks.... Then I have seen some mention daily. Then for the amounts I have seen a thumb size suggested....and then larger amounts. I realize that babies get less. Can someone clarify this for me?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bville]

When introducing veggies to young bunnies, it is best to do it gradually with very small amounts at first and then increasing if there are no signs of digestive upset like mushy poop or gas. I don't know off hand how much is the recommended amount, but there are some links in the library section of the forum you could research to find that. I feed my rabbits veggies once a day at dinner time. They get about 2 cups of packed greens each (two are 3 lbs and one is 5 lbs). There is no rule about when to give them, but dinner time is just easiest for me to do as I prepare dinner for my family.

 

[Phonetic Diabetic]

My rabbit is a little larger. I feed him around 2 cups of greens usually 2 times a day. I go home for lunch everyday and make him a salad when my food is cooking. Then I make him another when it's dinner time.

 

[JBun]

Baby rabbits digestive systems aren't fully developed and introducing veggies when they are too young can result in digestive trouble. So it's usually best to wait til they are at least 12 weeks old before introducing veggies into the diet(unless already used to them from it's mom). This is best done by introducing only one veggie at a time and starting off with a very small amount for a few days and keeping an eye out for signs of digestive upset(mushy poop, stops eating, belly pressing and changing positions frequently, loud gurgling sounds). If your bun seems to tolerate the veggie fine, then you can gradually increase the amount over about a week. Then you can start to introduce a different veggie in the same manner. One thing to be aware of is that sometimes cruciferous veggies can cause digestive issues for some rabbits, so should be avoided if this is the case.
http://www.lagomorphs.com/salad.pdf

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We feed ours twice a day with greens. At 11 and 11 as we have found that bunnies are creatures of habit. Then you also have to adjust for each bunny as they are all different. Our 2 five pound boys both get more than our Checkered Giant even though she's 4 times their size--she will get very messy and need a cleaning. She also had a problem with pellets and a messy behind, so she only gets orchard grass and greens. We were sitting a bunny for a friend while he remodeled his condo and she never had veggies before, but after a few days she loved them. Just takes a little time and patience. Also, you start to intro them at 4 months and no sooner we were told.

 

[Deapea]

Thanks for all the great and quick feedback! This definitely helps. I plan on looking in the library area, too. I'm getting excited about getting a bunny!