Is this forbidden foods list accurate?

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BiterBunny

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My bunny doesn't come until tomorrow and I've got to run to the grocers on Friday. Since I'm a vegetarian, I eat lots of fresh produce anyway, but it'd be nice to sync up me and the bun's diet so between the two of us we can use up the fresh produce in a timely fashion. I found this list:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Diet/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx

And it seems accurate, but I'm a bit clueless. Is this a good list?

But it didn't list many fruits... Are there fruits I should steer clear of? I do know not to give many or often, but we usually have bananas or apples or some sort of berry on hand, are they safe for treats?

Is there any reason I can't feed dandelions and dandelion leaves from my yard? We use no pesticides or anything like that, and we have them in an abundance. I pick them and dehydrate them sometimes, can I add them to their hay mix?

What about clover? The kind people find four leaf clovers in. Our yard is a pretty good mix of the white clover flowers and some red clover flowers and a large amount of dandelions. We live on quite a bit of space, so I was hoping I could take him outside (In a fenced in portion of yard) to enjoy the sunlight and growing things, but if they're not okay to eat, it'd probably be safer not to.

Thank you!
 
Looks like a good list to follow.

Regarding fruits, I just stick with apples and strawberries. I tried watermelon and cantalope but they weren't thrilled with them.

My boys love the clover in my yard. And hopefully I have dandelions. I know people hate dandelions in their yard, but I'm hoping some pop up for my boys and Luna to try. Plus getting fresh air and sunshine really does them good.

Wishing you all the best with your new bunny.

K:)
 
Michelle Savage wrote:
I was told not to give rabbits apple seeds, does anyone know why? I wouldn't risk it anyway, just the seeds though.

Apple seeds are toxic to rabbits. Mine love apple slices, but we never give a whole apple to our bunnies. Seeds are immediately removed.

K:)
 
I saw sweet potatoes on that list but at the pet store they sell "Sweet potato sticks" for rabbits. now i'm freaking out because my bunny loves them!
 
Apple seeds have trace amounts of... cyanide, I believe. If not cyanide, some equally dangerous element. That makes them toxic. I have to remember not to give the rats whole apples, we usually just cut chunks off and toss the core.
 
I know RAW sweet potato is bad for rats, but cooked sweet potato isn't. Makes me think there's probably something bad in the raw stuff.

ETA: I know rabbits are suuuper different from rats, I'm just hesitant to use things in the bunny that I know are toxic to other small pets.
 
I tried to make a list of good, bad, & occasional foods for rabbits using the 8 rabbit books I bought, & there were lots of disagreements. As a general rule, introduce a food very gradually: one bite day 2, 2 day 2, etc. Stop if diarrhea occurs. Dandelions are great foods if introduced slowly & then the amount kept fairly constant all year, or tapered off at the end of the growing season. This is because they are a diuretic. Their common name is "p*ss in bed." Fruits & carrots have too much sugar & should be considered treats.

You didn't mention your new rabbit's age, but young rabbits should have only hay & pellets, both alfalfa. So veggies or treats should come later.

Yes it's arsenic that apple seeds contain, as well as in the seeds of peaches.
Raw potatoes aren't digestible by humans [& probably most other species].
 
PupTheRabbit wrote:
I saw sweet potatoes on that list but at the pet store they sell "Sweet potato sticks" for rabbits. now i'm freaking out because my bunny loves them!

Pet stores also sell yogurt drops and chocolate (or at least they used to) and that was not good. There probably is a reason why the sweet potato sticks are okay but I definitely wouldn't feed any kind of potato to a rabbit. I know it can kill a guinea pig. There is something in it but I don't remember what it is... :?

Yes, apple seeds are dangerous because they contain small amounts of cyanide. Apples and apple wood (untreated of course) are fine though.

As for the clover, there was some sort of clover that apparently wasn't recommended so I think you should look into that just to be on the safe side. Í really don't remember what it was. Oh found a thread here: http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10985but still, I think a bit more info would be welcomed on the matter.

Fruits/Treats my gang eat:

- banana (mine don't like it much so not often)

-strawberries, blackberries, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, etc. (Favorites in this home)

- carrots (I count them as a fruit/treat due to high sugar content)

- melons (cantalope, watermelon, honey dew, etc. Especially in the summer, they absolutely love it)

- grapes (occasionally here)

- pineapple

- mango

- peach (wasn't much appreciated in my gang, maybe they didn't like the fuzz lol)
 
I did a search and found no warnings regarding clover. Every one that I went to and every list say clover is good.

Here's something that I thought went a little further with explanation of different vegetables and fruits.

http://www.mybunny.org/info/rabbit_nutrition.htm

One thing you really need to know is what has been applied to the ground. Fertilizers, growth enhancers, etc.

Hope this helps.

K:)
 
on this topic, i have a rabbit for the first time, she is about a year old from what the pet store could tell me. i want to dehydrate fruit and veggies and make a kind of granola style bar from home simalar to the seed sticks and such you can buy in the store. does anyone know a trusting link to recipes i could follow? i know i could search on my own but i dont want to find misinformation that could hurt Uncle Wiggly.
 
Here is a basic recipe that you could add dried fruit & veggie bits to:

combine, shape into sticks or small clumps & let dry
1 cup hay bits [the little left-over bits]
1/4 cup pellets, ground up
1 ripe banana
1/4 cup water
 
A year or so ago, I compiled a number of safe/unsafe food lists from around the web, and developed this library article for RO.

It is the most comprehensive I believe... I left out every piece of vegetation that was mentioned as possibly toxic.

There is also a thread about baking for your bunny there ;)

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=17
 
Age can matter on what you feed them but even though they sell those yogurt treats at the pet stores they are not good on your rabbit. This I have been told by many, so just in case, maybe just a little fruit (on the good list) in very small bits (1 tablespoon every couple of days or so). I try to only feed my 10 week old (approx.) bunny western timothy hay and juvinelle pellets, only! When they reach around 6 months (as my vet agrees) they can have small bits of fruits and vegetables (only ones on the ok list for rabbits). Watch the fecal matter, if it is loose than give her/him only timothy hay along with water of course just for awhile (until the pellets return to hard round balls, this should only take a few hours or a day, I think).

I say every couple of days so they don't start to become picky eaters and it will help them not have problems.
 
It's amazing all the things made for rabbits that aren't good for them. But of course,the same is true for people food. Let the potential buyer beware.
 
I just picked dandilions from the yard and gave them to the buns and turtles a few minutes ago. It's a nom fest! They get the greens year round from the grocery store, but the flowers are summer-time treats. :)

I get the sweet potato baby food when they are not feeling well or to use for special occasions as salad dressing. I have not seen any ill effects and they eat it really well from a syringe. It is obviously cooked and no peel.

My rabbits have an extremely varied diet, tending to eat seasonally (more apples in the fall, berries in the spring etc) but obviously not totally since they get the staple greens and dandilions all year. I think it helps to make them less picky and tummies more robust if they don't eat the same thing week to week. Plus it changes up the specific nutrients they are getting. I also grow flowers for them as a treat source.
 
Since I eat a lot of seasonal veggies and fruits, the bunny probably will, too.

We have two different apple trees in my yard. No idea the kind of apples, mostly the deer and squirrel pillage them, we haven't tried to harvest them in ages and we use no pesticides. But I think they're a bit sour. Do you think they'd be bunny safe treats? I mean, they ARE edible for humans, we just don't pick them.
 
My rabbits loved the occasional crab apple. It's one reason why bitter apple spray does nothing to deter most buns.. they don't seem to taste the bitter like we do!

They also often ate clover and dandelions. My past rabbits got a ton of spinach and entire carrots (top and carrot) and broccoli and snap peas. Everything was from our garden and I never once had a problem of bloat, stasis, or gas. They all lived to 7+ years (not sure on rescue's ages) so it really depends.

I've never had a food sensitive rabbit... Neither are mine sensitive to water changes and always have had firm stools. Not saying you should risk it or that it can't happen, but they can be quite sensitive to changes. Mine are just food/water hogs and take all they can get :p

They do fine with veggie switch-ups from day to day and today I gave them the butt pieces of banana that I was chopping up to freeze for smoothies. They went BALLISTIC for it. Usually I just give mine hay/pellets/cilantro/organic mixed greens.

If I move somewhere where I can have a yard and such I'll probably grow an herb garden and some veggies for them and us humans :p
 

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