Starting veggies

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

bunbunmommy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2013
Messages
175
Reaction score
77
Location
Southern CA
Hello everyone!
I was just wondering how to go about starting a new bun (Charlie) on veggies
hes 2months old, I've had him for about 3 weeks now.
I wanted to get him used to his new pellets and hay before i started introducing new foods, and then he got sick with that inner ear infection and was on a few medications that I didnt want to upset his tummy anymore.
I bought some parsley the other day, washed it really good and presented him with a few leafs. He sniffed it and violently turned his head away from it. I've never seen him do that before. I left him sniff it again and he did the same thing. Didnt even want to taste it, just turned up his nose at it.
sooooo parsley is out.
What is a good starter veggie? how much should i give him at a time? should i wait a few days to see if his tummy handles it well before i give him more?
 
I started mine on kale.

Kale can make some rabbits gassy (Bella can't tolerate a lot even though she loves it).

I personally would do something tolerated by most rabbits like romaine or leaf lettuce. She also loves cilantro.

Good luck!!
 
I've been testing Felix's tolerance for veggies in the past few months, but had to stop recently due to cecal overproduction. He seemed to enjoy spinach, parsley, basil (although not as much as the others), and coriander. Keep in mind spinach is high in oxalic acid, so it's not ideal for an everyday green, but the buns seem to enjoy it every so often. :)
 
I've been testing Felix's tolerance for veggies in the past few months, but had to stop recently due to cecal overproduction. He seemed to enjoy spinach, parsley, basil (although not as much as the others), and coriander. Keep in mind spinach is high in oxalic acid, so it's not ideal for an everyday green, but the buns seem to enjoy it every so often. :)


Although most rabbits like it spinach isn't good for rabbits. I like to start mine on the basics like romaine lettuce, parsley(I know that's out of the question) and carrot tops:)
 
I went with kale based on my vets recommendations and the house rabbit society said its safe as well. They were all ok :)
 
The only problem with Kale is it's high in calcium like Spinach so if you have one with a sludge problem it should be avoided. We give ours Romaine, Cilantro, Parsley, and Italian Parsley with a tiny slice of apple (razor thin) in the morning and in the evening they get Dandelion, Parsley, Italian Parsley, Cilantro and a tiny bit of carrot. We have to adjust the amount each one gets as 3 of ours will get messy poops (Out of control cecals) so it's something you have to learn about and adjust to your bunnies needs. We are babysitting Peanut for a friend while he updates his condo and it took her awhile to figure out veggies, but, now she loves them. Take it slow at first and be consistent.
 
Arugula, (also called Rocket) is a fave at my house. It's a good alternate to spinach because it does t have the high oxalate content that spinach has. It's also very nutritious.

Don't worry about your bun turning away from new greens. Sophie did that with pretty much every new thing I gave to her. I was like, geez, what a picky rabbit! But then by morning it had magically disappeared lol.
 
I went with kale based on my vets recommendations and the house rabbit society said its safe as well. They were all ok :)

It is a healthy food but needs to be given in moderation (like spinach) , and CAN cause gas in some rabbits, like Bella. Like mentioned earlier, just start off small to make sure your rabbits can tolerate, and rotate with other greens.
 
My buns go crazy for green beans! Plus it looks super cute when they eat them! Little green sticks hanging out their mouth haha :p

Selina
:brownbunny
 
Give him a small chunk like that maybe once a day for about a week. If by the end of the week he doesnt have any issues you can increase the amount. Introduce one vegetable at time so if something upsets him you can immediately stop it. Also so you dont end up with a whole lot of something he doesnt like.
 
Give him a small chunk like that maybe once a day for about a week. If by the end of the week he doesnt have any issues you can increase the amount. Introduce one vegetable at time so if something upsets him you can immediately stop it. Also so you dont end up with a whole lot of something he doesnt like.

That's what I've been doing so far. After he eats his little piece, he hops up to me like " where's the rest?!"
 

Latest posts

Back
Top