Vegetables and rabbits

[Rayen]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, but I was reading an old article from one of the local papers about Easter rabbits and it was trying to give people honest information about rabbits and how they shouldn't be given as pets for the holiday. I came near the bottom where it made this big point in saying that vegetables and fruit are bad for them and how pet rabbits should never eat them.

I've heard this before, but I don't understand where the logic comes from. In the wild rabbits would eat pretty much anything leafy they came across, wouldn't they? I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to come across wild berries and various fields with some kind of vegetable matter in it. Not to mention just straight fresh grass and clover.

I do understand that certain vegetables shouldn't be given in excess, and that pellets do give almost all of the nutrition they need coupled with fresh hay, but it seems a bit extreme to say that vegetables are bad for them period. Is there any particular reason this line of thinking is so popular?

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

It probably comes from some old school breeders. They basically feed mostly pellets with a bit or hay and no veggies. They say that the veggies will cause diarrhoea and even kill a rabbit. These breeders don't really understand that rabbits don't have to live in a cage in a barn or outside, and that there is more to nutrition than pellets and some hay. Some of them don't want to learn about better care for the rabbits. This doesn't apply to all breeders, but I think that a large scale breeder is probably where that info comes from.

It is also fairly recently that rabbits are house pets can given the same level of care as a cat or dog. As people brought them in the their homes, they wanted to give them the best care that they can. A varied diet that includes veggies in one thing that people see as giving the rabbit the best they can.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Rayen wrote:

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, but I was reading an old article from one of the local papers about Easter rabbits and it was trying to give people honest information about rabbits and how they shouldn't be given as pets for the holiday. I came near the bottom where it made this big point in saying that vegetables and fruit are bad for them and how pet rabbits should never eat them.

I've heard this before, but I don't understand where the logic comes from. In the wild rabbits would eat pretty much anything leafy they came across, wouldn't they? I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to come across wild berries and various fields with some kind of vegetable matter in it. Not to mention just straight fresh grass and clover.

I do understand that certain vegetables shouldn't be given in excess, and that pellets do give almost all of the nutrition they need coupled with fresh hay, but it seems a bit extreme to say that vegetables are bad for them period. Is there any particular reason this line of thinking is so popular?

did they give an e-mail address??..true// people like to feed rabbits,,which might be to the-rabbits detriment,,delicate balanced gi tract and all,..ever notice around xmas time houses start boarding trees in the living room,,,well around easter people gather rabbits,,of course the sad thing is after the holidays--no body wants it--tree rabbit,etc.,,i suppose we could blame commercialism--i have a old plastic tree so i do not throw it out,,and i own operate my own rehab of exotics,.,i do not know whythe reality of responsibility sets in afterthe event,everything gets recycled-:cry1:-nice to hear you already have a handle on the diet/nutrition part,,fruits vegy,s are basically treats,/,some people don,t get it,..sincerely james waller

 

[BethM]

I wonder if this sort of misinformation stems from some people giving their pet rabbits an unhealthy diet, and blaming it on the veggies instead of their own mis-handling of the diet?

I give each of my bunnies a large salad every day, but I'm careful to limit fruit, due to the sugar, and give mostly a mix of leafy greens, without problems. I can see that if a bunny that is given nothing but iceberg lettuce and fruit might have some issues!
Plus, there are some bunnies that genuinely have digestion issues and do better on a hay/pellet diet.

Then again, I have know people who eat nothing but fast food, feel tired and sick all the time, and don't understand the connection, so who knows.

 

[Flashy]

I think it depends on the person who wrote this as to their reasonings for it, and also when it was written. How old is old?

Do you have a link to the page?

It could be due to lack of knowledge, it could be due to seeing bad reactions to veges, it could be due to very limited knowledge and bunnies who can't tolerate veges (but have a healthy diet generally), it could be due to misinterpretation of the understanding that wild bunnies can eat those things because they are brought up on them from birth, yet that's not the case with most domestic buns.

It's also important to remember that rabbit knowledge is coming along thick and fast right now, and has only done so fo a few years. Also, its easier to share knowledge when only a few years ago it was much harder to get and find knowledge other than in a book, or word of mouth.