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Weetabix - diet staple or treat?

lunarmoon92

lunarmoon92

Young Bun
Hi guys,

Both of my bunnies have gone mad for Weetabix recently but I just wanted to check if it should be considered as a treat or something that they could have everyday?
 
:shock: i never knew that use to feed my old rabbit weetabix all the time she loved it. and corn i brought some from p@h thinking it was okay for rabbits as it does say on the packets im glad she didnt like it and just left it
 
they can have wheetabix and porridge :? infact alot of vets and breeders have reccomended it for under-weight rabbits... it is very fattening though
 
Ling Jai also like shredded wheat, but his favourite is oats and weetabix in that order, ideally he would just eat his greens, hay and rabbit mix, but he doesn't like that much and he is under weight so the porridge oats on a regular basis should get his weight up:D
 
Just to clarify, no-one is saying that they can't eat it or won't, the link provided explains the following:-

Remember: a rabbit is a lagomorph, not a rodent or a primate. The rabbit digestive tract is physiologically more similar to that of a horse than to that of a rodent or primate, and the intestine and related organs can suffer from an overindulgence in starchy, fatty foods.
NEVER feed your rabbit commercial "gourmet" or "treat" mixes filled with dried fruit, nuts and seeds. These may be safe for a bird or hamster--BUT THEY ARE NOT PROPER FOOD FOR A RABBIT. The sole function of "rabbit gourmet treats" is to lighten your wallet. If the manufacturers of "gourmet rabbit treats" truly cared about your rabbit's health and longevity, they would not market such products.

Don't feed your rabbit cookies, crackers, nuts, seeds, breakfast cereals (including oatmeal) or "high fiber" cereals. They may be high fiber for you, but not for your herbivorous rabbit, who's far better able to completely digest celluose ("dietary fiber") than you are. Fed to a rabbit, the high fat and simple carbohydrate content of "naughty foods" may contribute to fatty liver disease, cecal dysbiosis, obesity, and otherwise cause health problems.

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT CORN AND OTHER SEEDS
Some types of seeds (especially things like "Canadian peas" and corn kernels) have hulls that are indigestible to a rabbit, and can cause life-threatening intestinal impactions/blockages.
Corn, fresh or dried, is NOT safe for rabbits. The hull of corn kernels is composed of a complex polysaccharide (not cellulose and pectin, of which plant cell walls are more commonly composed, and which a rabbit can digest) which rabbits cannot digest. We know of more than one rabbit who suffered intestinal impactions because of the indigestible corn hulls. After emergency medical treatment, when the poor rabbits finally passed the corn, their fecal pellets were nearly solid corn hulls! Those rabbits were lucky.

Individual choice what you feed your rabbits and if anyone would like to challenge the findings of this report go ahead. :D
 
A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT CORN AND OTHER SEEDS
Some types of seeds (especially things like "Canadian peas" and corn kernels) have hulls that are indigestible to a rabbit, and can cause life-threatening intestinal impactions/blockages.
Corn, fresh or dried, is NOT safe for rabbits.
Click to expand...

Are they also talking about baby sweetcorn as mine have this most nights :?
 
neenee said:
they can have wheetabix and porridge :? infact alot of vets and breeders have reccomended it for under-weight rabbits... it is very fattening though
Click to expand...

I feed porridge (made with water) to underweight buns. I had a bun who loved weetabix too - but it is high in salt as well as being cereal. Either way - they are only in the short term
 
Mine love a Shreddie between them occasionally.

You see a lots of those sweetcorn cob 'toys' in shops. I just think that sweetcorn isn't great for hoomin systems so it can't be very good for bunnies at all!!
 
they love all sorts of cereals, I gave Ling jai a few sugar puffs as a treat and he loved it, I don't think he'll like something boring like special k though:D
 
jassie said:
they love all sorts of cereals, I gave Ling jai a few sugar puffs as a treat and he loved it, I don't think he'll like something boring like special k though:D
Click to expand...

Are you aware how much sugar is in sugar puffs? :)
 
jassie said:
they love all sorts of cereals, I gave Ling jai a few sugar puffs as a treat and he loved it, I don't think he'll like something boring like special k though:D
Click to expand...

Just like most kids would eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner given half a chance...... but that doesn't mean it's good for them! :p

Please *don't* feed sugary treats to rabbits - as you have will have read already on this thread cereals aren't necessary full stop. My motto... 'if in doubt leave it out'.

Jack's favourite 'treat' is his daily dish of veggies! Rabbits don't differentiate between veggies and unhealthy treats - both are a treat to them - so far better to feed healthy veggies! ;)

Jack even knows what the word 'veggies' means and sits in his dog cage eagerly waiting for me to put it down! :lol:
 
yes, too much sugar I know, it's a bad habbit to give him one or two, so he won't be getting anymore I will try and be strong:D
 
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