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I'm getting so confused

Natalie

Warren Scout
Having just taken on a rather neglected and unwanted bunny, and never having looked after rabbits before, I'm getting so confused about which foods are really totally and completely safe to feed her. Could anyone please tell me, say, up to ten or so really common vegetables that are completely safe to feed her, that I can use as my go to staples for her. So far she seems to enjoy dandelions, clover, coriander, carrot tops, spring greens and kale (I thought kale was completely safe and then read that it's an 'in moderation' one.) I'm after the completely safe ones :)

She has access to grass and Timothy hay 24/7.

Also, we have a massive beech tree in our garden, and it's shedding leaves and some are dropping into Caramels run. I've searched the internet and in some places it says beech leaves are NOT safe, and others say that they are safe.

It's such a huge tree I don't think there is anywhere in our garden that will be completely free of falling leaves. The only thing I can think of to keep her away from the leaves if they are unsafe is to put netting over her run.

Does anyone know for sure if Beech tree leaves are safe or unsafe for rabbits?

Thanks - Natalie :)
 
Having just taken on a rather neglected and unwanted bunny, and never having looked after rabbits before, I'm getting so confused about which foods are really totally and completely safe to feed her. Could anyone please tell me, say, up to ten or so really common vegetables that are completely safe to feed her, that I can use as my go to staples for her. So far she seems to enjoy dandelions, clover, coriander, carrot tops, spring greens and kale (I thought kale was completely safe and then read that it's an 'in moderation' one.) I'm after the completely safe ones :)

She has access to grass and Timothy hay 24/7.

Also, we have a massive beech tree in our garden, and it's shedding leaves and some are dropping into Caramels run. I've searched the internet and in some places it says beech leaves are NOT safe, and others say that they are safe.

It's such a huge tree I don't think there is anywhere in our garden that will be completely free of falling leaves. The only thing I can think of to keep her away from the leaves if they are unsafe is to put netting over her run.

Does anyone know for sure if Beech tree leaves are safe or unsafe for rabbits?

Thanks - Natalie :)


Hi Natalie :)

According to Twigs Way, aka Parsnipbun on here, beech leaves are safe for bunnies :)

The veggies you mentioned are good. The main objection to things like parsley and kale is their calcium content. Sometimes an overload of calcium causes a rabbit to develop bladder sludge. However, calcium is far more concentrated in hard feed, and you're unlikely to overfeed calcium in veggies, though bear it in mind :)

Brambles are a good staple, and are usually available most of the year round. Good for digestion as well.


There's some info on foraging here:

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits/foraging

http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/2014/06/04/rabbit-safe-weeds/

http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/2017/06/06/foraging-for-rabbits-5-more-weeds/

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?303114-Plant-Images

http://www.actionforrabbits.co.uk/Plants toxic to rabbits.pdf

http://www.actionforrabbits.co.uk/Toxic & Safe Plants v2.pdf



And a very good book written by Twigs Way called 'Foraging for Rabbits' which can be purchased from the RWAF bookshop


General info on diet:

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-diet/

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/feeding_en.pdf

http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view


I hope that gives you a starting point :wave:
 
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I have to admit when I got my first bunny I got terribly confused and tied up in knots over the greens part of their diet. Especially vegetables. The consensus seemed to be that dark leafy greens were the best but you also had to be careful about too much calcium, as MM says, and some like kale and spinach could cause bloat.

In the end I decided not to bother with veg and instead I feed my buns fresh forage and fresh herbs (everything except chives). The advantage with herbs is that they're gentle on rabbits' tummies which cuts out the worry of potential tummy upsets and they're easy to grow in the garden or on a window sill.

Having said all that, what makes things even more confusing is that individual bunnies have different levels of dietary tolerance to different foods. So where one bunny can happily tolerate different veg with no issues, another bunny may struggle with tummy problems on exactly the same diet. That's why it's always advised to introduce new foods slowly and in small amounts to make sure the bunny can tolerate it ok.


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I checked these two links Omi, but neither of them mention the safety of beech leaves?

The Kanin one doesn't, but I thought it was worth posting for other tree leaves. I saw afterwards that you'd posted it too :)

The Medirabbit one shows a picture of two rabbits, Flora and Adar, eating Beech leaves.
 
The main objection to things like parsley and kale is their calcium content. Sometimes an overload of calcium causes a rabbit to develop bladder sludge. However, calcium is far more concentrated in hard feed, and you're unlikely to overfeed calcium in veggies, though bear it in mind

I agree with this. I'd only really worry about calcium high veggies if I had a bun who had known history of bladder sludge problems - I feed a small amount of kale pretty regularly and all my healthy buns have always been fine on it.

That said as the bunny has been previously neglegted I'd take it slowly on the veg side and introduce one at a time as you don't know what her previous feeding routine was like and what she is used to.

As Mightymax has suggested brambles would definately be a good staple.
 
The Kanin one doesn't, but I thought it was worth posting for other tree leaves. I saw afterwards that you'd posted it too :)

The Medirabbit one shows a picture of two rabbits, Flora and Adar, eating Beech leaves.

:D Absolutely right!

I wonder, therefore, why beech wasn't included here in the safe trees:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/feeding_en.pdf

The only ones mentioned (scroll down) are these ......

Safe trees: Willow, spruce, ash, birch, maple, juniper, poplar, apple, pear, hazel and hawthorn.


I'm quite relieved you've found that, as otherwise I was relying on my memory of Twigs' forage day, as she doesn't mention beech in her book either :)
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone, I've been feeling a bit down today because although our second vet visit for Caramel's eye went okay, the vet we saw today categorically stated that the average age for bunnies to live is between 5 - 8 years, and I had my heart set on what I'd learned from my internet research that said 8 - 12 years. Caramel is 8.

The vet also strongly advised us NOT to try bonding her with another rabbit because of her age, because of the likelihood of then having to, relatively soon, get another rabbit for the rabbit we bonded with Caramel, and I had so wanted to get a companion for her, thinking that she might possibly have up to 4 years with us. I have only been looking for older rescue rabbits anyway, to possibly enquire about bonding with Caramel. I'm guessing that older rabbits may have a difficult time finding new homes exactly because they are older. I always want the ones that no-one else wants.

MightyMax, I asked about the vitamin supplements for older rabbits, it was a bit of a quick question as I'd already asked so many questions lol, and I think we'd kind of gone over our allotted time, we were already in the reception area by this point, anyway, he didn't seem to think it was necessary. I have ascertained though that there is a more rabbit savvy vet at the practice, albeit who normally works at a different branch, so I might try to get to see her next time. Or the time after next as we already have another follow-up appointment booked at this branch next week, for another follow up on her eye, and we're taking one of our dogs as well to get some new lumps checked. But after that, I might aim to get my rabbit appointments with the other vet and I'll ask the vitamin question again, just in case she has a different opinion.

This time I remembered to ask the vet to clip Caramel's claws, so that's all done, and to get her weighed - 2.1 kg.

The vet today was very nice with her I must say, and held her in his arms and gave her a little hug, Caramel is so cute :love:

Oh, and it turns out our vet practice is having problems getting hold of the RVHD-2 vaccine :( They had thought they could, but now it's proving more problematic than they had expected. Just waiting to hear back when or if they might be able to get hold of it.

On the plus side, for anyone who's been following any of the threads about Caramel. She is now managing the ramp really well ... [video]http://www.nataliekinnearphotography.co.uk/p360626250/h956fa82b#h956fa82b[/video]

Another food question, red pepper, bell pepper I think it's called, are there any problems with feeding that one to rabbits? I see pepper on the one of the lists MightyMax linked to, but just wanted to check the RED, specifically.

Thanks all, and sorry to have nattered on so ... as I do :roll::lol:

Natalie :)
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone, I've been feeling a bit down today because although our second vet visit for Caramel's eye went okay, the vet we saw today categorically stated that the average age for bunnies to live is between 5 - 8 years, and I had my heart set on what I'd learned from my internet research that said 8 - 12 years. Caramel is 8.

The vet also strongly advised us NOT to try bonding her with another rabbit because of her age, because of the likelihood of then having to, relatively soon, get another rabbit for the rabbit we bonded with Caramel, and I had so wanted to get a companion for her, thinking that she might possibly have up to 4 years with us. I have only been looking for older rescue rabbits anyway, to possibly enquire about bonding with Caramel. I'm guessing that older rabbits may have a difficult time finding new homes exactly because they are older. I always want the ones that no-one else wants.

MightyMax, I asked about the vitamin supplements for older rabbits, it was a bit of a quick question as I'd already asked so many questions lol, and I think we'd kind of gone over our allotted time, we were already in the reception area by this point, anyway, he didn't seem to think it was necessary. I have ascertained though that there is a more rabbit savvy vet at the practice, albeit who normally works at a different branch, so I might try to get to see her next time. Or the time after next as we already have another follow-up appointment booked at this branch next week, for another follow up on her eye, and we're taking one of our dogs as well to get some new lumps checked. But after that, I might aim to get my rabbit appointments with the other vet and I'll ask the vitamin question again, just in case she has a different opinion.

This time I remembered to ask the vet to clip Caramel's claws, so that's all done, and to get her weighed - 2.1 kg.

The vet today was very nice with her I must say, and held her in his arms and gave her a little hug, Caramel is so cute :love:

Oh, and it turns out our vet practice is having problems getting hold of the RVHD-2 vaccine :( They had thought they could, but now it's proving more problematic than they had expected. Just waiting to hear back when or if they might be able to get hold of it.

On the plus side, for anyone who's been following any of the threads about Caramel. She is now managing the ramp really well ... [video]http://www.nataliekinnearphotography.co.uk/p360626250/h956fa82b#h956fa82b[/video]

Another food question, red pepper, bell pepper I think it's called, are there any problems with feeding that one to rabbits? I see pepper on the one of the lists MightyMax linked to, but just wanted to check the RED, specifically.

Thanks all, and sorry to have nattered on so ... as I do :roll::lol:

Natalie :)


Natalie, I am quite sad about your vet's approach to a rabbit's life span and also bonding, as you are :(

If Caramel has lived to 8 years old and is in reasonable health - no major illnesses like abscesses or internal problems, then I don't see why this should be her allotted life span. It very much depends on the genes she's been dealt and her own sturdiness. My last rabbit was over fourteen years old when I let her go. Yes, she would've lived on!

And not only that, considering the bonding issue, my little old lady - who was totally blind - I bonded with a buck who was much less than half her age, bigger than her and stone deaf. She was thirteen at the time and onto her third husband! I actually don't put boundaries on my rabbits. I have seen too many miracles happen for that :D

Sorry about the RHD2. Perhaps ring around and source elsewhere?

And your question about peppers - all colours are fine to feed rabbits. Mine prefer red because they are sweeter, but sometimes they put up with what they get ;)

Thank you for asking about the vitamins. I think this is probably an individual thing. I have known a couple of vets be quite keen on them for older or debilitated rabbits. Each case is individual and perhaps Caramel doesn't need them x
 
I have to admit when I got my first bunny I got terribly confused and tied up in knots over the greens part of their diet. Especially vegetables. The consensus seemed to be that dark leafy greens were the best but you also had to be careful about too much calcium, as MM says, and some like kale and spinach could cause bloat.

In the end I decided not to bother with veg and instead I feed my buns fresh forage and fresh herbs (everything except chives). The advantage with herbs is that they're gentle on rabbits' tummies which cuts out the worry of potential tummy upsets and they're easy to grow in the garden or on a window sill.

Having said all that, what makes things even more confusing is that individual bunnies have different levels of dietary tolerance to different foods. So where one bunny can happily tolerate different veg with no issues, another bunny may struggle with tummy problems on exactly the same diet. That's why it's always advised to introduce new foods slowly and in small amounts to make sure the bunny can tolerate it ok.


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Thanks, yes, that's the feeling I'm getting, finding any that are totally safe, seems to be difficult. But at the moment, dandelions, clover, coriander and carrot tops do seem to be okay. And dark greens - I've seen mentioned a fair bit, and spring greens. And yes, I've been giving small amounts just to see how she gets on. She's also got a couple of willow branches to chew on, but I don't think she's got the idea of those yet, every time I offer one up, she sees it as a game to grab and toss, either that or she's disgusted with me for offering it up and trying to assert the 'don't stick that in my face' rule! lol, which is adorable but not doing much for her teeth :lol:

Can I ask which are your rabbits' most favourite herbs?

Thanks - Natalie :)
 
Natalie, I am quite sad about your vet's approach to a rabbit's life span and also bonding, as you are :(

If Caramel has lived to 8 years old and is in reasonable health - no major illnesses like abscesses or internal problems, then I don't see why this should be her allotted life span. It very much depends on the genes she's been dealt and her own sturdiness. My last rabbit was over fourteen years old when I let her go. Yes, she would've lived on!

And not only that, considering the bonding issue, my little old lady - who was totally blind - I bonded with a buck who was much less than half her age, bigger than her and stone deaf. She was thirteen at the time and onto her third husband! I actually don't put boundaries on my rabbits. I have seen too many miracles happen for that :D

Sorry about the RHD2. Perhaps ring around and source elsewhere?

And your question about peppers - all colours are fine to feed rabbits. Mine prefer red because they are sweeter, but sometimes they put up with what they get ;)

Thank you for asking about the vitamins. I think this is probably an individual thing. I have known a couple of vets be quite keen on them for older or debilitated rabbits. Each case is individual and perhaps Caramel doesn't need them x

Are there any problems with the seeds in peppers? I will of course remove them, but as I have OCD giving any food that also has a potential hazardous bit to it, is quite difficult for me, I always end up wondering if maybe I missed a seed, or doubting myself with regards to how carefulI was preparing the food.

I agree with you about how long rabbits may live, we can't possibly foresee can we, and she does seem to be doing reasonably well, maybe I will still consider attempting to bond her. It's lovely to hear about your bunnies and the successes you've had :) We had four rescue dogs for ages, we only just let our eldest go earlier this year, she was 18. Of our three remaining rescue dogs, our next eldest is now 17. Our other two rescue dogs are now about 11. So I'm used to the oldies - good grief, I AM one myself :lol:
 
I would seriously question how rabbit savvy a vet is, who had given that as an average age for a rabbit :) I have 3, which are 6 1/2, 7 1/2 and 8 :). You only have to look around on the forum to see many rabbits older than 8.

Regarding bonding, I think his views are more of a personal opinion rather than medical advice and I would be more inclined to go with my own instincts on matters like this. No-one can give a reliable indication of how long any rabbit would live and so the scenario he envisages could occur with two rabbits of a much younger age. It is more unpredictable in rabbits as they are so fragile and so can die of very many different causes, not only old age. For me it is important to make rabbits' lives, however long they are, as perfect as possible and for me that means in most cases allowing them to have a bonded partner rabbit. Consider also how much better the life of the other rabbit would be, even if it does mean that the rabbit would need to get used to a new partner. So, if it were me, I would listen to my own heart and head :)
 
Are there any problems with the seeds in peppers? I will of course remove them, but as I have OCD giving any food that also has a potential hazardous bit to it, is quite difficult for me, I always end up wondering if maybe I missed a seed, or doubting myself with regards to how carefulI was preparing the food.

I agree with you about how long rabbits may live, we can't possibly foresee can we, and she does seem to be doing reasonably well, maybe I will still consider attempting to bond her. It's lovely to hear about your bunnies and the successes you've had :) We had four rescue dogs for ages, we only just let our eldest go earlier this year, she was 18. Of our three remaining rescue dogs, our next eldest is now 17. Our other two rescue dogs are now about 11. So I'm used to the oldies - good grief, I AM one myself :lol:


Yes I remove the seeds, but I am sure I have not been as careful as you, and none of my rabbits have suffered as a result :)

As time goes on, you are able to relax more around rabbits. They are curious creatures, and not at all easy to look after. So many do's and don'ts! But it does get better, I promise you.

I love oldies :love: Rabbits peg out at all ages, and you just never can predict. Bit like us really, we never know what's around the corner - living to a hundred or being taken in your prime ...
 
I would seriously question how rabbit savvy a vet is, who had given that as an average age for a rabbit :) I have 3, which are 6 1/2, 7 1/2 and 8 :). You only have to look around on the forum to see many rabbits older than 8.

Regarding bonding, I think his views are more of a personal opinion rather than medical advice and I would be more inclined to go with my own instincts on matters like this. No-one can give a reliable indication of how long any rabbit would live and so the scenario he envisages could occur with two rabbits of a much younger age. It is more unpredictable in rabbits as they are so fragile and so can die of very many different causes, not only old age. For me it is important to make rabbits' lives, however long they are, as perfect as possible and for me that means in most cases allowing them to have a bonded partner rabbit. Consider also how much better the life of the other rabbit would be, even if it does mean that the rabbit would need to get used to a new partner. So, if it were me, I would listen to my own heart and head :)

Oooo my heart is to try to bond her, I really REALLY want to see her happily with another bunny. I have always had a thing about animals being kept on their own when they are supposed to be in groups. I find it incredibly upsetting. We were on holiday one time and the B&B owner had bought a shetland pony for their three year old daughter. Broke my heart to see that pony all on her own.
 
Oooo my heart is to try to bond her, I really REALLY want to see her happily with another bunny. I have always had a thing about animals being kept on their own when they are supposed to be in groups. I find it incredibly upsetting. We were on holiday one time and the B&B owner had bought a shetland pony for their three year old daughter. Broke my heart to see that pony all on her own.


From the video you posted, Caramel looks like a sturdy girl who can look after herself. Quite strong and perhaps even wilful. I am sure she will give a male a run for their money and have a whale of a time.

If she was cowering in a corner looking fragile, that's different, but she isn't.

And your photography is wonderful :love:
 
Thanks, yes, that's the feeling I'm getting, finding any that are totally safe, seems to be difficult. But at the moment, dandelions, clover, coriander and carrot tops do seem to be okay. And dark greens - I've seen mentioned a fair bit, and spring greens. And yes, I've been giving small amounts just to see how she gets on. She's also got a couple of willow branches to chew on, but I don't think she's got the idea of those yet, every time I offer one up, she sees it as a game to grab and toss, either that or she's disgusted with me for offering it up and trying to assert the 'don't stick that in my face' rule! lol, which is adorable but not doing much for her teeth :lol:

Can I ask which are your rabbits' most favourite herbs?

Thanks - Natalie :)

Basil, dill, thyme and coriander are consistently firm favourites with my buns. They also like parsley but I don't feed it that often as that is supposed to be quite high in calcium (why is nothing ever straightforward with greens for bunnies?!). They blow hot and cold with mint. Sometimes they like it, sometimes they react as though it's the most revolting thing ever! They also don't mind sage and tarragon but they're definitely not firm favourites.

Herbs can be an acquired taste for some bunnies but once they get it they do seem to go mad for them!


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