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Do rabbits need veg?

margarita

margarita

Young Bun
Do rabbits absolutely need Vegetables every day? I think sometimes she gets gas from the greens and i try to give her the least gassiest greens possible (arugula, Mint, Basel). I dont want to take it out of her diet if its going to make her less healthy. She has unlimited hay and 1/4 cup of pellets once a day. Is that enough?

Thanks
 
My rabbits love their greens (usually spring greens, cauliflower leaves, sometimes green pepper and herbs such as basil and mint).

Lots of people don't feed greens at all - so I think opinion is divided.

Most important part of diet is hay (80-90%). We generall recommend an eggcupful of pellets a day.
 
No, definately not.

They are and should (in my opinion) be treated as a luxury / treat.

I only feed herbs when my wife buys them as a treat, but on a day-to-day basis, my rabbits get nothing but a small handful of pellets and unlimited good quality timothy & rye hay.
 
GrahamL said:
No, definately not.

They are and should (in my opinion) be treated as a luxury / treat.

I only feed herbs when my wife buys them as a treat, but on a day-to-day basis, my rabbits get nothing but a small handful of pellets and unlimited good quality timothy & rye hay.
Click to expand...

Well, I did say opinion was divided.:lol:
Mine love their greens and no ill effects (fingers crossed) but they are also very good HayforPets hay eaters.
 
I don't feed any veg at all.

One of my rabbits doesn't like any veg, and they are both prone to GI stasis, so they are fed a hay diet, with a few pellets and dried herbs.
 
Mine all love their greens (favs are firstly fresh herbs and then broccoli, kale, spring greens...) Mince generally get something fresh daily...normally herbs if I have been able to get them on offer/reduced :) :thumb:
 
Thanks for all the feedback! even though my baby loves her greens i think i will limit it to once in a while as a treat. i think every day is to much for her even though she loves it.

Thanks :wave:
 
I don't feed any vegetables, well not what I guess is commonly considered vegetables! I do feed carrot and fennel tops and pea pods and a tiny bit of carrot sometimes as a treat but that's all. Day to day they get a small handful of dried forage, at the moment it's dried willow, apple leaves, brambles and pea pods as that's all I have left. Sometimes will buy a packet of herbs for them if they're reduced but not very often. In summer the variety is a lot more as there is lots I can forage from the garden, weeds and herbs.
 
Mine dont get greens on a regular basis, I see them as more of a treat and sometimes they have the scraps from our Sunday roast but thats it!
They have pellets daily, LOADS of hay and a bit of redigrass.
 
I've never seen any evidence to say that rabbits need daily veg. They aren't particularly high in fibre, compared to their natural grass-based diet. We all know they love veg, but whether it's particularly good for them, I kind of doubt.
 
Nope, nutrition-wise then can do without, there are other benefits but if your rabbit reacts badly to them that would out weight them. It's not really the season now, but you might find your rabbits does better with things like blackberry/raspberry leaves, dandelion etc. as these are more the type of leafy greens rabbits would naturally eat. Human leafy veg is much less tough and fibrous than what rabbits would eat :)
 
I don't give veg, just carrot tops when there are some at the allotment and herbs a few times a week, if that.

Saying that though my dad thinks I starve Donny and Lola :roll::lol: so he is allowed to give them a bit of cauliflower or something every other month:lol: to keep him happy otherwise they'd have tonnes of pellets off him :lol:
 
Just wanted to thank the OP for this thread. I had never questioned the veg situation, I now feel I am definitely over-feeding my buns! Think a diet change is imminent (should help my purse as well) :thumb:
 
Rabbits could manage on a hay and pellet only diet, but surely it must be boring for them.It is also a very dry diet, so if your rabbit doesn't drink much there is a risk of bladder sludge problems.

I prefer my rabbits to have a good varied diet so all of my 10 rabbits have a nice pile of fresh veggies every morning. They are all good hay eaters, and also eat all of their pellets and luckily none of them suffer with any gut problems from eating veg.
 
If your buns will tolerate it, then veg is good... I don't want to imply everyone should stop feeding it. Feeding a wide range of veg and a very small portion of pellets is better than lots of pellets. It's also good for foraging/enrichment.

You're actually usually better with the cheaper stuff eg. if you go to a market/farm shop ask if you can have the cauli/carrot leaves they chop off, or if you see the brocoli stalks people have broken off in the supermarket before weighing broccoli ask if you can have them... the tough bits are healthier and most places are happy to give them to you for free!
 
Tamsin said:
If your buns will tolerate it, then veg is good... I don't want to imply everyone should stop feeding it. Feeding a wide range of veg and a very small portion of pellets is better than lots of pellets. It's also good for foraging/enrichment.

You're actually usually better with the cheaper stuff eg. if you go to a market/farm shop ask if you can have the cauli/carrot leaves they chop off, or if you see the brocoli stalks people have broken off in the supermarket before weighing broccoli ask if you can have them... the tough bits are healthier and most places are happy to give them to you for free!
Click to expand...

This is all what I do and kale I find doesn't cause any problems or not for my buns anyway and is cheap, and parsley. I think often any problems are because they are fed too much green stuff, but I do give my buns a very small handful morning and night with their pellets, and they are all really good hay eaters. I just like them to have some natural stuff that they would probably have eaten in the wild.
 
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