Inside rabbits moving outside - fresh veggies question.

[Cuthbert&Dillon]

Hi,
So if KangaPants and Pearl Grey bond they will move from Bonders to the Bunny shed and attached run.

If they are eating grass in the run do I still give them the same amount of veggies?

Thank you

 

[Omi]

I would. I think the grass might possibly make their hay consumption a bit less, but I think I would keep everything the same and watch how they manage it. You can always adjust in a little while if you aren't happy with the ratio of the different foods.

Be interesting to know what others would do. I'm afraid that portions here aren't that precise day to day and some days they will get a large handful of grass along with other forage and veg, but some days no grass. Some days more veg than forage, other days the opposite.

 

[Cuthbert&Dillon]

Omi, that is really interesting as you change everything about. As they are both poor veg eaters I have kept a consistent kale and spinach but then added other bits to try and temp. Maybe mixing it up a little might be better - I would get bored with the same meal each day and hadnt thought of it for them. "crawls away with bad bunny mum guilt"

 

[Shimmer]

I do similar to Omi, but we both basically grow our own and 'supplies' fluctuate weekly, including how much grass there is.

What the rabbits and piggies get very much depends on 1. when I last went to the allotment and 2. what was available / growing / got picked or weeded - so it's very seasonal, but it's all fresh and 'rough and ready' greens, much more like they would get in the wild (weeds in general, outer leaves, top growth of radishes, prunings, stems, etc) - rather than 'sanitised' nice bits that are supermarket greens.

 

[redmal]

I count grass as if it were hay. Weeds, wild plants etc. and veg from the shop are counted together. I'm not really fussy about it. They eat what they fancy and leave what they don't.

 

[SarahP]

My view is that grass counts as instead of veg, because it is fresh. Rabbits don't actually need veggies. Not the way that guinea pigs do (for vitamin C).

Personally, I am utterly paranoid about rabbit guts, after my bunnies and the way they couldn't tolerate anything without going into stasis, so my view is feed them the same every day if you can and really don't worry about boredom!

 

[Omi]

My view is that grass counts as instead of veg, because it is fresh. Rabbits don't actually need veggies. Not the way that guinea pigs do (for vitamin C).

Personally, I am utterly paranoid about rabbit guts, after my bunnies and the way they couldn't tolerate anything without going into stasis, so my view is feed them the same every day if you can and really don't worry about boredom!

This is a valid view, Sarah. But it isn't possible to feed them 'the same' every day, whether like Shimmer and I you pick what's available as fresh, or whether you get hay and veggies from a shop.

All plants, including grass (and therefore hay), veggies and weeds (and therefore dried forage) will change their make-up and nutrients during their growing cycle. I can tell by my bunnies that weeds taste different at different times, depending on how enthusiastic they are for them.

So it's a valid view with that caveat