Vegetables You should feed at least three different vegetables a day — any combination of lettuces counts as ONE veggie for that day.
Eggplant Endive Escarole Grass Freshly cut from your backyard only If you are sure there are no chemicals, fertilizers, or poisons park grass usually has one or all of these Mint Mustard Greens Okra leaves Parsley Pea pods AKA Chinese pea pods Peppermint leaves Pumpkin leaves Radicchio Radish tops Raspberry leaves Squash: Zucchini, Yellow, Butternut, Pumpkin Various lettuces Romaine, butter, green leaf, Boston, bibb, arugula, etc Avoid very light hearts No iceberg Watercress Wheat grass Vegetables that are higher in calcium should be used sparingly once or twice a week.
Turnip greens Fruits You should only feed fruits once or twice a week in small amounts. Apple Blackberries Blueberry Pineapple Melon Papaya Peach Plum Pears Raspberries Strawberries Grains A small amount of oats are fine as an occasional treat, or if recommended by your rabbit veterinarian for underweight rabbits. Urgent Help Needed with Hoarding Situation. Lucky Bunny Rabbit Rescue. Lilly's Legacy Rabbit Rescue. Parsnip has Come Back from Afar.
Grass hay is rich in Vitamin A and D as well as calcium, protein and other nutrients. Eating hay promotes healthy teeth and gastrointestinal tract and should be available to your rabbit at all times.
Varying the type of grass hay or mixing hays is a great idea such as timothy, orchard, oat hay, brome, etc. Avoid the use of alfalfa hay as the primary source of hay due to the fact it is very high in calories and protein, far more than the average house rabbit needs.
Alfalfa is not a grass, but rather a legume in the pea and bean family. Fresh foods also provide more moisture in the diet, which is good for kidney and bladder function. Any leafy green that is safe for a human or a horse to eat is safe for a rabbit to consume. An approximate amoun t to feed would be around 1 cup of greens for 2 lbs of rabbit body weight once a day or divided into multiple feedings a day. Many plants contain a naturally occurring chemicals called an alkaloids, which are mild toxins that protect plant in the wild.
The one most talked about with rabbits is oxalic acid and it is completely harmless to animals or humans when consumed in small amounts. The amount of oxalic acid within each plant can vary significantly due to several factors including the composition of the soil the plant grew in, the time of year and the age of the plant.
Most of the fresh vegetables we feed rabbits have a low to zero level of oxalic acid, but a few, most notably parsley, mustard greens and spinach have relatively high levels. Note that kale, which is often implicated as a high oxalate food is actually very low in oxalates. The toxicity of oxalic acid comes with feeding large quantities of foods high in this chemical and can result in tingling of the skin, the mouth and damage to the kidneys over time. These foods are nutritious and do not need to be excluded from the diet if you feed them appropriately.
For instance if you feed parsley this week, then leave it out of the diet for next week and use something else. If your rabbit is under five pounds, feed just one-eighth of a cup. Rabbits under one year old can be fed alfalfa pellets. Be sure to feed grass hay rather than alfalfa if you are feeding your young rabbit alfalfa pellets. Do not buy the rabbit pellets that have dried corn, nuts and seeds added, because those foods can potentially be very harmful for rabbits.
Rabbits count vegetables and herbs among their favorite foods. Most greens found in a supermarket are safe for rabbits, with a few limitations and exceptions. See the list of foods to avoid below.
No more than two cups daily of fresh vegetables should be given to adult rabbits. Dwarf breeds and rabbits under five pounds should get just one cup of fresh veggies per day. A variety of two or three vegetables is ideal. Add one new vegetable at a time, and watch for signs of loose stool or diarrhea because, as mentioned above, bunnies have delicate digestive systems. Certain vegetables can be given every day, while others should be fed sparingly, one or two times a week.
A good guideline is to feed a minimum of 1 cup of vegetables for each 4 lbs. Add one vegetable to the diet at a time. Eliminate if it causes soft stools or diarrhea. Note — it is important that before introducing any fresh foods to your rabbit, it is best if she has been eating grass hay for a minimum of 2 weeks.
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