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Forum DIET & CARE Can you feed too much greens/veggies?

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    • bunnnnnnie!
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        So I was just surfing rabbit.org, and it said you can feed up to 2-4 cups of veggies/greens per day.  So does that mean one should not feed anything over 4 cups per day?  It’s also a bit confusing, because this guideline doesn’t seem to factor in the rabbit’s weight, like the pellet guideline.

        I was just wondering, because Zeus gets probably about 4 cups of greens per meal, and he gets greens twice a day.  So he gets 8 cups (approximately) of greens per day.  As an example, I buy these romaine hearts at the grocery store:

        http://www.foxy.com/images/organic_romaine_hearts.jpg

        (Not that exact brand, but the exact same size and type and such)

        And he gets 4 or 5 leaves per meal, when we’re feeding romaine.  Any other type of green, I feed about the same amount.  He also typically gets a piece of carrot with each meal, about 2 inches long.

        For Zeus’s weight, is 8 cups of greens a day too much?


      • Sarita
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          I just looked at the HRS guidelines again and they’ve revised it a bit and it makes it a bit more clear in my opinion. It just states a minimum of 2 cups chopped vegetables per 6 pounds body weight.

          And for the pellets they now say 1/4 to 1/2 cup per 6 pounds (depending on metabolism and/or proportion to pellets).

          I think as long as he maintains a healthy weight and you aren’t wasting veggies (meaning, he’s eating all you give him), I don’t think that is too much.


        • bunnnnnnie!
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            Posted By Sarita on 10/19/2010 09:26 AM
            I just looked at the HRS guidelines again and they’ve revised it a bit and it makes it a bit more clear in my opinion. It just states a minimum of 2 cups chopped vegetables per 6 pounds body weight.

            And for the pellets they now say 1/4 to 1/2 cup per 6 pounds (depending on metabolism and/or proportion to pellets).

            I think as long as he maintains a healthy weight and you aren’t wasting veggies (meaning, he’s eating all you give him), I don’t think that is too much.

            Wow, that surprises me!  By that guideline Zeus could be getting almost 1 cup of pellets a day!  He only gets 1/3 cup.. poor poor Zeus. .
             

            He definitely eats all the greens, typically in one sitting (ie, doesn’t leave them and go back to eat more later).  So I’ll take that as a sign he’s not getting too much.


          • Beka27
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              Wow… a cup of pellets just sounds like sooo many… I’d much rather feed less and hope that this increases the hay consumption.

              I think 8 cups sounds like a lot… but I guess my two buns (total weight approx 9lbs) share about 6 cups a day… so maybe that’s about right. As long as it doesn’t seem to be affecting him adversely, or preventing him from eating a healthy amount of hay, I think that should be fine. Does he only have hay at night?


            • bunnnnnnie!
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                Posted By Beka27 on 10/19/2010 09:59 AM
                Wow… a cup of pellets just sounds like sooo many… I’d much rather feed less and hope that this increases the hay consumption.

                I think 8 cups sounds like a lot… but I guess my two buns (total weight approx 9lbs) share about 6 cups a day… so maybe that’s about right. As long as it doesn’t seem to be affecting him adversely, or preventing him from eating a healthy amount of hay, I think that should be fine. Does he only have hay at night?

                 

                He has hay available to him 24/7, and eats a good amount now that I found what he likes.  I’d say he eats a large handful a day.


              • bunnnnnnie!
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                  Oh, and I don’t plan on upping his pellets to 1 cup, just to be clear.  He does fine on 1/3 cup, even if he SWEARS he is STARVING TO DEATH!


                • Michelle&Lolli
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                    I always figured it didn’t matter on the veggies cause it was better for them than pellets. ??? I definitely don’t measure the lettuce for Lolli. I just throw a couple of handfuls down which expands out to who knows how much. lol She doesn’t sit there and eat it all at once, but does eat it all by morning (I feed her lettuce at night). I’m trying to give Lolli only 1/4 cup of pellets per day cause she’s overweight. Sometimes I give in and give her a bit more at night IF her bowl’s empty cause she’ll sit there and stare at me and then I feel bad. lol

                    I did the same when Eddie was alive. They ticked me off royally once cause they let perfectly good lettuce go to waste and ate ALL their pellets once. I had a “mom moment” and they got told that if they weren’t going to eat their lettuce, I wasn’t going to buy it anymore. LOL So I didn’t for a couple of days and since then, they’ve ate their lettuce. hehe


                  • Elrohwen
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                      I agree with the others.

                      Also, how are you measuring the quantity of veggies? I’m not sure that 4-5 of those romaine heart leaves = 4 cups. If you broke them into small pieces and packed them into a measuring cup, I could guess it’s more like 2 cups. Either way, I feed a similar quantity to my rabbits and I don’t think it’s an issue as long as their poops are healthy and they’re eating a good amount of hay.


                    • bunnnnnnie!
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                        Posted By Elrohwen on 10/19/2010 10:17 AM
                        I agree with the others.

                        Also, how are you measuring the quantity of veggies? I’m not sure that 4-5 of those romaine heart leaves = 4 cups. If you broke them into small pieces and packed them into a measuring cup, I could guess it’s more like 2 cups. Either way, I feed a similar quantity to my rabbits and I don’t think it’s an issue as long as their poops are healthy and they’re eating a good amount of hay.

                         

                        I was imagining them chopped and poured into a measuring cup.  Perhaps I’ll do that tonight, and see how much is actually being fed!


                      • Sarita
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                          And for the pellets they now say 1/4 to 1/2 cup per 6 pounds (depending on metabolism and/or proportion to pellets). – this should actually read proportion to veggies, not pellets.

                          I am not one to actually measure my veggies either – I have bowl I put them in because I have so many rabbits to feed and they are pretty full and some eat all that I give and some don’t and I’m pretty generous with the veggies.


                        • bunnnnnnie!
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                            Posted By Sarita on 10/19/2010 10:25 AM
                            And for the pellets they now say 1/4 to 1/2 cup per 6 pounds (depending on metabolism and/or proportion to pellets). – this should actually read proportion to veggies, not pellets.

                            I am not one to actually measure my veggies either – I have bowl I put them in because I have so many rabbits to feed and they are pretty full and some eat all that I give and some don’t and I’m pretty generous with the veggies.

                            I don’t measure because Zeus wants his greens RIGHT NOW AND WHY AM I TAKING SO LONG, WHERE ARE MY GREENS I NEED THEM NOW!!!   

                             


                          • Beka27
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                              Posted By bunnnnnnie! on 10/19/2010 10:13 AM

                              Oh, and I don’t plan on upping his pellets to 1 cup, just to be clear.  He does fine on 1/3 cup, even if he SWEARS he is STARVING TO DEATH!

                               

                              Oh I didn’t think YOU would, I know you recently reduced the pellets for him.  Just saying in general… that sounds like so many. 


                            • bunnnnnnie!
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                                Posted By Beka27 on 10/19/2010 10:28 AM

                                Posted By bunnnnnnie! on 10/19/2010 10:13 AM

                                Oh, and I don’t plan on upping his pellets to 1 cup, just to be clear.  He does fine on 1/3 cup, even if he SWEARS he is STARVING TO DEATH!

                                 

                                Oh I didn’t think YOU would, I know you recently reduced the pellets for him.  Just saying in general… that sounds like so many. 

                                Yeah 1 cup of pellets, even for a big bun, is like a Thanksgiving feast.

                                 


                              • TacoBird
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                                  This is exactly the discussion I need. We are new bunny owners and I am so confused by this. We just adopted a 2 year old mini-lop bunny from HRS. She is cleaning out her bowl at 2 cups of the veggies… and she wants more! She flipped her crock this morning letting me know she was hungry. I understand the need of measuring the pellets… it is the fresh that I am confused by. Can I offer to much? I am fine with throwing some away until I figure out what portion is good for her.

                                  We also have 5 parrots.. I am accustomed to giving them a large amount so that they can ‘graze’ on what they want… I want to do the same for her and have been concerned if I can offer to much. My thought was that in the wild, they graze all day. She does have her own room and is out and excersiing off and on all day.

                                  Thank you!
                                  Becky


                                • Sarita
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                                    Hi Becky, welcome.

                                    How much pellets are you feeding your new rabbit?


                                  • TacoBird
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                                      We are feeding her 1/4 a cup. She has all ready emptied that today.


                                    • Sarita
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                                        I think then I would up the greens – 2 cups is really not much for a rabbit her size. I say slowly increase it so as not to waste too much.

                                        I find with my rabbits that they will only eat what they want and they won’t over eat. Alot does depend on activity level, metabolism, age, etc…she’s young and she’s probably pretty active so more would be better than not enough. As long as she eats plenty of hay too – is she a good hay eater?


                                      • TacoBird
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                                          You are my hero today… thank you! She is a good hay eater, seems to be doing well with eatiing that also.

                                          Since the pellet dish is empty, should I refill? Or just keep with giving her more greens tonight? I have another dish fixed for her. My fridge never looked so green!

                                          Thanks again!


                                        • Sarita
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                                            No, just feed her the 1/4 cup at the same time everyday, don’t refill it. I would just give her more greens tonight. You really want the bulk of her diet to be the hay and if she’s a good hay eater, then that is good.


                                          • Beka27
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                                              With adult rabbits on a limited pellet diet, once those pellets are gone… they’re gone. Until the next day. If buns always have pellets, they may choose to “graze” on them rather than on hay, which can be detrimental to their health. A bun her size could safely get between 2-4 cups a day.


                                            • jennyrabbit
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                                                hey, Jenny is only 4lbs(ok 4.6lbs to be exact) and she gets about 4 cups of veggies a day, although to be fair she eats pellet free. her weight is perfect and doesnt budge at all.


                                              • MayaConsuelo
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                                                  I had this confusion when I got Bun-Bun too… he always had unlimited pellets and hay in his cage before, but I switched him to a veggie only diet (still with unlimited hay.) He eats about 3 cups of veggies every day (and weighs 3.5 lbs). It’s hard to measure leafy greens too, but if you squeeze the greens and they overfill your hand, I estimate that to be about a cup. If you put the greens loosely into a measuring cup, that’s mostly air. And yes I figure he could easily eat twice what he eats, he seems to inhale whatever is in front of him. Occasionally he’ll leave stuff he doesn’t like that much for later. He gets about a tablespoon of pellets a day, spread out as treats. As long as there’s hay and they can eat all they want, you don’t have to worry about depriving them!


                                                • TacoBird
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                                                    Thank you all so much. I am feeling better. I fed her again this evening what I thought would be a good 2 cups… and it is cleaned out again. I made she has hay and now I know she is ok! I was so worried about over feeding her.


                                                  • Elrohwen
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                                                      Like most of you, I don’t measure my greens either. I just use the salad spinner as my general measure – about 1 1/2 spinner’s full. Haha. That ends up being 2 of those lettuce bowls packed full of veggies, twice a day. I haven’t actually measured it, but I have measured herbs for recipes and the amount you can pack into a measuring cup looks far different than what it looks like as full leaves.

                                                      eta: I should say that I use a “small” sized salad spinner and that amount is for my bonded pair.


                                                    • TacoBird
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                                                        Thanks for salad spinner visual… that is what I am using and I did that same thing this morning! I have a cute picture… will work on figuring out how to upload…

                                                        This is my daughter, Krisitna, feeding Lollypop her 1/2 of carrot this morning. The volunteers from rescue told me she is food agressive when dishes are put in, so I have devised this to keep her busy. Kristina is happy because she gets to feed her safely, Lolly is happy because she gets to eat and I get the food changed!

                                                        She just found the 2nd and 3rd level of her cage today… we were very excited. We have bunny proofed this room for her. It is right beside my office, as I work from home. It has been hard to get work done last 2 days, would rather watch her.

                                                        Sh


                                                      • Sarita
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                                                          That is a cute picture! So glad Lollypop is fitting in so well too.


                                                        • Karla
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                                                            I’ve always wondered why the amount of veggies isn’t measured in weight. That would be so much easier. Cups just doesn’t make sense to me. But I remember someone mentioned once that it should match the size of the rabbit’s head – and that’s more or less what I stick to Although I do think mine get too many veggies, but then again once in a while they only have hay days.


                                                          • Beka27
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                                                              ^^^I heard the daily amount should match the size of the entire rabbit. Mine eat much more each day than the size of their head.


                                                            • Sarita
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                                                                The size of their head? I’ve never heard that – rabbits generally have small heads no matter the size of their bodies so that doesn’t seem nearly enough to me.


                                                              • MayaConsuelo
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                                                                  I feed close to the size of the entire rabbit each day I would say. I’m attaching a picture, that bowl that Mr. Bun-Bun is eating from is what I give him twice a day. It’s generally almost full each time, but with the greens it’s not tightly packed.

                                                                  I love this picture too because it shows the girl I babysit helping herself to some of his food.


                                                                • GrumpyBun
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                                                                    Cute child/bun combinations!

                                                                    TacoBird, may I ask why you have a picture of your rabbit on her condo? Is that writing below the photo? I’m really intrigued!


                                                                  • TacoBird
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                                                                      We just got her Sunday from the rescue… that picture was taped to her carrier… my daughter took photo to school and then came home and hung it up! I have not had the heart to move it yet! 


                                                                    • TacoBird
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                                                                        I feel so much better after hearing from your experienced people on the portions! I must have given her enough today… she did not empty it! 

                                                                        Cute picture!


                                                                      • MayaConsuelo
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                                                                          TacoBird I didn’t see your cute picture above until just now! Yes every thread would benefit from adorable bunny/child pics. I bet your bunny will become less aggressive as she gets comfortable in your home and realizes she does not need to compete for food or space!


                                                                        • Beka27
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                                                                            As far as food aggression, with some rabbits you can reach in and immediately start firmly petting their forehead. If they like pets, this will relax them enough that you can put the food dish in. And if they start to lunge, you have your hand on their forehead… just firmly hold it down.


                                                                          • GrumpyBun
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                                                                              Posted By TacoBird on 10/20/2010 05:02 PM

                                                                              We just got her Sunday from the rescue… that picture was taped to her carrier… my daughter took photo to school and then came home and hung it up! I have not had the heart to move it yet! 

                                                                              I see! Mystery solved  I would not have the heart to move it either.


                                                                            • TacoBird
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                                                                                thanks for words on hand on forehead. We also have large macaws, so I am accostumed to their antics, and we do similiar with their beaks! I am just learning to read her body language!


                                                                              • Elrohwen
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                                                                                  Posted By Beka27 on 10/20/2010 02:37 PM
                                                                                  ^^^I heard the daily amount should match the size of the entire rabbit. Mine eat much more each day than the size of their head.

                                                                                  This is about what I do – each bun eats approximately their own body volume per day (with the veggies in un-compressed form)

                                                                                   

                                                                                  eta: So cool that you have macaws! Would you humor me and post some pics in Hangout? I’ve always wanted a parrot, but I’m kind of afraid of birds so I doubt I’ll ever get one. I’m fascinated by them though!


                                                                                • Dee
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                                                                                    My buns are 5 and 6 lbs, respectively, and they get unlimitd hay and unlimited greens, which consist of collard and dandelion greens, parsley, and occasionally escarole, kale (small amounts), carrot greens and swis chard. They have a big salad bowl and I check it throughout the day and night, and toss in fresh greens whenever they run out. I find that they eat a LOT during the night and at sunrise, take a break during the day, and regain their appetites at sundown. They always pick at their hay, and they only get about 1 tbsp of pellets a day- for both of them to share. They don’t like their pellets anway, ever since I switched from the “junk food” kind to Oxbow. Every night before I go to bed, they get a full bowl of greens and a couple slices of apple, diced, and about 1/4 of diced banana. Ever since I cut down on the fruit and pellets, BunBun (my sensitive tummy bunny) has done nice normal poops . I have never had problems with too many veggies- I think my buns need them cuz they don’t drink much water. In fact, I have never seen Nelli drink water in the 2+ years I’ve had her. strange.

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                                                                                Forum DIET & CARE Can you feed too much greens/veggies?