Some bunnies can't tolerate certain veggies, just us humans sometimes can't tolerate certain foods. Because we don't feed unlimited pellets, they need the nutrients from other sources, like veggies, which are healthier for them than pellets are. Pellets contain alot of sodium, calcium, etc that they don't need when they are adult buns as much as they do when they are babies. And besides.. would you rather eat a fresh tasty lettuce leaf, or a dry ground up piece of cardboard?

for 6 years i thought my Usako had an iron stomach,, until she tried collards a few weeks ago...
I never would have thought that a bunny was capable of a room-clearing fart

Veggies are fairly close to what a bunny would eat in the wild. They're a great, non-fattening way to make sure that a bunny gets the vitamins that they need. They're also relatively easy to digest, and are a good way to get a bunny to get a little extra water.

Some rabbits are very sensitive with sudden diet changes, and will get gas or mushy poop from being introduced to a new veggie too quickly. Some bunnies just can't handle some types of veggies. Many people do not realize that their bunny is getting sick from being introduced to veggies too quickly, so they assume that bunnies always get sick from veggies.

Thanks everyone.
LOL, room clearing farts. I didnt know rabbits could even fart.

I think a lot of what you will see posted on the internet regarding "veggies = bunny illness/death" is a coincidence. People get a baby bunny and start giving it lettuce. Then baby bunny gets diarrhea. Coccidia is a parasite commonly found in baby bunnies that can cause runny, diarrhea-like poops. It is easily treated with meds from the vet, but when left untreated, coccidia can lead to death in the bunny.

So if these people never take their sick bunny to the vet for a fecal test, all they see is that they fed veggies, baby got diarrhea, month or so later baby died. Fortunately, you and I and the members of Binkybunny would never allow a condition to go untreated that long. But it does happen.

Some rabbits can legitimately not tolerate certain types of veggies, but this is why they must be introduced one at a time.

I think it's always healthiest to feed animals what they would've eaten in the wild. Rabbits have been domesticated for a long time, but they haven't been house pets and people have fed them grasses and things that are cheap and easy. It's only recently that we started feeding pellets. In my mind, feeding them a diet as close as possible to what they get in the wild is going to be the healthiest.

^^^Absolutely! The real question is: why do rabbits need PELLETS? You can successfully feed rabbits strictly on hay and veggies, but you have to be very conscious of the nutritional content to make sure all those daily requirements are met. It's easier for most people to supplement with a small amount of pellets.

I have also heard that your rabbit will get enteritis and die. Does that ever happen?
I totally agree with feeding a diet that is closest to what they would eat in the wild. All of my animals (except for the hammies) get natural diets or mostly natural diets.

I always assumed it was sort of akin to the reason why humans shouldn't live on just nutrition bars and vitamin water. Yeah, they have the things we need, but it's important to eat "real" food too.

I think of pellets like nutrition bars... they're manufactured to contain the things that domestic (not wild) bunnies need to survive, and bunnies *can* survive on them alone. That's why a lot of breeders (rar!) only feed their bunnies pellets. That doesn't mean they should...

We're much healthier when we get our vitamins from food, and not just supplements; so are bunnies much healthier when they get veggies along with their pellets!

And just like humans, some of that "real" food gives us a stomach ache... I, for instance, want to puke whenever I try to eat potato salad.

This is only a theory, so if I'm totally full of it just tell me to hush up : D

Your not full of it. I think you make a good point.

hey, thanks muchly = D