Frozen Greens?

[Bunny Hugger]

My partner and I will going away for a bit and are looking to get someone to come and take care of our bun. I’d be interested in knowing what everyone does for getting their bunnies fed their greens when they are away. We do not want to add grocery shopping and washing greens to the caregiver responsibility list. We have fed him packaged frozen spinach before in a pinch and have thrown older containers of baby arugula in the freezer to extend the life. Wondering if any other greens would be ok frozen? This time we’re only going away for 4 days, next time will be 10 days, and the time after that will be around 21 days – so we are hoping to find something that works! (As well as find a caregiver that we all like and trust)

[BB & Tiny]

Up to ten days I’d think washed and toweled off greens could be stored in containers in the fridge. Mine never last that long, lol, so don’t quote me on it. I have done so for a week though, the one time i went away and my son fed them.

[tobyluv]

I think the consistency of frozen greens would not be something rabbits would want. If the caregiver in one who is well versed in rabbit care, he or she should know all about good greens and veggies for rabbits and be able to make up a daily salad for your bunny, after whatever greens you have provided are gone. Your 10 day trip would mean that the caregiver would only have to go to the store and buy and prepare greens one time, since whatever you leave should last around a week. For the 21 day trip, the caregiver would have to make 2 or 3 trips to the store. I know that would mean extra charges for you, but if the caregiver is rabbit savvy and one who really cares about rabbits, they hopefully wouldn’t mind the grocery trips.

[Bam]

Yes I too am a bit concerned about whether a bun would actually eat greens that have been frozen, the texture is so different. There’s nothing wrong per se with frozen greens, very little of the nutrients gets lost, but thawed frozen vegs spoil fast. They should be thawed before they’re served, or the bunny’s tummy can get upset. If you’re planning on feeding frozen greens, I’d start a good while before you are going away and introduce frozen vegs little by little. That way their tummies can adjust slowly, all dietary changes in buns should be made slowly.

The most important bunny food is good quality hay though. And some pellets (not a lot) to supplement what might not be in the hay.

[Bunny Hugger]

Thanks for the replies! Luckily we don’t have a picky bun and he eats frozen kale and frozen arugula when we forget to go grocery shopping. The frozen kale gets a bit messy and more mushy than the arugula. I was just wondering if anything else freezes as nice as baby arugula.
Thanks for the tips about washing and drying. When you store washed and dried greens in the fridge do you keep it in an open container or closed? We never have any greens long enough lol

[Paradigm]

Our freezer frosted over and we needed to defrost it today. We gave our buns some of the mixed vegies we had. It had carrots, garden peas and sweetcorn. Not ideal for every day salads. Albus loved it. We had to take the bowl away because he became greedy. George ate some quite eagarly but it wasn’t a favourite and Charlie turned his nose up.

Since your bun likes defrosted greens, I often see frozen spinach on sale, so that must freeze well. Broccoli too (but, again, not something you want much of)

[Dragon Li]

I know this doesn’t answer the frozen question, but in regards to fresh veggies, I’ve been having great luck with those Debbie Meyer Green Bags. I’ve had romaine lettuce (with the bottom core still attached and a little water added to the bag) last two weeks. Greens without the core don’t seem to hold up as well, but definitely better than those plain bags. Might be worth using for the shorter vacations. I’m going on vacation soon myself so I’m plotting and preparing too!

[Eepster]

Frozen is OK, but it’s hard to find a good bunny variety frozen. Mostly I give kale or strawberries frozen. I’ve never seen frozen lettuce at the store.

I normally go with bagged salads for bunny sitters. That way there is little preparation. I don’t find they go bad too fast. Just buy them right before you leave.

[sunshinesocks]

Quite a few greens keep for weeks and even grow a little if you put them in water… Celery, bok choy, carrot greens, lettuces, black kale… Then maybe if you have a pot or somewhere to grow some weeds that rabbits like they won’t have to buy food for them?

[Author]

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