Posted By Elrohwen on 05/13/2010 08:11 AM
Unless the rabbit has a problem handling greens, I think it’s generally safe to feed as much as they can eat. The amount you’re feeding isn’t too much for a holland lop.

He definitely finishes it all, ocassionally leaves the “spines” of the romaine leaves, but that’s about it.

Posted By Sarita on 05/13/2010 08:28 AM
You will want to eventually add some more variety. I have 5 rabbits – only 1 eats everything I put down in front of her – I always waste quite a bit with the rest but I keep putting the same amount down – need to learn better I guess :~)

I do think you don’t want to give so much as to make them ignore their hay though.

He does eat his hay too, but I’ll be careful of that.  I also plan on perhaps getting a different green every week when I go grocery shopping so he does get variety.  So this week was “romaine week”, and then perhaps I’ll get parsley next time, or spinach, etc.  I just hate buying more than one green at once, because it goes bad before I finish it.  I don’t eat veggies much myself, so I depend on Zeus to eat all of it by himself.
 

Posted By Elrohwen on 05/13/2010 08:44 AM
It’s generally recommended to give a variety of 3 different things every day. I know I don’t always follow this, especially since Otto is picky so I need to provide what he’ll eat, but just thought I’d share that general rule.

I really wish I could buy smaller portions of greens.  If I bought three family-sized bags of greens every week I’d be throwing away a LOT of it.

Posted By Sarita on 05/13/2010 08:53 AM
Can you not get bunches of cilantro and parsley? That’s how they sell them in the stores where I live.

Would he eat a whole bunch in a week?  I’m not sure, my guinea pig couldn’t but he was also like 1/6 of the size of Zeus.

If your buns go through a bunch of those in a week, then I could definitely get those!

Posted By Elrohwen on 05/13/2010 09:05 AM
One of my buns could go through a bunch of parsley in a day! I buy 5 a week and Hannah’s the only one who eats it.

I know for sure he likes Parsley, so I’ll buy him a bunch of it and see how much he eats, then go from there!

Posted By Elrohwen on 05/13/2010 09:16 AM

With just Otto, I was going through 3.5-4 heads of lettuce per week. With two bunnies, I buy about 5 heads of lettuce, 5 bunches of parsley, and usually something else to see if Hannah will eat it. It’s a lot, but none of it goes to waste!

What kind of lettuce?  Romaine?  I’m trying to find the most inexpensive but the healthiest greens.  I’m a broke college student living in a studio apartment, so I need to keep my costs low.

Posted By Elrohwen on 05/13/2010 09:23 AM
In the winter I get a lot of romaine because I get the most food for the money. The other lettuce types tend to have really small heads in the winter.

In the summer, I like escarole because it tends to come in large quantities. Chicory also comes in pretty large sizes. The leaf lettuces are my least fav because they’re small and wilt faster, so I’ll usually just get one or those a week and try to feed it first.

I also go through the greens looking for whatever is cheapest. Mustard greens always seem really cheap, but my buns won’t eat them. I also don’t get the prepackaged and washed stuff, because it’s so expensive. I save those for my salads 😀

I haven’t heard of escarole, I’ll have to find it at the grocery store.  I think I might print out a list of acceptable greens for rabbits, anyone have a super-awesome comprehensive list?  I searched for one but the lists I found were mostly kinda short.

Posted By mocha200 on 05/13/2010 09:28 AM
then i would buy parsley. at our walmart they are $0.67 cents each! very cheep. what i do is buy a 2 packages of romaine lettuce, 1 package of spinach, 1 thing of broccoli ( but broccoli can cause problems so be careful.) and sometimes some parsley but it depends were i shop. that much lasts me about a week for two buns. so if you only have one you wouldn’t need as much.

Yeah I’ll probably just skip broccoli entirely just to be safe, since I am a new bunny owner and am still learning.

Posted By Sarita on 05/13/2010 09:30 AM
I would steer away from the mixes because that red lettuce spoils very fast.

Romaine is always good because it does last longer and it’s cheaper than most. Usually cilantro is pretty inexpensive at least where I live. If you can get whole carrots with carrot tops, he can eat the carrot tops too.

Curly and flat leaf parsley are generally inexpensive.

You want to make sure that you store your greens properly as well to prevent them from spoiling so fast.

What is the proper way to store greens?  Right now I just keep them in a bag in the crisper drawer of my fridge.

Posted By usagi on 05/13/2010 09:39 AM

 I too am a broke college student living in a studio apartment, also in Illinois! Zeus is adorable! He looks very disapproving in the picture. 

 My fiance and I have figured out a few ways to keep veggie costs at a minimum… He is still on alfalfa hay, and no one really sells alfalfa hay in bales, so that part has been a bit expensive. But for the veggies, sticking to grocery store generics is a good idea – generally Whole Foods charges a bit more than Jewel Osco. Also, I think it is cheaper if you buy heads of lettuce, wash them, break the leaves off, and give them to your bun, instead of buying the prepackaged, prewashed “salad mixes.” I think that they also stay fresher longer. There are also different tricks for keeping different fresh veggies around for a while – if you google something to the effect of “how to best store lettuce,” for example, you will probably get a lot of suggestions. They also have those things you can put in the crisper that say they “keep your veggies fresh.” We got one for a few dollars – I don’t know if it helps or not.

Stay away from endive – that stuff is so expensive.  Generally we can find large cilantro and parsley bunches for about a dollar each, and although Lems eats a ton of them, they seem to be cheaper than some of the other veggies out there.

We also had to cut down on a lot of our own costs to provide for bun…   I haven’t gotten my haircut all year, and we are careful about eating out and the other stuff we get at the grocery store.  Alchohol consumption has gone way down.  His neuter was paid for in birthday money.  But then again, we went to the vet that makes the bun stay overnight, and administers all of this pain medication, ect., instead of going to the clinic… I guess it is all about how you personally feel about cutting out some things.  We just decided that we wanted him to be as comfortable as possible.  The clinic probably would have done a fine job, but it was really whatever we were most comfortable with.  Everybun is different!

Thanks for all the tips!  Nice to also meet a fellow Illinoisian, although I’m down in central IL.  My parents live in the western burbs though!
 

I do most of my shopping at Aldi, which is even cheaper than Walmart.  We’ll have to see what veggies/greens they have though, their selection isn’t the best sometimes.  I can go to Walmart if I need to, it’s just across the street from Aldi.

Posted By kralspace on 05/13/2010 09:42 AM
I would check different stores too. I buy most of my groceries at Walmart, but HEB has a much better produce department. The bunches are the same price as Walmart’s, but the bunches are 2-3 times larger and much fresher. The lettuce heads are huge too.

Doesn’t hurt to compliment the produce guys when they’re out there working, I’ve had several save me a bag of carrot tops or broken bunches, they all pretty much know I’m digging for the best stuff for rabbits (and that I sent the store an email about how much I appreciate the care they take with their produce……(kiss a$$))

I wish I could find like “damaged” veggies/greens!  I don’t think Zeus will care if his greens are broken or whatever, as long as they’re not wilted/bad.

I shouldn’t complain though, I get all of his hay for free.  It’s horse hay, but is clean and good quality.

Posted By kralspace on 05/13/2010 09:58 AM
They’re not really damaged, some of the bunching bands come off and they usually wind up with a bunch of loose parsley and cilantro they’ll bag up for me just so they don’t have to mess with it….lol

But when I get a head of lettuce I do pick up all the nice loose leaves people break off their heads and throw back. I don’t know why they do that, it’s not the outside leaves or anything and they’re just as fresh as the rest of the head, but hey, I’m not complaining.

Good idea!

Posted By usagi on 05/13/2010 10:11 AM
bunnnnnnnieeeeeeee! we LOVE aldi! that place is awesome! we stock up on vinegar and paper goods when we go there… they also have the most amazing garlic bread. weird, right? but so yummy. we call it the “food stamp grocery store,” but in good fun. that place is the best. i forgot about going there for vegs, they never really had a good selection when we went. but the fruit was good… we should venture another trip. thanks for the reminder!

No prob!  I do the vast majority of my shopping at Aldi, then if they don’t have a few things, I run to Walmart.

If you like white chocolate, try their White Chocolate candy bar!  It’s the best thing ever, and cheap.

Posted By usagi on 05/13/2010 04:42 PM

bunnniieeee!!!!! you are a man (or woman) after my own heart. i LOVE white chocolate. i’m totally there. 

I’m a chick, and I could easily eat my own weight in white chocolate if given the chance! 
 

Posted By usagi on 05/13/2010 05:02 PM

 Me tooooooooo!!!!!    

BB bffs!!!!!!!!!!! 

Definitely! 
 

Posted By Brittany on 05/14/2010 01:11 AM
white chocolate peanut butter cups.. oh yum.
i found some white chocolate bunnies during easter. i couldn’t stay out of the target easter section.. darnit, sometimes i dislike working for a mall

have you tried ritter sport chocolate, anyone?

They make those?!?!?  I want some!!!!!!!!!