Feeding veggies is not an absolute necessity. However, I do not recall Sherwood saying that you shouldn’t feed them at all.

As LBJ says, vegetables are not a necessity. Rabbits are grass-eaters and have evolved as grass eaters for millions of years. This doesn’t mean that a small amount of vegetables is bad for a rabbit – but it shouldn’t be so much that it interferes with the bun’s appetite for hay.

When it comes to hay, rabbits do best on a variety of hays, because rabbits forage over big areas in the wild.

I looked at Sherwood’s website, and they’re saying “Encourage your pet to eat more hay by reducing the amount of fruits, veggies, treats, and even greens you feed your pet.”

Yeah ya know, that’s one of the things about Sherwood that I’m not too convinced off (and I do feed sherwood pellets and think my rabbits have done really well on them). Like I get their point, but some of their messaging makes it sounds like veggies are the ultimate cause of all rabbit health issues, which I really disagree with. It also kind of rubs me the wrong way when any product has marketing that says “don’t do this thing widely considered to be healthy, but buy OUR product instead!”. No pellet is perfect (including sherwood), and most of us aren’t feeding a variety of hays or wild plants all the time, so I consider veggies a way to add some variety and added nutrients to the diet. Plus they are very hydrating and enriching for the bun.

I will say I have really reduced my rabbits’ salad portion over the last few years and I think it has improved their health (fewer bouts of weird gas, etc). I think a lot of info on rabbit diets recommends a large amount of veggies (like the 2 cups per lb number I see thrown around sometimes), with less emphasis on what types of veggies to feed. Overfeeding veggies does fill the bun up and would lead to too little hay consumption, so I think that there are probably many people who’s buns would benefit from less veggies.

I think if your buns eat plenty of hay and their poops look good, then there is no need to change what you’re doing. Humans certainly don’t NEED ice cream, but it is delicious from time to time!

I too give my bun veggies, and I too have reduced the amount I give. I now consider veggies enrichment – i e it adds quite a bit to quality of life but not any significant amount of nutrients. During the vegetation period I have access to a wide variety of leaves and herbs – this time of year, not so much. My bun gets fresh apple twigs and some fresh grass and a little bit of store bought veggies, same as the rest of the family eats. I currently have four kinds of hay that I alternate between and 4 kinds of pellets.

I will say here, Sherwood is a very misleading company. This article is what you should be listening to:

Rabbit Diet 101: What To Feed Your Rabbit

If you look at the bunny diet chart in the article, it says, Hay 80%, Veggies 10% pellets 5%, and treats 0-5%. Please don’t believe the garbage about no veggies, it not true at all. Now, veggies can be overdone, but if you go by the article you will be giving just enough. Pellets are a treat and not the healthiest thing anyway.

Reading what everyone else is saying, it sounds like Sherwood suggests reducing the amount of veggies, fruits, and treats if your bunny is not eating enough hay. If that’s the case, then I would agree with this. They can most definitely fill up of veggies, just like they can fill up on pellets. You want to make sure they are eating enough hay. Like Dana said though, if your bunny is eating plenty of hay as is, then you shouldn’t need to change anything.

For the record though, I did start feeding less veggies. Old age/gas issues just don’t seem to mix with veggies very well.

haha!