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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE trouble with leafy greens :(

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    • angelette <3
      Participant
      6 posts Send Private Message

        hello! my lovely bunny, honey, has recently been quite hesitant to eat some of her favorite leafy greens such as romaine, cilantro, parsley, and basil. just before this began i offered her green leaf as i have in the past and she happily ate all of it. however, since then, she’s stopped eating other things. she eats lots of fresh hay and always shares pellets with her dear sister, daisy. i will mention that honey has always been picky about leafy greens, but as her caregiver, i know it is important for bunnies to have leafy greens to live a long, healthy, and happy life. both bunnies recently went to the vet for their yearly check up and the vet only noticed one slightly overgrown tooth on honey, but she assured me it shouldn’t have caused her any pain or discomfort. i have an additional appointment soon to get their nails trimmed and she will check her teeth again then as well 🙂

         

        here are her and her sister’s daily diet:

        – unlimited fresh timothy hay and water

        – 8am: 1 cup of leafy greens (ideal for their small size as they are netherland dwarfs)

        – 6pm: 1/8 cup of pellets per bun

        – occasionally a small piece of fruit as a treat (this isn’t daily, but i thought i’d include it)

        here are some of the leafy greens i’ve offered honey:

        – green leaf (currently the only leafy green she will accept)

        – romaine

        – parsley

        – cilantro

        – mint

        – basil

        – dill

        – red leaf lettuce

        – arugula

        – spring mix

         

        does anyone know what i can do to encourage her to eat her leafy greens? may her tooth be causing her pain? anything helps! thank you kindly for reading <3

        warm wishes, angelette


      • Wick & Fable
        Moderator
        5813 posts Send Private Message

          In truth, as long as she is eating an appropriately limited amount of good quality rabbit pellets and she is hydrating well with water, she doesn’t actually need veggies — pellets do the vast majority of the work in filling in the nutritional gaps a mainly-hay diet leaves.

          To ensure you are feeding good quality pellets, see here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Pellets

          Re: the variety of veggies, honestly, I tend towards the “don’t over-engineer things” angle, especially since again, pellets are doing the nutritional work. If her sister loves those veggies then you can continue offering them and if she eats them with her, great, if not, well, she has pellets so nutritionally she’s fine. Some rabbits are slower eaters and just generally wary of new foods (my Fable always knows when we start a new head of romaine, even within the same bag), so leaving the plate out can be beneficial. The veggies do wilt, but some rabbits will indeed eat them if you give the time and space. If the sisters are properly bonded (i.e., both spayed and went through bonding) so they are sharing plates, you can try doing two plates so the sister doesn’t eat up the veg, or wait until they are sleeping and sneakily place a plate by the picky-veggie sister and hope she eats it before the sister notices.

          If she is eating hay and pellets, it’s unlikely she has dental pain. Hay is the most coarse and chewing-intensive food option of the 3, therefore, eating hay is a great indicator that the teeth are likely OK. That being said, presentation can matter, so you can try cutting the veggies into narrow and short strips for easier eating. My Wick cannot eat veggies if they are not cut up small and thin due to his teeth alignment.

          The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


          • angelette <3
            Participant
            6 posts Send Private Message

              thank you so much for your advice! i truly appreciate it! this morning i tried offering her the other foods and then giving her green leaf and it seemed to work perfectly. hopefully it remains that way. her pellets seem to meet the requirements in the link you provided, so at least she’s getting lots of nourishment from those! once again, thank you 

              warm wishes, angelette


          • pinkiemarie
            Participant
            425 posts Send Private Message

              If you want to provide extra flavor options and she won’t eat fresh, you could try some dried herbs. I have one who can’t eat fresh anything due to digestive trouble and he eats dried sage, mint, dandelion, chamomile, etc. No guarantee she would like it though if she’s picky!


              • angelette <3
                Participant
                6 posts Send Private Message

                  that’s a wonderful idea! i used to sprinkle dried herbs on her pellets when she was a little bit younger because she used to be picky about those as well, now she loves them! thank you so much ♡

                  warm wishes, angelette

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            Forum DIET & CARE trouble with leafy greens :(