Are vegetables absolutely necessary?

[sdrabbitlvr]

I am considering adopting a rabbit or a bonded pair. I’ve done extensive research and I’ve found that rabbits have been healthy living with vegetables and without vegetables. So here’s the question: Are vegetables absolutely necessary? Of course I will provide daily vegetables but maybe not the 2 cup per 6 lbs. of body weight. Would that be healthy still?

Thanks for your help.

[Adalaide]

Freya doesn’t get that, not even close. She won’t for the winter either. All summer though while fresh veggies that looked decent were available at reasonable prices she got tons of greens. With winter I can only find sad and pathetic veggies at the store and they’re way overpriced. Freya still gets veggies nearly daily but what she gets has changed a lot as well as how much.

[Cassi&Charlie]

I would question where you have recieved your information from because a healthy, desexed house rabbit will most likely live longer than a non-desexed hutch rabbit, so healthy for a hutch rabbit and healthy for a house rabbit are different.

What is the issue with vegetables? Is it a location issue? Let us know and we can help a bit more that way

[Monkeybun]

I seem to recall you asking this a couple months ago.. in my opinion, yes they should get some veggies every day. The bunnies fed pellets only are pretty much breeder or meat rabbits, not house bunnies. To me its like us being fed oatmeal only every day… yeah it will sustain us by my god it gets boring fast. Bunnies like variety just like humans do

[sally]

By my own admission I may forget to give my girls some veg occasionally, but only for a day or so, but when i do find some in the shops that they like and dish it out they go wild for it, I do try to give it everyday, but they only seem to enjoy spinach, anything else gets left,so for some reason local shop has stopped selling the bags of spinach! So its a case of making it last after a trek to asda for some. They obviously can cope without it but I feel awful when i realize I havent give them some!! So my opinion is, not major issue if they dont get it everyday, but still it should be very often.

[hooty22]

I’ll pose the same question in a little different way.

Is it absolutely necessary for me, a human, to eat vegetables? The answer is no, it is not absolutely necessary for me to eat vegetables, but really how healthy would I be if I ate nothing but steak and water everyday?

[Deleted User]

Posted By hooty22 on 12/04/2009 07:50 AM
I’ll pose the same question in a little different way.

Is it absolutely necessary for me, a human, to eat vegetables? The answer is no, it is not absolutely necessary for me to eat vegetables, but really how healthy would I be if I ate nothing but steak and water everyday?

 

steak and water! you know there are other options! steak and water! nasty! you would surely die!

–vegetables in a rabbit’s diet should never be replaced by pellets, only by more variety in hays.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

You could survive on cheese pizza and orange juice right? Or pasta and meat sauce. But that’s not healty-you are supposed to eat by the food guide, the pyramid-a certain amount servings per day from each group is specified for optimal health -and it’s important to your longeivity and general well being to follow it.

Yup they can go without veggies. Nope it’s not healthy.

[Beka27]

I love the way you put that Hooty! Because realistically… pellets ARE fat, carbohydrates, and protein… so really, it is like eating nothing but steak and pasta, all day, everyday…

I believe veggies are necessary for an interesting, healthy, and well-balanced life. Sure, you can feed buns nothing but pellets, but you need to be prepared for the inevitable health problems they will experience (and possibly destructive, boredom-induced behaviors too since they are not really able to “forage”…)

[Adalaide]

Food pyramid for humans? Clearly you mean this one right?

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Love It!

[jerseygirl]

Are vegetables absolutely necessary?

Most members here (myself included) are going to answer “yes” to your question – because…well, we’re rabbit slaves.  I believe veg is necessary as it helps follow a more natural diet.  Primary diet is hay, veg, then pellets.  Veg component sort of takes place of natural vegetation in a natural diet in my mind. From my own reading, veggies provide

• Provide micronutriets and vitamins pellets may not.
• Another source of fluids
• Source of fibre
• Source of silica (good for health also wearing of teeth)
• Mental stimulation
• Healthy treat

Rabbits can live on diet without them (even just pellets) but I believe eventually diet related health issues would arise.  Pellets do cover alot of their nutritional needs but they are not the ideal staple in the diet.  Mainly they lack fibre and one would have to find a really good quality pellet to feed if expecting to give a rabbit a long life.

Of course I will provide daily vegetables but maybe not the 2 cup per 6 lbs. of body weight. Would that be healthy still?

I think if you can provide some in their diet, this is good.  I’d much rather you adopt the shelter rabbits and provide some veg to them then they remain in the shelter.  I doubt the shelter can afford giving them vegetables.  You may find people will start to give you things for your rabbits.    I get things like carrot tops free from my fruit and veg store, family often offer celery tops and other things they may have excess of.  You may even get cunning and make friends with the resourceful people…;o)   As others have mentioned, the seasons can make it hard to get good veg and sometimes we can’t always give the 2 cups. It’s a guideline.  I tend to give more sometimes too as I know the veg will deterioate in the fridge otherwise. 

It’s good you are looking into all aspects so closelty before you get your rabbit/rabbits.

[Sarita]

Yes, don’t let diets in a shelter necessitate what is right. Remember they have limited resources and if they could they would provide vegetables more often, it’s just not feasible.

[Boysclub]

Posted By Adalaide on 12/04/2009 02:51 PM

Food pyramid for humans? Clearly you mean this one right?

 

that is DEFEINETLY the one thats got my vote!!! LMAO!!!!!

[Balefulregards]

Chiming in to say Yes.
Now Shelter buns may resist veg at first. Jackson seriously looked at me like I had Lost my Mind when I served up the dish of Greens. He was used to Pellets and Hay.

But Pellets are the fast food of House rabbit life.

Just as we wouldn’t encourage you to leave our buns in a cage all day, we would all say the more Veg, the better.
Could and do some rabbits live in a cage with pellets all day. Sure.
But when considering a quality of life issue, I believe that we should want for our rabbits the best we can provide for them.

[RachelB]

The more you know about bunny care the more “spoiled” (in a good way) your bunnies will get!

Us bunny slaves…..
1)cringe a the tiny size of cages that are marketed to bunnies
2)would never keep our bunnies in a cage with wire bottoms
3)spend way too much money feeding our bunnies veggies (my guys eat healthier than I do– I feel bad eating THEIR veggies!)
4)believe in speutering always
5)now know the correct (tiny) amt of pellets that their bun is supposed to get
6) etc etc etc

I am ashamed to say that my 1st bunny lived in “horrible” conditions that I know cringe at thinking about. Outside, in a wire bottom cage (it did have a wood floor as well in some areas), fed only pellets, water, and hay (only in the winter though). Plus the occasional carrot or oatmeal treat.

But now that I know better my bunnies are super spoiled……. welcome to the world of bunny slavedom hhehehehe

[BinkyBunny]

RachelB – Great Post. I know many of members have posted the same thing in regards to their first animal/rabbit and wish they would have provided better care. I think that wonderful positives can come from that – because you can understand where someone new to rabbits (or with misinformation) would be coming from and can educate with understanding. A great way to pass along information to help people and rabbits live happily ever after!  

[Beka27]

Absolutely! So many of us (the majority!) came into the rabbit world having already had a rabbit, and believing the common misconceptions about them, and THEN we decided we wanted to learn more. None of us are perfect, and we do what we can to provide, but I also firmly believe that once you know the RIGHT thing to do, there is simply no excuse to not do it.

What exactly are your concerns about providing veggies? It would be helpful to know so we could address that specifically.

About half the sources you will find will tell you not to feed veggies (or just feed carrots) and will state that they can cause digestive issues. Most likely, this is either old information (the rabbit community as a whole knows better now), or possibly info from breeders or those who raise rabbits for “non-pet” purposes. Their concern is not for the health, happiness, and longevity of the animals, but rather for immediate use.

[RabbitPam]

I think there’s more to fairy tales and stories than we credit them with, and I cite Peter Rabbit as a good example. Wild bunnies who, given an opportunity, make straight for the dark leafy heads of lettuce. Bunnies love a variety of greens and often you are drawn to eat what your body is craving. Granted, they seem to crave cardboard sometimes, but if you study that more closely it’s really that they are craving something to grind their teeth with and shred and dig. Bunnies will also tell you their preference for which greens. And unlike dogs, they leave the food when they have had enough and will either come back later or ignore what’s left. So they regulate their own intake rather well.

[Monkeybun]

My vet told me a story once about a bunny that was brought in to him, the bun was about a year old. It had been feed nothing but scraps of meat and cheese its entire life. MEAT AND CHEESE! It SURVIVED a meat and cheese diet, poor thing. Boy was my vet mad at the people that brought the poor guy in.

[boogercj]

I’d like to chime in about the availability of veg issue.

I know I’m quite lucky living in England as we have the perfect climate for growing an amazing variety of fresh veg in abundance, all year round. I actually belong to an Organic Vegetable Box Scheme so I have fresh veg, 90% of which is grown within the UK, and 100% of it within the EU and never air-freighted, delivered to my door every week. It doesnt actually cost a lot more than the supermarkets either

What does this mean for my buns? Fresh, seasonal, organic veg grown solely for taste rather than yield. In the winter we are still able to get cabbage,cauliflower , hardy types of lettuce such as batavia, oakleaf and butterhead, kale, spinach, greens, carrots , parsnips and leeks.

Do these types of schemes exist in the States or elsewhere?

 

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