Bunny refuses to eat veggies…

[harvey101]

Hi,

A few months back, I posted my first topic about my bunny, Harvey. I thought he had snuffles (which he didn’t actually have). Anyways, Harvey is healthy and fine. He binkies a lot, eats a lot, and his poos look good. 

However, I’m having some trouble with him eating vegetables. He is going to turn 5 months old in 6 days, and he refuses to touch any form of veggies. Whenever I show him a vegetable, he runs away from it. I’ve tried basil, mint, parsley, romaine lettuce, cilantro, clover, spinach, and he refuses to try any of them. The only vegetable he took a bite of was mint (probably because of the nice smell), but then he ran away and hid under the bed. In fact, I even tried to give him fruits, including strawberries, and apples, and I tried carrots (which isn’t a fruit, but should be considered a snack). He didn’t eat any of them. The only things he WILL eat are bananas, and he is still very cautious about eating them.

He seems very happy with his life, and he looks very content with his (admittedly boring) diet of pellets and hay. But I’m wondering, will not eating vegetables hinder his health? If so, how can I make him eat vegetables? Can he live a happy, bunny life without eating any vegetables or fruits?

I would appreciate any feedback. 

[Mocha]

He is still young, but not too young, so he should be eating some vegetables by now. Hay, water and vegetables should make up most of a rabbits diet. Pellets are optional, but I personally feed them anyway.
I discovered with my bunnies, if I try to hand feed them or am in the room while they’re “eating” they won’t eat anything at all. So just leave him alone when you give him his veggies.
Here are some fruits and vegetables that my rabbits absolutely love:
Red Leaf Lettuce
Cilantro
Curly Parsley
Collard Greens
Mint
Swiss Chard (any color) (they hated it the first time, but they loved it the second time)
Bok Choy
Grapes
Banannas

You can try mixing herbages ( and other dried things ) in his vegetables. My bunnies also like if I (once I week) chop up some carrots and apples and mix it in with there salads. My bunnies eat about 4 cups of vegetables each day. That’s as much as they can handle and enjoy.

Hope I helped!

[LongEaredLions]

And if all else fails, keep trying. Bunnies are like toddlers. If they are not used to it, they won’t eat it. Keep giving it to him, and eventually, he might eat.

[harvey101]

Alright, thank you for your feedback. I’ll keep trying to feed him vegetables.

[manic_muncher]

It took several introduction attempts for Bumpy to even try any veggie. Finally he tested out romaine and it was his favorite… i then introduced parsley, thinking the texture would be interesting for him. Another 3 or 4 times of offering that before he decided he liked it. As for spinach, he hates. He doesn’t care much for collard greens either. I finally figured out he prefers CRUNCHY veggies. His absolute favorite is Kale. As for basil and cilantro, those took quite a long time for him to eat, with me eventually giving up pinching pieces off and giving them and placing both potted plants directly into his pen to graze on at his leisure.

It may also help to dangle a piece of whatever you are trying right in front of his face. Flick it around and brush against his nose, he may get annoyed and grab it, which may be just enough to get a good taste and find out it’s pretty good! Good luck!

[Author]

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