Cucumber leaves?

[Clem&M]

I know cucumber peels are safe for rabbits to eat but is the actual plant safe too? I have a jungle of cucumbers I grow organically and the amount I’m getting is out of control, so I thought it would be nice for my rabbits to enjoy the leaves and vines, tonight I did give them some blossoms since I read those were safe.

Forgive me if this has been answered before, I couldn’t find a direct answer to this, I saw that most rabbits don’t care for cucumber but Clementine is a devourer of any plant matter, so I’m sure she’ll love it.

[Bam]

Cucumber leaves are fine, the HRS lists them as a suggested leafy green for rabbits, one that can be fed every day (low oxalic content). http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

I’ve offered my buns cucumber and zucchini leaves, but they wouldn’t =(

[Q8bunny]

The ones in dad’s garden are very prickly. Do buns not mind?

[Bam]

I don’t know why my buns minded, but Bam enjoys radish greens that are very prickly.

I don’t know why buns choose some plants over others, in a documentary I saw it had to do with what their mother ate during her pregnancy and while they were suckling. They recognice certain molecules. This would be the mechanism behind wild rabbit’s ability to avoid poisonous plants. I read about a study made on expecting human mothers in France, where half of the participants ate lots of garlic and the control group didn’t eat garlic. Once the babies were weaned and ate “proper food”, the garlic-babies showed a strong preference for garlic. The non-garlic babies didn’t. 

[Q8bunny]

Interesting….

[Vienna Blue in France]

Makes sense, my mum loves cakes……

[Willow Lien]

bam, that is interesting!

My rabbits definitely like prickly greens. Little wierdos

I have found that if one of my rabbits likes something, the other will eventually eat it even if they originally snub it. There are a few exceptions.

My rabbits refuse to eat the nice bunch of chard I just got them

[Clem&M]

That’s really cool about the preference depending on the mother’s diet, I thought it was odd that the lionheads were much pickier than Clem, sometimes they’ll even pass on treats I offer such as fresh pineapple and Oxbow skin and hair health to help with shedding, but lord have mercy on anything that enters Clem’s cage, I guess she came from a better breeder?

Thanks for the clear answer Bam, I’m sure my basil will appreciate a break from being torn apart. 

[Q8bunny]

And it totally explains why Chewie is an omnivore: people here know nothing about proper rabbit nutrition. Wouldn’t be surprised if his mom was fed human meal scraps.

[Clem&M]

That’s awful to hear about Chewie, but he is an adorable rabbit.

As expected Clem loved the cucumber leaves and is happy to have a new prey.

[Q8bunny]

Don’t worry – he’s an extremely healthy and happy rabbit. Taco Bell notwithstanding.

[Author]

Messages