Favorite foods

[Kristen]

What are your favorite fresh veggies/herbs/flowers to give your bun? I adopted a lop last week and I got him a spring mix planter and several herbs (parsley, dill, thyme, basil) to pick from but I feel like he needs different things. I plan on going to the farmers market tomorrow to get additional plants.

Also, how do you know is truly okay for them? I read cilantro is great, no limit cilantro; no clover, yes, they love clovers!

I just don’t want to kill my sweet boy and give him a variety of yummy things.

[Wick & Fable]

Take a look at this for a great list through Binkybunny: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx

For Wick, parsley makes him pee in crazy quantities, so he no longer gets it. Wick loves banana and strawberry, but in terms of veggies, he likes romaine lettuce the best. He’s fine with basil and cilantro, and his least favorite is mint (he’ll eat it happily, but will leave some leftover if there’s a lot). He loves grapes as well. Wick has also had dandelion greens in the past, but big quantities made him pee a bit as well. Celery is a fan favorite too!

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.

[Kristen]

I keep reading to not feed them too much of any one thing, including lettuce. Do you find that to be true?

[ThorBunny]

I think a good rule is to feed a normal amount of veggies per day (2-3 cups per 5lbs body weight), and give a variety so no one vegetable is over-represented. You want to be careful introducing new vegetables because some buns are sensitive to certain things. Give a small amount of new veggie at first to make sure he tolerates it ok!

As far as things I feed, here are some of Thor’s favorites: Fennel (or anise, comes in a white bulb with tufty green bits on top. the whole thing is edible), Kale, Dandelion greens (the flowers are good for them too), Parsely, Snow Peas, Mint, and Cilantro.

By the way your rabbit is so adorable! A darling Harlequin lop <3

[tobyluv]

My rabbits favorite greens are kale, dandelion greens, carrot tops, spring mix and cilantro.

[vanessa]

3 of my 4 rabbits love all greens without obvious favorites. The 4th bunny has preferences – bell pepper, radish, cabbage, broccoli – and the all time favorite – tomato! None of these are classified as leafy greans… His favorite leafy green is butter lettuce. I do limit the kale/collards because of the calcium and oxalate content. During winter they get plenty of chickweed. I dont’ limit any herbs.

[Kristen]

Thank you! Where do you get the dandelion greens?

[sarahthegemini]

My rabbits love dill and thyme the most. And dried dandelion and plantain.

[ThorBunny]

I’m lucky that my local grocery store carries dandelion greens, they are good for humans to eat too! You could check at local markets, or if you know of a place that is pesticide free and has a lot of dandelions you can pick your own

Caveat to picking your own, if you have raccoons where you live I would not do this. Raccoons can cary dangerous parasites for rabbits in their poo that can be picked up in greens.

[Kristen]

I know this is totally off topic, but my bun did his first binky this morning! I thought he got spooked when he took off running from the kitchen (he’s really skiddish), he ran to the office and did two binkys! It made me so happy!!!

And, I think he hates cilantro. He barely ate any of it last night.

[tobyluv]

Posted By Kristen on 5/25/2017 9:34 PM

Thank you! Where do you get the dandelion greens?

The only places that I can find dandelion greens is in organic/natural type markets.  I get them at Earth Fare and I think Whole Foods has them too.  Fresh Market used to carry them,  but they stopped doing so several months ago.

I have also grown (Italian) dandelions.  There are only a couple of places that I know of that have the seeds – Johnny’s Seeds has a few varieties of Italian dandelion and also chickory, which is in the same family.  Burpee Seeds has one variety of dandelion.

[Author]

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