Fresh grass for young bunny?

[KittyKatMe]

As far as I’m aware, fresh produce shouldn’t be given to rabbits until they’re 12 weeks old. My adults, in addition to veggies, receive a helping of fresh pesticide-free rabbit-safe herbs, grasses, and branches from my garden approximately twice a week. Norman (seven weeks) has unlimited access to hay and pellets, but I admittedly feel bad when the other two get lots of fresh foods and he’s stuck with a diet with no variety. Is fresh grass safe to give young rabbits, or should I just wait until I begin to feed him veggies?

[Lee]

I was wondering this as well. Hay is just dried grass….surely grass is ok…maybe the water content in grass is the no no because it can give them watery poop….

[KittyKatMe]

That’s what I was thinking. However, grass does have a lower water content than most vegetables, and wild European rabbits eat fresh grass from weaning. I have heard of lots of babies raised eating veggies and they do just fine. I think I’ll try giving him a very small amount (10 blades or so) and see how it goes.

[Lee]

Let me know! Is there a particular type of grass that you feed your Buns? Si is my first so Im still learning. Is backyard grass fine so long as it isn’t treated with pesticides?

[Stickerbunny]

Any yard grass should be OK. No pesticides/fertilizers and no other animals waste (due to parasites etc, so a dog or cat that uses the yard a lot would not be good). Wash it off in the sink first, to get rid of any bugs and stuff. And watch out for weeds, as some are toxic and some aren’t. Also, make sure it’s fresh cut, not lawn clippings from a lawn mower (those go bad QUICKLY and can make bun sick). I know I probably look silly, but I go out with a knife or scissors and cut grass from the yard. The neighbors are probably like “WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT CRAZY LADY DOING? CUTTING HER YARD WITH SCISSORS?” lol

Dandelions are OK too, if you have any (I dunno what you have there…). Greens and flowers.

For the young bun – I think the 12 weeks thing is mainly because you don’t want to risk a tummy upset in a bun that is super young, since stasis is riskier. But, a few pieces probably wouldn’t hurt, just be sure to very, very slowly introduce any new foods.

[Bam]

Wild European rabbits eat fresh grass from weaning because they don’t have a choice =) Our house-rabbits are the domesticated variety though, and domestication may have altered their GI tracts some.

In young animals the GI bacterial flora is not yet fully developed, and that makes them sensitive to stuff that is harmless to more grown-up individuals. This is true for human babies too. I personally would probably wait with the grass, but I have no experience with baby bunnies. I feel it’s better to err on the side of caution and all that though.

Lee, I don’t know what type of grass you have in the Pilbara (looked the Pilbara up, what an exotic and beautiful area!), but here any “normal” untreated grass is ok. The types in lawns f ex. I grow rye grass for my bunnies in an old litter- box.

[KittyKatMe]

Thank you! I don’t have any cats or dogs, and our lawn is pretty unkempt. I too am the crazy lady cutting her grass with a pair of scissors haha. My yard has Bermuda grass. The weeds I have are mainly dandelion and plantain, so I give those as well. My adults get a few cups a week of this mixed with herbs (basil, mint, oregano, etc) from my garden. I know stasis is a huge danger in young bunnies, but I honestly don’t see why grass could be a cause of it as it is literally just hay with added moisture… Could you elaborate on this a bit? How often do you feed your bunnies grass/weeds? Many guinea pig owners I know feed large quantities of forage daily, but I’m not sure about rabbits.

[Bam]

I don’t know either about grass, I’m thinking it has to do with parasites and bacteria. Like coccidia:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Protozoal_diseases/Cocc_en.htm

I don’t think stasis is the main worry, I think it’s more about diarrhea.

Sometimes coccidia is seen in young rabbits that have just recently been started on greens, and people may have made the wrongful conclusion that the greens are the culprit when they in fact are not.

Wash all greens properly before offering them, start with very small amounts.

[Lee]

Thanks for the advice, I will probs just wait until 12 weeks and in the meantime will find some grass that my dogs havent toileted on lol.

[Megabunny]

I thought I heard that grass can go bad quickly, so if they don’t eat it right away, take it out. I don’t really know, except I was raising a young cottontail many decades ago, and he was doing well until I brought in a pile of grass. He was dead the next day. Don’t know if it had anything to do with anything, but that’s always scared me.

Rye grass in a litter box. That’s a great idea Bam! I’ve been paying $5 for some packaged stuff you can get from pet stores that grows a bit of grass in a bag, Gus grazes on it, it regrows then eventually doesn’t grow any more. But I bet he’d really enjoy your idea.

[Cottontail]

12 weeks is probably the best idea.

I would think that if you had fresh meadow or orchard grasses (and knew that was what you had) that they would be alright to start as treats… but I would rather err on the side of caution as I’m not as familiar with domestic babies. My Peter (cottontail) baby was given fresh grasses/hays for nesting from our yard and was slowly weened off formula as he began to nibble more fresh grasses… but he was a wild bun so, as Bam said, it may be different for domestic babies and their tummies. My Tilly gets the occasional bit of yard greens, but it really is nothing more than a hay or salad topper for her, and she’s over a year old.

I’ve got some oat-grass seed that I’ve been wanting to plant, but am holding out til we get to our new place… a low litterbox may work out pretty well for that. Thanks for that tip!

[Bam]

My bunnies are both adult and they get plenty of fresh grasses, dandelion, plantain, ground elder, Apple and Hawthorne leaves every day during spring and summer. They have for as long as I’ve had th. I don’t buy greens for th this time of year, I just forage. They get hay and pellets too though.
So I personally don’t think it’s wrong to forage for bunnies, but then my bunnies were adults when I got them, so I never had to take any baby-rules about feeding into account.

[Bam]

And about grass going bad: it’s mostly about mowed lawn-grass. Since it’s shredded and very moist it goes bad very quickly, also lawns may have plants such as buttercups in them and fresh buttercups are not good for bunnies. (They are ok dried though and often a component in meadow hay).

[Stickerbunny]

Mine get a big pile of grass a few times a week throughout spring, when it gets tall enough and before the grass gets cut. Dandelions and greens too from the yard.

Any change in diet can upset a rabbit’s stomach. Regardless of exactly what it is (even a change in pellet type). Young ones are more prone to the issues, so I am generally more cautious with huge amounts of a new food. Any food. When I switched Stickers over from alfalfa hay, introduced the orchard and timmy hay first. When I change them from purina pellets to oxbow, I did a gradual wean. I don’t like to just throw any new food in to their diet.

Grass goes bad quickly if it’s mowed lawn grass – the crushing motion of the mower causes it to ferment. If it’s cut with scissors, it’s good for a day or two in the fridge.

[Megabunny]

That was it Bam and SB! It was mowed grass. 🙁 I really liked that baby bunny!

[Cottontail]

I never cut my forage.. I rip and harvest by hand. It seems to stay fresh for longer that way and every piece is slightly different so the bunnies seem to like it. I’m sure they’d probably like it if it was all uniform like pellets, too, but at least while plucking by hand I can keep an eye out for mold, fungus, eggs, etc… I’ve not had a problem with it yet! *knock on wood*

[Megabunny]

Oh Stop CT!! You put me to shame and Gus is going to want to move in with your kids if he hears all this!

[Megabunny]

BtW. I’m on break CT and saw this. No I’m not on BB during store time ha ha

[Cottontail]

aww.. sorry MB. As much as I would love to steal Gus, I’m sure my hubby would probably bring him back to you. lol I’ll have to make Gus a new salad topper pack for when I see you next; just don’t tell him it’s from me!

[Stickerbunny]

I tried ripping it up by hand, but, I came away bloody cause our grass is sharp enough to give me “paper cuts” lol So, I use scissors or a knife. It’s usually not very uniform though

[Author]

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