Fussy Bunny! 🐰 Ideas for Variety Needed! 🥬🥦 – Thank you 😊

[tanzilouise]

Hi Everyone 😊

My Bunny has decided to become more and more fussy – especially when it comes to eating his daily greens!

He used to love spring greens/cauliflower leaves/cabbage/kale.
so I was able to give him a daily variety.

He has now decided, he will only eat Kale. Won’t even entertain the idea of anything else.
He does like baby corn, and if given the chance would live on them.
I do give him other things, he likes bananas and strawberries. But obviously  he has to have these in moderation, so was wondering if anyone can help and give me some ideas of other greens he can have on a daily basis, so he’s not just eating Kale and baby corn?

 

thank  you! 😊

[DanaNM]

Baby corn is not really an appropriate thing for a bunny to eat in any amount because it has a large amount of starch. If he’s getting a lot of fruit that might also contribute to him not wanting his salad (like a kid eating ice cream before dinner). I also notice that cabbage, kale, and cauliflower leaves are all in the cabbage family. Cabbage and cauliflower are known to cause gas in bunnies and are usually not good to give in large amounts. Maybe he has started avoiding them because they upset his tummy? I’ve also noticed my buns don’t like spring mix too much when they’ve had it regularly. They prefer crunchy greens like romaine.

There is a full list of safe and healthy veggies here:

Veggie List

Some favorite staples of my buns are romaine lettuce, cilantro, dandelion greens, bok choy, fennel, and chard (fed in limited amounts due to oxalate content). I would recommend trying to add in some romaine first, just a little bit at first. You can try offering it before his kale so he thinks that’s the only option.

 

 

. . . 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.  

[Susanne]

Hi, this caught my attention because I have a rabbit who is picky and another who doesn’t eat greens at all. I give her extra pellets as a small snack instead, and she is healthy without the greens. The picky bun’s favorite is Kale. He also likes parsley, basil and cilantro if you have not tried those, and some lettuces like butter and red leaf. He doesn’t get much variety since there are so many he won’t eat (I mostly just rotate the cilantro, Red leaf lettuce and Kale), but I feel it’s still good for him and he hasn’t got tired of them. I think I read somewhere that corn is not healthy for a rabbit (not sure about baby corn but worth looking into), last think you want is a GI blockage or issue!

[tanzilouise]

Thank you for your replies.

I’ll try the lettuce ideas – I’ve always steered clear of them as there’s so many different opinions on what lettuces they can have and didn’t want to risk it.

He only has fruit as a treat, maybe a couple of times a weeks and only in small quantities. didn’t think it would affect him eating his greens. I’ll trial not giving them to him to see if it makes any difference.

Didn’t know that about baby corn, I’d read on other Bunny sites they were allowed it, just weren’t  allowed to have corn on the cob.

thank you both!! 😊

[DanaNM]

The only lettuce to really avoid is iceberg, and really that’s because it’s generally poor quality and has almost no nutritional value. Romaine and other darker leaf lettuces are pretty nutritious. Bunston would tend to only eat kale if I gave him a mixture, so I would trick him a bit by giving him his least preferred veg first, then the second best, and then end with his favorite thing. Otherwise he would fill up on the favorite and the other greens would get eaten by his bun-wife.

 

. . . 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.  

[LBJ10]

Baby corn doesn’t pose the risk of a blockage like mature corn kernels do, but Dana is correct that it’s very starchy. There are definitely better options, particularly for everyday veggies. Most lettuces are perfectly safe, it’s just iceberg you want to avoid. Parsley and cilantro are pretty popular, so I agree with those suggestions.

[tanzilouise]

Hi all,

just wanted to say thank you again for all your suggestions and advice.

I have tried romaine and red lettuce and both seem to be a new favourite of his!

he also now quite likes basil, which is something he didn’t used to eat, so that’s another bonus.

😊

[DanaNM]

That’s great!

. . . 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.  

[LBJ10]

Glad to hear he has agreed to try new things!

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