Giving young bunnies fruit?

[Fox]

I just read on http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/  that young rabbits should only eat this:

• 4 to 7 weeks–mother’s milk, access to alfalfa and pellets
• 7 weeks to 7 months–unlimited pellets, unlimited hay (plus see 12 weeks below)

But is it okay for me to give Vegas fruits? She’s 7 weeks, but I don’t give her much, maybe a slice of a really small clementine once a day, or a slice of a banana every now and then.  She acts perfectly fine, the only thing I’ve noticed is the beta carotene in the oranges makes her pee red sometimes.  Oh my god, the first time I saw her pee was red I FREAKED out ahah, thank goodness for the internet to tell me that its just the oranges (:

[Sarita]

I wouldn’t at this point.

The reason that HRS suggests this diet is that you want to replicate the mother’s diet as closely as possible in the beginning (and most rabbits from breeders and pet stores are only fed pellets and hay).

[RabbitPam]

All foods need to be given carefully when they’re that young. It’s usually best to introduce a new staple, ie veggie, one at a time over a few weeks. Just about any change can cause a change in their digestion.

I’ve actually never given my bunny oranges, but bananas are a favorite. My thought is that an orange is concentrated acid, while a banana provides a bit of potassium that’s good in very small doses. I would say limit to 1/4 inch wide slice of banana, maybe 2x a week max. You can also give a very tiny sliver of apple if you want to try another fruit.

Raisins make a good treat because they are the right size, dried and easy to digest. Again, no more than 2 or 3 at a time in a day or two.
But like with children, you don’t want to start them craving the sweets (fruits) young and spoil their desire for the good hay and greens. It is a treat for a little bunny to be played with a lot. Better that than food as a source of fun.

[Sarita]

You can wait until 12 weeks to start introducing fruits (very limited as they are high in sugar and this is what causes problem in the gut) and fresh greens – start slowly with the greens. Make sure your rabbit is eating grass hay as well before you start introducing veggies or fruit.

[Fox]

Posted By RabbitPam on 04/11/2013 08:51 AM

All foods need to be given carefully when they’re that young. It’s usually best to introduce a new staple, ie veggie, one at a time over a few weeks. Just about any change can cause a change in their digestion.

I’ve actually never given my bunny oranges, but bananas are a favorite. My thought is that an orange is concentrated acid, while a banana provides a bit of potassium that’s good in very small doses. I would say limit to 1/4 inch wide slice of banana, maybe 2x a week max. You can also give a very tiny sliver of apple if you want to try another fruit.

Raisins make a good treat because they are the right size, dried and easy to digest. Again, no more than 2 or 3 at a time in a day or two.
But like with children, you don’t want to start them craving the sweets (fruits) young and spoil their desire for the good hay and greens. It is a treat for a little bunny to be played with a lot. Better that than food as a source of fun.

I’ve only given her small pieces of banana maybe twice the past week and a half I’ve had her, but maybe 3-4 orange slices (Only 1 slice or half a slice of one).  She’s been really good about not craving sweets, and she’ll often choose to eat her hay/pellets between nibbles on an orange slice.  Sometimes, she doesn’t even want an orange slice, and just keeps running around the room!  I’ve never thought of raisins though!  Which ones do you give yours?  The typical Sun-Maid raisins?

[Author]

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