Parsley Overdose?

[DeVaStAt0r]

 Right now the main veggie in gizmo’s diet is parsley. is it possible it’s bad for him to only have one main veggie?

 

I’ve tried kale, cilantro and the dark baby romaine leaves and each one resulted in poopy bum with cilantro being the worst. 

 

Right now he gets about half a cup of parsley topped with some alfalpha sprouts and his pellets. 

 

Are there any other recomendations? i’ve gone though the HRS veggie list and not many of them work with his poor tummy. 

[Monkeybun]

Monkey loves her green leaf lettuce and her carrot tops, have you tried those?

[MimzMum]

Wow, this sounds like Fiver, who can’t hardly eat greens at all because it messes with his cecals and he then gets them all over his feet.
Even baby romaine is no good? How old is Gizmo? What kind of pellets are you feeding him?

[Lintini]

Ooo that’s too bad about cilantro, Bun LOVES it. Hmm Parsley is a favorite over here too, a lot of people say to vary the green diet but if they take a liking to a certain type I don’t see a huge issue with it, as long as you do spice it up once and awhile with something else. Mint is a nice treat now and then to add in the salad!

[Jenna, Chubs & Comet]

I have about 5 veggies that they get a mix of every day. Chubs is so dang picky that it’s just easier to give him what he likes. They usually get a mixture of parsley (italian and regular- they like both), cilantro, romaine lettuce, cellery, and recently added kale. Neither one of them has had any bad reaction to any of those, and so every once in a while, we’ll just try something new. (The Kale I just introduced this past week and it’s been a hit.) I think them getting some greens is more important than none, even if you’re kind of limited on what you can give!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

TBH as long as parsley isn’t the only veggie I don’t think it’s a biggie that its the mainstay

[RabbitPam]

I like the milder lettuces – green leaf and red leaf – as staples. I like Romaine too, but you’ve had to rule that out.
Carrot tops are well received in my house.

[DeVaStAt0r]

We’ve just started mixing Oxbow pellets in his original pellets. No reaction (yay!)

he definatly loves his veggies (he currently has a green mustache haha), but alot of them don’t love him back

i’m going to try some carrot tops next.

At least we do mix it up and he gets excited for his food, about breakfast time and dinner time he gets a small bowl of parsley topped with alfalpha sprouts, his mix of pellets, and a small amount of “treat food” like green pepper, mint or basil. he can’t handle alot of them but the small amount get him excited. and he’ll thump if you take too long to make it. So a small mix is better than no mix i guess.

[DeVaStAt0r]

If there is ever a parsley shortage my bunny will go on a rampage.

[Sarita]

It’s possible that once you get him on the oxbow timothy he may not have those poopy butt problems with the veggies. Many times poopy butt problems can be the result of the alfalfa pellet and the veggies which may just be too much for him.

[DeVaStAt0r]

That’s true, he was on a timothy pellet all along though, he doesn’t have a high tolerance for alfalfa Hay or pellets but the sprouts work great we are switching to the oxbow just because it’s a better quality and not as dusty.

he has unlimited timothy hay and we mix in small amounts of alfalfa because he does like it but too much doesn’t make him feel very good. He drinks almost a full bowl of water a day as well. He’s really healthy i just wish he could handle more variety, but we have alot more treat foods because he can handle some teeny amounts of some of them. like a couple leaves of cilantro, or basil.

We don’t give him bunny junk food. the worst thing he ever ate was he stole some dogfood from sophie’s kennel. (that’s now kept way out of the way when he’s on play time.

[Sarita]

Some rabbits are very sensitive to vegetables which is sad for both the rabbit and the owner since we want to give our rabbits greens they enjoy. He sounds like a very sensitive rabbit to me. It’s hard sometimes to find the right balance for these rabbits. Let us know how he does on the Oxbow – hopefully he will like them and you won’t have an issue with a picky pellet bunny.

[MooBunnay]

I’m glad your little bun has a good Mom that watches his tummy problems My bunnies will start trying to climb the sides of their cages if I take to long to make their salads, so I know what you mean!

[Dee]

I gotta try alfalfa sprouts- good idea! My BunBun has a delicate tummy too, plus he’s a picky eater. He LOVES his parsley- it’s the one green we CANNOT be out of. It’s pretty difficult to give him a variety of veggies, but here’s the ones that he tolerates.

PARSLEY!!!
Green/Red Leaf Lettuce
Collard Greens
Dandelion Greens
Kale (small amounts only!)
Arugula (gives slight poopy butt I think)
Watercress (same reaction as arugula)
Carrot Tops

Romaine and brocolli give BunBun poopy butt, and all other greens/herbs are met with disgust. And Nelli won’t eat anything BunBun won’t eat, so there we have it. When I first got Nelli, she really didn’t seem to know what fresh greens were. All she would eat was lettuce, but after watching her husband enjoy his salads, she learned to try new things. I remember the first day she tried parsley and how proud we were of her. Poor Nelli had such a bad start in life- she was kept with her mother, another mother rabbit and their two litters, and their owners fed them ONLY bread and potatoes! She was rescued by a shelter, thank God, and we adopted her when she was 5 months old. It’s not surprising that she has food issues. Our BunBun was abused and neglected by our neighbors until we saw him in the backyard and took him in. He probably didn’t get greens either. It’s so fun to be able to provide good food for the buns, but it’s hard when they either can’t or won’t eat a variety. You’re lucky that your bun eats Oxbow pellets- they’re the best for them, but my bunnies barely touch them. I used to get the Russell Rabbit pellets, loaded with all kinds of naughty “treats”, but after reading up on here, I realize that they were the main cause of his constant poopy butt. After switched to Oxbow, his stomache is much calmer. You will probablt find the same thing once Gizmo is completely on Oxbow pellets. Good luck!

[Bunnifufu]

Hi, I realize this is an old post, but for those that haven’t been on in a while or those of you who are new. I’d like to share my experience in hopes to help others out there. Please be careful with parsley. It’s filled with calcium and too much calcium can not be tolerated by most bunnies once they’re over 4-6 months old. My rabbit was eating a lot of parsley, kale and carrot tops. Turns out he couldn’t process the calcium quick enough and got bladder sludge. It was awful. He literally pushed out a thick toothpaste like consistency with a grainy sand like urine. When he finally started crying while peeing I realized it. I took him to the ER vet. They put him on a calcium free diet. Except for his gay. They even told me just 10-15 pellets at the most. Once I triggered the bladder sludge in my rabbit. He never truly recovered. It was non stop trips to the vet for a year and it did not end well. He was getting urine scold and he had to go to the vet every week and get cleaned, shaved, etc. it was heartbreaking. The vet said we can try and operate and see if he can clear the sludge, but before we made his appointment I lost him. So please learn from my experience. Print out a list of high calcium veggies and look at pellets and hay while calculating their calcium. Off the top of my head it’s carrot tops, kale, parsley, spinach, mustard leaf. I could only use cilantro, green/red leaf lettuce, the tops from celery (leaves) and actual celery root plant (the leaves, not root) if you’re near a Whole Foods . They carry most organic fresh veggies. I learned now that I can only do baby leaf lettuce, cilantro and celery leaf, but my bunny now us happy with that. Although she loves her carrot tops. I can’t give them to her except a drop once a month. She 9 years old and I don’t want her to end up with bladder and kidney issues like my other rabbit. When you have young rabbits they do need more nutrients and calories, but don’t continue past 6 months max.
I hope I was able to help anyone that wasn’t aware, because my hear still hurts from the loss of my Mr. Honey. 5 years was too short and I miss him dearly. Bunnies love their treats, but I’ve learned to be a strict bunny mom and say “ sorry but enough treats cause I love you” they’re not happy at the moment, but they’ll thank you as the years go on by being happy and healthy.

[Bam]

Hi Bunnifufu!

I’m very sorry for your loss. It is an old thread but it is lovely of you to warn others.

You shouldn’t judge yourself though. It isn’t known why some rabbits develop sludge and some don’t. Some buns can eat kale every day of their lives and be fine. I had a bun that had high calcium levels in his blood, I could not have known if he hadn’t had bloodtests done. He couldn’t have kale or parsley again, but he was happy with other vegs, especially fennel (low calcium).

Rabbits do absorb all calcium they eat, so calcium intake must be controlled. But they also need quite a bit of calcium for their teeth and skeleton, and it can be difficult to find the right balance. .

[Author]

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