Round lettuce – bunny safe?

[Sirius&Luna]

My local tescos has started selling whole little ’round lettuces’. They’re much greener and leafier than iceberg, which i know isn’t bunny safe, more like Romaine really. Is round lettuce safe to feed? I can’t find it on any online lists either way. Does it just count as ‘lettuce green leaf’?

The reason I don’t really buy Romaine is that they only seem to sell ‘Romaine Hearts’ around me, which is the less green leafy bit and more expensive!

[Wick & Fable]

One of the main reasons iceberg lettuce isn’t recommended for rabbits is because it has practically no nutritional value whatsoever. Romaine and other lettuces do have vitamins included. Round lettuce seems to mimic iceberg, in that it has little nutrition, so I’d stay away from it as a substitute for romaine, as your rabbit won’t be getting the necessary vitamins.

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.

[joea64]

Google shows that round lettuce is another name for butterhead lettuce, which is called Boston or Bibb lettuce in the US. According to an old thread here on BB, https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/58048/Default.aspx , it is indeed rabbit-safe though it doesn’t have as much nutritional value as romaine and green/red leaf, and at least one BB member was feeding it to their senior bun who had had their incisors removed and needed their lettuce cut up real small.

[joea64]

Actually, now I’m wondering: we all know that iceberg lettuce shouldn’t be given to bunnies as a substitute for/in place of other lettuces because it has little nutritional value. On the other hand, iceberg has high water content, and we do know that rabbits get much of their daily water requirement from green vegetables, particularly if those vegetables have been washed/wetted down. Therefore, my question is; is it ever appropriate/safe to give any quantity of iceberg lettuce for its water content to rabbits in addition to other green, leafy vegetables which have higher nutrient content but may have less water content[/u[?

[Sirius&Luna]

Ah, interesting. I did find that other BB thread saying that it’s not that iceberg is actually poisonous, but didn’t realise that Butterhead and Round were the same. It does look like a leafier iceberg so that makes sense.

So I guess round lettuce is no harm, but not good. I’ll go back to my endless hunt for ENTIRE romaines. Why that is such an impossibility is beyond me.

Joe, I’m afraid I have no idea about your iceberg question. It seems to be that it wouldn’t do any harm along with other veg, but then if your buns are getting enough water it seems unnecessary.

Thanks for the thoughts!

[joea64]

According to https://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetable/lettuce/different-types.php , romaine lettuce is more commonly sold as “cos” lettuce in Britain. Have you looked for it under that name?

[Sirius&Luna]

Ah, I’ve seen Cos lettuce, I didn’t realise they were the same. Thank you!

Although that just creates more mystery around these ‘Romaine hearts’!

[sarahthegemini]

That’s so confusing – I see ‘cos lettuce’ and ‘romaine hearts’ in Morrisons. Who knew ‘cos’ was actually romaine. What is the purpose of romaine hearts?!

[Sirius&Luna]

That article from Joe also says that the inner leaves have almost no nutritional value, which is what worried me about just having the heart of a Romaine lettuce…

I’m going to compare Cos and Romaine hearts in the supermarket this evening.

The life of a bunny person!

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Sirius&Luna on 10/24/2017 10:35 AM

That article from Joe also says that the inner leaves have almost no nutritional value, which is what worried me about just having the heart of a Romaine lettuce…

I’m going to compare Cos and Romaine hearts in the supermarket this evening.

The life of a bunny person!

Please let me know your findings! And yes I’m serious (the life of a bunny person indeed )

[joea64]

It all makes me glad that I just skip the whole process and buy spring mix salad. Uh, do the British supermarkets sell spring mix salad?

[Sirius&Luna]

There are pre-bagged mix leaf salads, but they’re normally smaller and expensive. One of the salad bags would only be enough for one of their two daily salad bowls, so I’d end up spending £14 a week on just salad leaves!

[joea64]

Posted By Sirius&Luna on 10/24/2017 11:25 AM

There are pre-bagged mix leaf salads, but they’re normally smaller and expensive. One of the salad bags would only be enough for one of their two daily salad bowls, so I’d end up spending £14 a week on just salad leaves!

That’s way expensive all right for salad; at today’s exchange rate that would be something like US$18.34. I pick up 1-pound boxes of spring mix (organic) at Walmart and pay $4.66 each, so two pounds, a week’s ration for Panda and Fernando, costs $9.34 before tax. Each box contains enough greens for 3-4 days’ supper for two small buns, though I’ve been adding extra greens to it recently; this week, the basic spring mix is being augmented by parsley, cilantro and kale (the last-named only a couple of stalks per day, to avoid giving them too much calcium).

[Bam]

The deeper green a lettuce is, the more vitamins and antioxidants. Hearts of romaine are almost white because it’s not been exposed to light. Sunlight is needed for plant metabolism (we all know about photosynthesis; plants take up carbs from the air in the form of carbon dioxide), but leaves also need to protect themselves from strong sunshine. So they make their own “sunscreen” antioxidants, and they are colorful.

Lettuce isn’t an important source of nutrients for a rabbit though. If the bun gets pellets, lettuce is rather more of a tasty side-dish than the main course.

There is a stubborn myth about iceberg as poisonous for rabbits. It isn’t poisonous. The myth is so strong I don’t give my bun Iceberg lettuce even though I know there’s no poison in it. But with buns and their sensitive little tums, it never feels good to take chances
Bam gets all kinds of leaf- and head lettuces that I grow myself though. He prefers them when they’re about to bolt and are way too bitter for human consumption.

[Sirius&Luna]

Thanks for the sciencey explanation Bam, really helpful! I will make sure I choose the more colourful leaves.

Sarah, unfortunately the supermarket didn’t have any Cos lettuce last night, so the great comparison didn’t happen! I ended up with romaine hearts…

[sarahthegemini]

If I pop to Morrisons later I’ll see what I can find!

[SuperBunnyto]

Huh, I didn’t realize Bibbs/Boston lettuce is like iceberg regarding nutritional value…

Learn something new every day. I guess I’ll start buying less of it! Generally I buy a few different veggies each week and make a schedule to mix and match them throughout the week, that way my buns can get more nutritional value from their veggies.

[sarahthegemini]

Popped into Sainsbury’s today and above the romaine hearts was cos lettuce The leaves are huge. I assume I can just give the buns the cos lettuce as normal as they’ve already been having romaine hearts for a while?

[BunMum]

Bam, I think you have it backwards. While pellets do contain important nutrients, they’re also pretty starchy(which breaks down to sugar) — the cheaper ones almost always being the least healthy/most starchy (Oxbow is my go-to). I can say this with certainty after spending THOU$AND$ in vet bills, and worst of all, losing a rabbit, to GI stasis, due to too much sugar/starch. That is when I learned from my small/exotic animal specialist that pellets should be given daily, but in very small amounts (and NEVER free-fed), focusing more on a constant source of hay (I think Timothy is the best) and a *VARIETY* of loosely packed greens, per pound(I give my three six pounders 9 cups per day), expensive but far better than GI stasis and even more so, the death of the sweetest bunny ever

I was thinking about going pellet free, but it requires way too much time and research, based on the nutrients they need the most/least, keeping it varied, etc.

Again, I’m pretty confident, my information is correct, but more than welcome to other’s, if what I’ve explained is not the case.

[Bam]

BunMum, I completely agree with you, so maybe I just didn’t make myself quite clear. Perhaps I should’ve said that pellets contain a lot more nutrients and calories than lettuce. “Nutrients” sounds like a good thing, we all want our pets to have nutritious food – but when it comes to rabbits, nutrients and calories must always be restricted. Pellets should only ever be given in small amounts (unless the bunny is growing, pregnant, lactating or sick/elderly and has trouble keeping weight on). Pellets are energy dense. Lettuce is the opposite. Lettuce is mostly water, it’s low in calories but it’s also low in fiber and has very little protein per weight, a lot less than grass. It’s not rich in vitamins or calcium or iron etc. There are many other vegs and leafy greens that are still low in calories but have more nutrients than lettuce, for example kale and dandelion greens. But lettuce really is more of a healthy and harmless treat than a significant contributor of nutrients and micro-nutrients to a rabbit’s diet.  

The most important food for rabbits is, as you say, grass hay.  80-90% of a (healthy) rabbit’s daily caloric need should come from hay or grass. That is rather a lot of hay, but buns are typical grass eaters. They need coarse fiber for their teeth and their tummies. Hay is rather low in protein per weight (about 7%) – but healthy, adult rabbits (non-pregnant and non-lactating) don’t need loads of proteins. Hay is high in carbs – but the right kind of really “slow” carbs, NOT the simple sugars. Rabbits just like horses and donkeys should eat often and a lot – so the  food they should eat must have a very low nutritional and caloric value and lots of fiber. 

I’m very sorry you lost your sweet rabbit. 

(I have no idea why my reply to you stubbornly appears in framed boxes. I’m sorry about it though, I’ve tried to fix it but can’t seem to get around the problem.) 

[BunMum]

Thanks Bam, I definitely think we’re on the same page

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