What can he eat?!?

[hooty22]

I’m finding mixed information on what my bunny can and can not eat. Some places say do not feed him such things as cabbage or broccoli. Others say they love it. Some places say a small chunk of cookie or peanut is fine, others say no. I was just curious what does everyone feed their bunnies? What’s safe and what isn’t?

[osprey]

Some good sources of information on companion rabbit diets:

Basic diet:
http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html
http://www.mybunny.org/info/rabbit_nutrition.htm

Greens:
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/feeding_en.pdf

[Theresa Moan]

Posted By hooty22 on 12/26/2006 2:13 PM
I’m finding mixed information on what my bunny can and can not eat. Some places say do not feed him such things as cabbage or broccoli. Others say they love it. Some places say a small chunk of cookie or peanut is fine, others say no. I was just curious what does everyone feed their bunnies? What’s safe and what isn’t?

With regards to veggies, my bunnies regularly get carrots and carrot tops, broccoli (mostly florets), cauliflower, cucumber, and parsley.
You just have to be careful to not overfeed the orange part of the carrots, since they are high in carbs/sugar, and with broccoli, which could give them gas in high enough quantities.  Of course everybun is different so you have to always carefully monitor any reactions towards new foods.
I would not give them cookies at all.  That is human junk food, just imagine how bad it would be for a bunny!  Plus, a lot of cookies have saturated and/or trans fats, which I don’t think rabbit GI tracts are well equipped to handle.

[hooty22]

Yeah…I keep telling my parents that they can’t just feed him whatever they want. I’m home from school for Christmas, and Felony is their ‘grandson’ so they keep wanting to spoil him…I’m pretty sure Felony has kicked my dad out of his recliner and claimed it as his own. It’s hilarious!

[Theresa Moan]

Posted By hooty22 on 12/27/2006 11:06 AM
Yeah…I keep telling my parents that they can’t just feed him whatever they want. I’m home from school for Christmas, and Felony is their ‘grandson’ so they keep wanting to spoil him…I’m pretty sure Felony has kicked my dad out of his recliner and claimed it as his own. It’s hilarious!

Yes, rabbits are terrific beggars!  Its so hard to not give in.
Hugo likes to jump really fast up the couch, then onto the top, and then behind me and down onto the end table to try to steal whatever I’m eating or is in my cup!  He is a devil!

Hey, with regard to peanuts, I wasn’t sure, but I just stumbled upon this:

https://binkybunny.com/SHOP/tabid/55/List/0/ProductID/3/Default.aspx

If Binkybunny has it in her basket, it must be OK!

[Gravehearted]

I’m glad you’re taking the time to read up on it! Like you, I’ve also noticed a lot of descripencies in lists of what bunnies can eat online. I would agree with Osprey’s suggestion to check rabbit.org, since they are very reliable.

As far as veggies go – the most popular choices at my house: dandelion greens, flat leaf parsley, dill, cilantro, basil, spring mix and about once a week kale. I generally just avoid things like brocolli and cabbage since it can cause gas and tummy upset. Kale needs to be only once a week since it is high in calcium.

I would avoid all processed things like cookies. All treats should be really limited. Bunnies have very delicate balance of flora and fauna in their tummies and it’s really important not to give them things that are high in sugar or carbs. Nuts are also a treat food and should be given sparingly.

as far as treats go, it’s better to give a tiny piece of fruit or carrot than even many of the commercially available treats. many of them are loaded with sugar. I personally really like the oxbow papaya tablets that binkybunny sells – they’re healthy and the bunnies go nusto for it.

[MooBunnay]

My buns personally LOVE raisins…only one or two a day because there is lots of sugar in them, but when they hear the crinkle of the raisin bag they shove their little noses as far as they can through the bars of their cage to try and get them!  I found GIANT raisins at a store near me and the buns thought they had died and gone to bunny heaven when they got one of those Also, be careful with the raisins in regards to what they are preserved with….lots of dried fruits have Sulfur Dioxide in them or are preserved with another strong chemical, when I eat those kinds I get very sick, so I can imagine it would be very bad for a bun.  Sunmaid raisins are all natural so that is what my buns get!

[Author]

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