Will Kale cause/aggravate gas?

[Bunny Bride]

My lop mix absolutely loves Kale, but I am wondering if it can cause gas to a rabbit that is prone?  He had stasis back in January and he seems generally more prone to gi and bloat issues than some other rabbits are.  Like I notice his stomach is sometimes a little more full/boated feeling at certain times throughout the day and he will be more subdued and sitting in a loaf position, but never any clear signs of actual pain.  I am concerned of him ever developing true Bloat or GI Stasis again so I try to feed him well to minimize the risk.  So I’m just wondering if Kale is okay to feed daily or should I limit it to one week a month?  Thanks!

[Bam]

Some rabbits react with gas to cabbage type plants. You could perhaps cut back on the portion size? Some people give kale every day, others feed it more sparingly. It’s a high calcium veg, so if he often has chalky pee that would be an additional reason to cut back.

[LBJ10]

Generally, no. A small percentage of rabbits are sensitive to it and similar veggies, but they likely just have sensitive stomachs anyway. Kale is low in low in oxalic acid, but high in calcium. But so are a lot of other greens.

[joea64]

I tend to swap out vegetables added on to the base spring mix so that my buns get a particular veg every few weeks, so that, in this case, they’d get kale on week 1, bok choy on week 2, turnip, collard or dandelion greens on week 3, and back again to kale on week 4. When feeding kale, I also only give them two or three leaves/stalks per day so that it’s more or less a garnish to the spring mix.

[tobyluv]

I feed kale often to my rabbits, with no problems, and I know of other people who do the same. The thinking now is that it’s fruit that can cause gas in rabbits, and not the cabbage family greens that may cause gas in people. Although some people have said that their rabbit can’t handle cabbage or greens in the cabbage family.

[Harley&Thumper]

For what it’s worth, my bunnies did not react very well to Kale. When I tried giving them some they lost their litter habits and their poops became very slimy. The problems went away as soon as I stopped giving them Kale.

[Muj Mom N Bun]

Oh, my Bun expects her kale daily! I think I would be given quite the evil eye at the refrigerator if she didn’t get a little bit!

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