Can I feed lentils or rice to my rabbits raw and/or cooked? Pasta served dry would make a nice crunchy snack I would think.

I would not feed it RAW!
What do you think might happen should it swell
in the rabbits stomach? I shudder at the thought,
the rabbits belly just might EXPLODE!
Ottersatin.

Exploding bunnies...

I offer all things in moderation, Otter, so highly doubt that will happen. I have heard that cornmeal is effective against ants when used in that manner, however.

I do hope you were kidding. Rational responses, anyone?

Lentils, being a legume, are a bit chancy... I would not feed them without a lot more research. I do know that although soybeans are used in some rabbit foods, they are either steamed or roasted first. Lentils are nutritious, but I know many people have adverse reactions to them and I think they would need to be cooked. If you do some more research, I hope you will post your findings.

Rice would have to be one of the less desirable grains. Low in protein and many kinds of rice are partially processed... not my idea of a good natural food.

Pasta... I'd give it a miss for the same reasons. I have heard of people giving dry pasta to pet rodents to help wear down their teeth... but seems to me that twigs from safe trees are a better bet.

Dang. Okay- just going through our food stores and seeing if there are things on hand to supplement the bunrabs. We have lots of split peas too.

I feed lentils raw to gerbils. They appear to be a safe legume but I wouldn't go over board. My mix is only about 1 part lentil to 20 other parts depending what I have on hand. My gerbils are garbage disposals. White rice doesn't have much to it but it is a good safe bland grain for mixing with things while providing a little carbohydrate. It would be a safe treat/supplement. Pasta is fortified so it's basically a vitamin/mineral pill mixed with a carbohydrate or 2. Not the most nutritious mix you could give and yes it does include processed foods but far from harmful. Some of those same processed foods are in good quality rabbit pellets, hypoallergenic dog foods, and good rodent mixes.

None of these will swell and harm a rabbit. Complete and utter myth that rice and such swells and kills things. They think it might have been started by the people who have to clean up after weddings and hate sweeping all the rice. You can also easily fix that problem by soaking without having to cook. In fact soaked lentils and other raw legumes (double check all legumes and beans since some are toxic unless cooked or sprouted to a certain level), grains, and seeds make very nutritious treats because when soaked in water the seed starts converting it's stored up, hard to digest energy in to easily digested, very useful energy for growing purposes. They soon become equivalent to eating sprouts. That's how I feed lentils, rice, quinoa, amaranth, various grains, mung beans, etc... to my parrots. It's far more nutritious than giving them the dry seed version which we call "dead" food in the bird world.

We eat brown rice primarily, except with Chinese and Japanese dishes. The pasta is organic. We usually feed our leftovers to the dogs and chickens, but the bunnies might enjoy a "Chinese Night" every once in a while!

Good idea, soaking the lentils. I have an "experimental bunny" that I can try a few on.

I'd read elsewhere in natural feeding to be cautious with beans, so I didn't bother listing the varieties we have. Garbanzo beans seem to be quite different than other beans- has anyone tried feeding those?

Garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) are safe but I couldn't convince my birds they were edible. Haven't fed any to the gerbils and rabbits. There's a safe list that includes legumes and beans that can be soaked and fed raw on one of the parrot sprouting info sites http://www.landofvos.com/articles/sprouts.html . It's really not hard and I know people who have done it on a massive scale for chickens. They use 5gallon buckets instead of mason jars. Set up several buckets each a day apart, rinse twice daily, feed a bucket every 3-5 days from filling it depending what mix was put in it, and then refill so each day there is a bucket of sprouts for the birds.

Pasta, like so many other things, may be OK as an occasional treat but I would be sure to have plenty of hay available and not feed more than a nibble or two at a time. Rabbits guts do not process concentrated food well. They need fiber to move it on through. I would hesitate on the lentils due to possible issues with gas. Rabbits cannot pass gas at either end so it can be problematical.

That has got to be a design flaw. Lack of the ability to vomit as well.

I've always heard farmers say that rabbits, pigs and rats are the only animals that can't regurgitate. Once something is inside them they are stuck with it, even if it's poison. Something to keep in mind.

Guinea pigs and horses cannot vomit either. The valve to the stomach does not go backward. If a sick horse vomits it's usually a death sentence because it means something has gone seriously wrong in the digestive tract and on top of that the valve to the stomach is now in need of surgery. I don't know about the rest of rodents. Like I said I've had no problems with lentils raw with the gerbils and now the dwarf hamsters are eating them in the mix. It's not like I'd go give them a big pot of lentils but mixed with other stuff that you are giving no more than a small handful or a spoonful of I doubt it would be a problem.

Rice may not *explode* their belly, but enough uncooked/unswelled rice followed by water WILL swell and be VERY uncomfortable....even painful....ask me how i know this.... *sheepish grin*

Weird craving during pregnancy? I chewed ice incessantly.

Nah, inexperienced cook! Made Jambalaya (cajun chicken and rice dish) for my date and did not allow the rice to swell before serving....we were both miserable for the rest of the night! I was never so glad to have a date end as that one.....who wants to fart in front of their date?