Age to start on Fresh/Natural?

[Frecs]

I thought I knew the answer to this but comments from others have me needing to ask to be sure of what I'm doing...

Is it necessary to wait until buns are a certain age before offering fresh greens? If so, what age?

I thought it was fine to start offering fresh greens and grains to them now -- ages 2 and 3 months -- as long as I build them up slowly. Am I right or wrong on this?

:bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop:

 

[AnnClaire]

Frecs, yes, go ahead and start them slowly ... sprinkle a couple of leaves the first couple of nights, then a few more the next few nights.

Also, if you have any litters in the nest box, they will begin nibbling on mom's ration of fresh greens while in the nest box and will be ready for a partial fresh diet when weaned.

Another thing I did when the greens were first sprouting was to be sure to get a good amount of dried grass in with the greens ... yes, they will snarf up the greens first, but the dried grass will go before they move on to pellets or other hays.

 

[MaggieJ]

You have to be more careful introducing greens to buns 2-3 months old than you do to infant kits. If the greens are there from the beginning, their gut flora develops to handle them with no problems. Later, the introduction must be gradual, as AnnClaire says. It is a sudden change in food that causes problems for rabbits.

 

[Frecs]

Good, that's what I thought! Build slow and easy and their stomachs will adjust but no need to wait until 6 months to start this process. Sigh of relief. Thanks ya'll!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

If the greens are there from the beginning, their gut flora develops to handle them with no problems.

My rabbits are still not getting a great deal of greens, but what is there is shared by the kits just out of the nest as well. Perhaps since when they first come out and are just "experimenting" with foods other than milk makes the transition that much easier. They are just sampling small amounts of everything so there isn't a huge imbalance to deal with.

 

[Secuono]

Moms always have greens, so when babes come out, they also get it and grow up with it. No issues.
I've bought juvies and adults and started them on grass. They would get large handfuls, never really had any issues. Obviously, way too much is gonna be bad.

 

[Frecs]

I know one thing -- my four buns are loving the fresh greens! Well, yesterday they had a touch of purple, too (wild blackberry vine leaf). They have enjoyed white clover, grass, dock, Florida Betony, dogwood leaves, and blackberry leaf. Not even up to a handful each yet. They gobble and then look at me like "nice snack, how about more". :-D

 

[Amy]

I have been giving my 3 month old buns greens, gradually over the last month....mostly rasberry leaves, w/ a few additions like clover, prickly lettuce, chervil, etc. They were fine until about a week ago, I noticed stickier poops sticking to the bottom of their cages. So, right away I stopped everything except for rasberry leaves, along with the alfalfa mix and grain feed. It doesn't seem to be getting better or worse, so is there a problem or is this normal???
I also have been wondering, do the buns need time on each new green for the gut flora to adjust or just greens in general???