Intruducing new veg to rabbit with sensitive stomach ?

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Jasminebunny

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My bunny , jasmine has a very sensitive stomach , and every time i fed her veg a few weeks ago , she got gas and nearly gi stasis .
It was scary and syringe feeding and gas drops saved her .

I cut lettuce and kale out of her diet , as that was causing it , but now i'm worried she doesn't have a very varied diet , as i feed around 1/2 cup of spinach , red and green chard and cucumber or bell pepper , once a day .
As well as pellets , half a cup , a scoop of vermex , and unlimited hay .
How would i go about intruducing veg ?
And what veg to introduce ?

She's very happy bunny , and always flopping .

~Jasminebunny x
 
Hello Jasminebunny,

Since you posted in the Natural Feeding for Rabbits forum, it should be unnecessary to point out that all the information you are seeking has been posted in this forum already.

There is a sticky with a Safe Foods for Rabbits list that I recommend you read. Domestic rabbits are descended from the wild European rabbits, which have been eating many of the invasive European weeds listed there since the end of the last Ice Age. These are among the most natural and nutritious fresh foods you can give your rabbits.

Garden vegetables are often not the best foods and can cause digestive problems, as you have found out. The tops of some of them -- carrots, beets, radishes -- are better for them than the roots. All fresh foods must, of course, be free of pesticides and other contaminants.

Happy reading.

~ MaggieJ
 
Yup, lettuce is usually too watery and kale is a 'cole' crop which can cause gas - as you found out. Cucumbers seem pretty wet, green pepper is part of the nightshade family, dunno as if those would be optimum daily choices? But, if your bunny is thriving, then it's good.

Bunnies are pretty good when they are eating lower on the food chain. Grasses and leaves instead of fruits and vegetables. If you have pesticide free grasses, mulberry leaves, citrus leaves, that sort of thing, you can basically free feed that stuff all you want. The bunnies here adore ti leaves, not sure if there's much nutrition in them, but the bunnies love 'em. They also like mulberry leaves which are really good for bunnies, according to the 'Rabbit Production' folks.

See what trees you have in your yard and look to see if they are bunny safe. I've gone around my yard and made a list of the various bunny safe plants so they get a lot of grasses, weeds, leaves, twigs and things. More roughage than nutrition, IMHO, but they seem to thrive on it.
 
this is probably an unnecessary comment,
I will mention this anyway..
Always start out with just a little piece of any new food ,[even "safe foods" ]
then gradually increase amounts every 3 or 4 days.
Rabbits need time, to develop the enzymes and bacteria necessary --to digest new foods.
Bloating , or other negative issues--will result if this rule is not followed.
 
hotzcatz":lzs23ckb said:
Yup, lettuce is usually too watery and kale is a 'cole' crop which can cause gas - as you found out. Cucumbers seem pretty wet, green pepper is part of the nightshade family, dunno as if those would be optimum daily choices? But, if your bunny is thriving, then it's good.

Bunnies are pretty good when they are eating lower on the food chain. Grasses and leaves instead of fruits and vegetables. If you have pesticide free grasses, mulberry leaves, citrus leaves, that sort of thing, you can basically free feed that stuff all you want. The bunnies here adore ti leaves, not sure if there's much nutrition in them, but the bunnies love 'em. They also like mulberry leaves which are really good for bunnies, according to the 'Rabbit Production' folks.

See what trees you have in your yard and look to see if they are bunny safe. I've gone around my yard and made a list of the various bunny safe plants so they get a lot of grasses, weeds, leaves, twigs and things. More roughage than nutrition, IMHO, but they seem to thrive on it.
Click to expand...
Umm , i don't have any trees in my yard .
Theres a few hanging over the fence into my yard , but none inside .

I i have these little yellow flowers , but i don't know if they are safe .
I will research first .

Thanks

~jasminebunny x
 
hopefully the little yellow flowers are dandelions? Bunnies love dandelions. There's a lot of edible weeds they can eat, but check each one first to make sure they can eat it safely. And as mentioned, changes in their diet are best if done slowly if the bunny isn't used to them.

We feed weeds to baby bunnies as soon as they start eating solid foods so all of the herd here was started on assorted forages at a very early age and we don't have issues with changing from one type of forage to another. Other bunnies, if they haven't been exposed to forages at an early age, may not be as thrilled to eat it perhaps and starting slowly would be best.

Friend of mine got a rabbit that had been raised only on pellets and hay and it wouldn't eat anything other than pellets and hay. But, each bunny is different.
 
hotzcatz":2cvpiepy said:
hopefully the little yellow flowers are dandelions? Bunnies love dandelions. There's a lot of edible weeds they can eat, but check each one first to make sure they can eat it safely. And as mentioned, changes in their diet are best if done slowly if the bunny isn't used to them.

We feed weeds to baby bunnies as soon as they start eating solid foods so all of the herd here was started on assorted forages at a very early age and we don't have issues with changing from one type of forage to another. Other bunnies, if they haven't been exposed to forages at an early age, may not be as thrilled to eat it perhaps and starting slowly would be best.

Friend of mine got a rabbit that had been raised only on pellets and hay and it wouldn't eat anything other than pellets and hay. But, each bunny is different.
Click to expand...
I meant orange , they are orange not yellow .
Jasmine does have a sensitive stomach so i will do it very slowly .

She seems to enjoy it a lot !
I'm going out to get some today , but will check each plant is safe first .

My dad is taking me , as i cannot drive .
I'm not old enough !

Thanks
~jasminebunny x <br /><br /> __________ Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:55 am __________ <br /><br /> Ok , i've found out what it is , its orange hawkweed .
Is that safe ?

~jasminebunny x
 
Preitler":3s686x0q said:
That one?:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilosella_aurantiaca

Would say yes, the german Wikipedia site even elaborates about the taste of buds and leaves, and it's uses, like with many other weeds, in traditional medicine.
Not sure if rabbits like a lot of it, but it's safe to offer.
Click to expand...
Yes that one !
I have it growing in my garden in summer <br /><br /> __________ Thu Jun 11, 2020 11:33 am __________ <br /><br /> How many difrenet plants should i get ?
 
How much room does your bunny have? I find that makes a big difference to how well my rabbits handle new foods.

LOTS of exercise keeps the guts healthy but in a "normal" size of cage rabbits get very little exercise and hence tend to get upset tummies due to new foods.

I seldom use any cage smaller than 4 feet long and, when ever possible I have two rabbits together as they do tend to do much more moving round with company.

Company doesnt always work though, it depends upon the rabbits. Some like a companion, others do not.

Good luck with your bun, you have found the right place to read and learn about rabbits. :D
 
1. lose the cucumber...it's not good for bunnies.

2. does your bunny eat hay? Using hay as a gut stabilizer is the best way to get green food into your bunnies.

NOTE> THEY DO NOT NEED fresh food. They don't. It's nice for them, it gives variety, but it is not needful.

but if your bunny eats hay, adding a little bit (like a thumb sized amount) to their hay of whatever new greens you want to try works best. Over time you can increase the amount. If your bunny is prone to GI stasis you'll want to do this more slowly.

The best thing for bunnies is dark green veggies.

So kale, romaine, basil, mesculun, dandelions, thistles, most weeds. do your research first. They like branches from raspberry plants, apple and pear trees.

No cabbage family plants as some (not all) but some rabbits will bloat on it. and you can't tell by looking which bunnies will have problems.
 
After reading four veterinary manuals dedicated to rabbits and many other rabbit books, I decided to stick to pellets and that which matched the natural hay like high fiber things that rabbits in the wild eat. When they get into your garden, that is when they are getting treats like carrots. Most of the time though, it would be grasses, dandelion, weed leaves, and the like.

If you are looking to provide your rabbit variety, go outside in your yard where you have not been putting any pesticide or herbicide on the vegetation, and do some harvesting. Granted that is easier for us that are living on acres.
I leave significant patches of my yard uncut because it has high density of clover. This is regularly harvested for my rabbits, and the native insects like butterflies and rusty patched bumble bees also enjoy it.
 
Jasminebunny said:
My bunny , jasmine has a very sensitive stomach , and every time i fed her veg a few weeks ago , she got gas and nearly gi stasis .
It was scary and syringe feeding and gas drops saved her .

I cut lettuce and kale out of her diet , as that was causing it , but now i'm worried she doesn't have a very varied diet , as i feed around 1/2 cup of spinach , red and green chard and cucumber or bell pepper , once a day .
As well as pellets , half a cup , a scoop of vermex , and unlimited hay .
How would i go about intruducing veg ?
And what veg to introduce ?

She's very happy bunny , and always flopping .

~Jasminebunny x
Click to expand...
I have never had an issue with that before, but I also don't feed my rabbits vegetables or fruit often, sticking to pellet, oats, black oil sunflower, and hay, I throw in some mulberry or willow branches off the property and a lot of clover or other rabbit safe growth we have over here, veggies are a very rare treat, but never had that issue, could she just have too little bacteria in her stomach? This isn't something I'm sure if it is valid, just pondering.

Something good for GI stasis that I've fed my rabbitry when I had a bloat virus run rampant and kill half my stock was fennel seed, I didn't feed much but they enjoyed it, dollar general has baby gripe water made with fennel seed, ginger, and a bit of other stuff but it's rabbit-safe, at least this one, check ingredients labels, but if she's trying a new food, possibly offer some of that with it? Still keep your gas drops on hand!

Hope that helps
 
I would cut out the bell pepper. Anything that can cause gas can cause stasis and individual rabbits can have very different reactions to the same foods.
 
I keep trying to introduce rolled oats to my bunnies, about a tablespoon. I gave them some last night. And for example today, two of them have not eaten hardly anything. It's starting to feel like I have to give them the baby gas stuff every time I turn around.
 
LatchawBriarPatch said:
I keep trying to introduce rolled oats to my bunnies, about a tablespoon. I gave them some last night. And for example today, two of them have not eaten hardly anything. It's starting to feel like I have to give them the baby gas stuff every time I turn around.
Click to expand...

I also recently have introduced rolled oats to my buns. I've found they do eat a lot less when they get both rolled oats and pellets, but they are maintaining good condition. I have noticed as well that they'll eat the oat itself and leave the husks in their bowls, which makes it look like the bowl is still full. Are you sure they are not eating anything? Maybe they are leaving the husks like mine are. Worth considering! Before rolled oats, they would occasionally get plain flaked oats (no husks) and there were never complaints by the buns. You could try that as well...maybe mixed rolled oats with flaked oats so they know to eat what is inside of the husks?
 
Maybe I can be more intentional about slowly building up their tolerance to the oats? I am sure they didn't eat their pellets, which is the majority of their diet. I feed a complete pellet. No new poop either....so gas drops to the rescue. Not letting it go longer than 24hrs. This isn't the first time this has happened. So I'm feeling like I should know better by now. But I was using the oats as a carrier for VETrx. One of my does was sneezing from dusty hay, but an ounce of prevention.....Oh well. I would like to be able to give them oats on cold nights where it is below zero, and to help them gain the last few ounces they need to hit 7lbs. But right now, I'm think it isnt worth it.
 
LatchawBriarPatch said:
Maybe I can be more intentional about slowly building up their tolerance to the oats? I am sure they didn't eat their pellets, which is the majority of their diet. I feed a complete pellet. No new poop either....so gas drops to the rescue. Not letting it go longer than 24hrs. This isn't the first time this has happened. So I'm feeling like I should know better by now. But I was using the oats as a carrier for VETrx. One of my does was sneezing from dusty hay, but an ounce of prevention.....Oh well. I would like to be able to give them oats on cold nights where it is below zero, and to help them gain the last few ounces they need to hit 7lbs. But right now, I'm think it isnt worth it.
Click to expand...

Try using Black Oil Sunflower seed as your weight gainer.

Old Fashioned oats from the cardboard roll are usually much more loved than a feed store milled oat.

Calf Manna is a great weight gainer, but you have to introduce super slow. Literally a couple pellets only the first few days.
 
SixGun said:
Try using Black Oil Sunflower seed as your weight gainer.

Old Fashioned oats from the cardboard roll are usually much more loved than a feed store milled oat.

Calf Manna is a great weight gainer, but you have to introduce super slow. Literally a couple pellets only the first few days.
Click to expand...

Yes- Black Oil Sunflower seeds (BOSS) are quite tasty to rabbits and contain around 40-50% fat and around 14-16% protein. It doesn't usually take much added to the diet, so maybe they could handle that alright.

https://feedipedia.org/node/40
Also, do they eat much of the hay? I wonder if they need more roughage to keep their systems moving in that kind of cold. Eating hay during the winter can help them produce heat and keep them warmer, and they may be more likely to eat the hay than the pellets when it is super cold. I am not sure why they would be needing the gas drops frequently. Does it seem to be needed whenever they eat something new?
 

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