Is there such a thing as too early to feed veggies?

[fluffyhorseylady]

Hello!
So I've been running into allot of conflicting information about how early to start giving rabbits veggies and herbs. I've seen some that say 12 weeks old, others say as soon as they are weaned, Is there a good time frame to start feeding veggies? Will it hurt them if they are given veggies before 12 weeks? My girl is nine weeks old and I don't want to hurt her digestive system.

 

[Zass]

Because your baby wasn't weaned onto greens(with it's first nibbles of solid food), there are chances that some fresh plants (especially fruits and vegetables) could cause a lot of problems if you feed them too early.

It has to do with inheriting their digestive bacteria from their mother. Giving probiotics might help, but nothing is quite as good as starting on greens along with a doe who is already accustomed to them.

A good compromise is to feed only very safe herbs and greens that tend not to cause trouble at any age. Strawberry leaves, blackberry or raspberry leaves, unsprayed rose leaves. Both Greater(common) or lance leaf Plantain. There are more, I'm sure the others will fill in what I cannot remember right now

 

[akane]

The problem is rabbits need to adjust to new foods. The higher water or sugar and lower fiber the food the more adjustment it takes. If you feed when they are young they taste test everything in small amounts and work their way up. Once they are eating all solid food you have the problem that they can overeat on new foods. You can still introduce at any age but you have to be far more careful and the risk is higher when they are adjusting to other things like right after weaning, when in a new home, on a new pellet.... That's why forages and herbs are suggested instead of fruits and vegetables. You want low sugar, higher fiber items than what humans normally buy in stores for ourselves. Really fruits and vegetables are not normal rabbit food at all. They may like it and eat it and you can adjust them to larger amounts eventually but it's not actually normal for them to eat those things unlike the house rabbit groups try to tell you. Forages from an untreated yard are more natural, healthier, and easier to digest. Many plant gardens of what others think of as weeds for feeding their rabbits fresh foods that better match their nutrient requirements.

 

[Marinea]

Define "veggies".

My rabbits get strawberry leaves, plantains, blackberry and rose leaves and canes, romaine lettuce, kale, parsley, cilantro and such on a regular basis. They are fed to does with kits and the kits start eating them as soon as they start wandering around the cage.

Veggies like carrots, apples, broccoli, etc., are considered treats, and given maybe once a week. When I first give those to kits, they are weaned, and the pieces are tiny, like quarter sized. I watch the kits for their reaction to them.

 

[Susie570]

On the same topic, is it generally safe to let the babies munch on cilantro and kale? Mom doesn't get it every day, more like every few days. Now, I'm paranoid to let the young piranha pack eat the greens with her.

 

[fluffyhorseylady]

Define "veggies".

My rabbits get strawberry leaves, plantains, blackberry and rose leaves and canes, romaine lettuce, kale, parsley, cilantro and such on a regular basis. They are fed to does with kits and the kits start eating them as soon as they start wandering around the cage.

Veggies like carrots, apples, broccoli, etc., are considered treats, and given maybe once a week. When I first give those to kits, they are weaned, and the pieces are tiny, like quarter sized. I watch the kits for their reaction to them.

I live in the city so until this summer I can't grow anything for her, I don't even have a yard I can get clippings from. I do plan this summer to harness train her and take her to our local park to play in the sun a little, but for now I'm looking at store bought veg. So good leafy greens, herbs, and the like. I was just wondering if it was too early to begin to slowly feed them to her.

 

[akane]

Cilantro is good. Kale is a brassica. It's better than some other brassicas but as a general rule I do not feed those in very large amounts to anything. They can cause too much gas which leads to bloat and bloat can lead to death if you don't get stuff moving through the digestive tract. I would think feeding lots of hay would help reduce the risk of any problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassica Also sometimes referred to as cruciferous vegetables http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables

 

[Marinea]

Stay away from iceberg lettuce, stick with romaine. Anything you start her on, start small. Start with like a quarter-sized piece a day. See how she does. Then slowly increase the amounts while keeping a watch on her.

I would be careful taking her to the park and letting her eat the grass- you won't know when or if it was chemically treated, and with what.

 

[fluffyhorseylady]

Stay away from iceberg lettuce, stick with romaine. Anything you start her on, start small. Start with like a quarter-sized piece a day. See how she does. Then slowly increase the amounts while keeping a watch on her.

I would be careful taking her to the park and letting her eat the grass- you won't know when or if it was chemically treated, and with what.

I live right across the street from the park and they don't spray it, just cut it. We live in a tiny town so our city doesn't do much landscaping. and to go back to my original question.. so as long as I start her slow she should be fine to start getting veggies? Even though she is only 9 weeks old right?

 

[Marinea]

Yes, you can start her- but slowly, and one item at a time. If she does well with the first one, after a bit (days) try another. And so on.

 

[Zass]

I was at a grocery store tonight and picked up some fresh italian parsley. (Less than a dollar for a good sized bunch at Walmart)

I buy it as an occasional treat, mostly for adult buns, but I've yet to see any kind of negative reaction from it. Might be another good place to start if you are limited to grocery store foods.

If you can get carrots with the greens on, you can eat the carrot part yourself, and introduce the green tops to the bun (slowly, just a little at a time, like everything new)

 

[peterwabbitt]

I'm growing Barley fodder..my chickens and rabbits love it. The babies seem to do well with it.