Kale safe for 2wk old kits?

[Susie570]

Is it ok to let the kits nibble on momma's kale? They've not had any before and seem to be interested. They have been nibbling hay and pellets. If it IS ok, how much should I let them have?

 

[akane]

Yes. That's a good way to adjust them slowly to greens. They usually won't eat too much if you don't feed the doe more than she'll eat.

 

[Zass]

So long as the doe has been eating it all along, it should be safe. Since the kits will be getting their mother's gut bacteria (from eating some of her cecotropes) in theory, they should have no trouble starting on foods she's already accustomed to.

 

[Susie570]

Maybe I should use a little caution then since momma hasn't had a much in the way of kale recently. This is the first I've given her since the kits were born. I always try to be a little on the careful side since I don't know, for example, how much kale momma should be given at any one time, or if it should be given every day or every few days... etc. I have a chart saying that greens (such as kale) should make up a certain percentage of her diet, but since she free feeds on pellets and hay, I have no idea how much a percentage would be. So, I just give her a few stalks of it. Our buck likes the fresh (or frozen for broccoli and carrots) veggies as well, but I give more of them to the doe because she's nursing.

 

[Zass]

I always try to be a little on the careful side since I don't know

I don't blame you!
There is a lot on the line.
Accidentally causing a gi upset can quickly lead to death for one of the little guys.

Just remember if you see diahrea (and you will eventually, if you keep raising rabbits), dehydration can kill. So the most important thing is to keep those babies hydrated.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Two week old kits are barely nibbling on new foods, so I wouldn't worry too much... but I would give a variety of things with the kale so they don't overindulge on it since it can cause gas.

If you have access to the lawn weed plantain or shepherd's purse, strawberry leaves, blackberry/raspberry etc. canes, all are good for the digestive tract. A little parsley, red or green leafy lettuce, or even fresh grass would be okay.

I would also recommend giving the greens daily and doing so at a time that they have already sated themselves on hay or pellets.

 

[akane]

Veggie charts are a bit dangerous. Many pet rabbit forms think they need large amounts of vegetables. A lot of breeders don't give these things at all with millions of healthy rabbits and some are quite convinced fresh food would kill all their rabbits because of mistakes people have made in feeding veggies too fast. The other problem is that vegetables are not normal food for a rabbit. Rabbits browse on things humans cannot digest. Things higher in fiber and lower in sugar than vegetables. Even by choice a lot of wild rabbits will trim away your leafy plants more than your vegetables. RIP english daisys. Some on here do feed a lot of fresh food and even a no pellet diet but they don't use vegetables much. It's mostly all forage and sometimes garden plots set aside to grow rabbit food. Often that means weeds to other people. :lol: I'm not really too upset the garden was half taken over with quickweed last year. I found rabbits can eat a lot of it so it should pose no problem removing this year.

 

[Susie570]

I've been giving them a little yard grass that I pull by hand... I'll have to look around and see if we have any plantain (we always called it 'rabbit lettuce' growing up). There should be some out there somewhere, but maybe not this time of year. It concerns me a little that I might pass something along to our rabbits from the wild rabbits living out here, so I've been doing it sparingly. :/

 

[MamaSheepdog]

It concerns me a little that I might pass something along to our rabbits from the wild rabbits living out here, so I've been doing it sparingly. :/

My rabbits got "rabbit tapeworm" when I was feeding them gathered greens and weeds. They are the intermediate host (the worms actually affect canines), so the rabbits don't pass worm segments, they just have cysts within their body cavity.

I found them when I necropsied some rabbits that became paralyzed, otherwise I would never have known about it.

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[MaggieJ]

I fed my rabbits copious amounts of gathered greens for years without a problem. BUT, there are no dogs here. We have about 32 acres so plenty of clean space to gather greens. Lots of wild rabbits, some coyotes and raccoons that could be potential problems, but the problems never materialized. Just my experiences.

Climate is also a consideration. Places that have a "real winter" seem to have fewer parasite problems.

 

[akane]

We were doing once yearly ivermectin treatment of the breeding rabbits when in colony. You can have fresh droppings checked for parasites by a vet usually cheaply. There aren't too many serious untreatable things they can get because the wild rabbits are not the same species as the domestic rabbits. The rabbits we keep are from europe where they do have problems with wild rabbits passing on illnesses and have some vaccinations for rabbits. It's just not well known what tests we need to do and when to watch out for treatable things like various parasites because the popular way to raise rabbits has been in cages off the ground with no fresh food. Now people are trying colonies and pellet free diets. Everyone is learning as they go.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

BUT, there are no dogs here.

A good point, although (as you mentioned) coyotes pass the segments too. But I doubt you have that high of a population of them where it would cause a problem.

I actually think it was our dog Basil that was the issue. For a time she was passing stools with a bunch of round white things- they didn't look like the "traditional" tapeworm segments that use the flea as an intermediate host- so I didn't know what they were. But she will kill and eat wild rabbits and squirrels, so she may very well have been the responsible party.

 

[dangerbunny]

With kits, I err on the side of caution, if momma has been getting it then generally is okay, but always start slow.

Since I feed mine such a lot of fresh feed, grass and herbs. I do preventive dewormings as well as feeding worm discouraging foods (pumpkin seeds, herbs)

 

[Featherhoof]

I feed all kinds of stuff to all my meat rabbits from my garden. Spent pea vines, kale, broccoli leaves, parsley, cilantro, carrot tops, strawberry leaves, boc choy, Swiss chard, and whatever else I'm growing. Oh! A favorite is sweet potato vines. It is easy to grow, they go nuts for it, and I get sweet potatoes in November. NO PLANTS FROM THE NIGHTSHADE FAMILY. I do make sure momma and kits get hay regularly. I have not had a problem with bloating or diarrhea with all the fresh greens at any age. I also feed Purina pro 18% pelets free-feed. I'll be experimenting with bocking 14 strain of comfrey this year.

 

[Susie570]

I gave momma a couple of kale leaves today, let her eat them in the pen. She left a long stem and the babies found it and descended on it like a little pack of piranhas. Well, I hope they will be fine!

 

[JessiL]

They should be. From what I've seen, it's better for them to sample what their mother has been eating when they still are not on solid foods 100%. In the summer, when I transition the grow-outs to pasture, I make sure to start dumping lots of pasture cuttings (grass, clovers, trefoil, alfalfa) in the nest box and cage right around 10 days old and after. Then they are weaned to pasture at around 4 weeks of age. That seems to work really well.

In general, I find that apple (and friends, like pear), rose, and willow leaves/branches can be tolerated at any time of year without previous exposure. No guarantees that will work for you. Still, I had a line of Champagnes that were very sensitive. They thrived for me, but a few weanlings who I sold died quickly when (against my instructions) the new owners fed them fresh iceberg lettuce.

 

[EnglishSpot]

Two of my three week olds were eating the greens I'd put in for momma as fast as they could snarf them down.

 

[Susie570]

Thanks everyone! I went to the shop this morning and made some extra preparations for the buns, since we will likely be snowed in for a couple of days. I put a bunch of extra hay in the pens, made sure the water bottles are topped off, filled up the pellet feeders, etc. Our buck was a little annoyed at the extra hay and jumped around, stomping it all down. They're all indoors, so no worry of freezing. Everything should be taken care of and the kits all looked great.