Too much fresh grass?

[squidpop]

Can access to too much fresh grass hurt my rabbits? I built an outside run 2' x 8' and I was surprised when my 2 pound Netherland Dwarf ate all the grass down to nothing, (didn't touch the hay I put in there). I give fresh grass all the time and they seem fine, but in much smaller amounts. Can't see how a 2 lb rabbit ate all that fresh grass, looks like he ate at least twice his weight in grass, I hope he doesn't explode.

 

[Secuono]

No, unless they have never eaten/new to grass.

How tall was the grass?

 

[MaggieJ]

If the rabbits have been getting grass all along, they can likely handle the larger amounts. Grass can cause bloat if the rabbit has not had a chance to develop the gut flora to digest it. Most rabbits prefer fresh grass and weeds to other types of food, so they would eat grass and ignore the hay.

I hope your Netherland suffers no ill effects from its greediness. If it remains fine, then I would say you need not worry about the quantity of grass it is eating.

See the Safe Plants sticky for more ideas about greens that can be fed to rabbits.
safe-plants-for-rabbits-list-t55.html

 

[squidpop]

The grass was higher than ankle height but not quite knee height. He seems fine today and if he seems fine tomorrow I think I might put him back out- but for a shorter amount of time. Thanks for answering my post — I feel less worried now.

ChickiesnBunnies— is that cute puppy a border collie?

 

[AnnClaire]

Squidpop,

You might also want to provide pellets and oats while the bun is out on the grass. Mine will nibble on the pellets, move to the grass, back to the oats, back to the grass ... all day. As for the hay, well, the bun is getting his roughage in a sweet, moist green condition from the grass, so turning it's nose up at dry hay is really no surprise

 

[squidpop]

I took your advice Ann Claire and am putting pellets out and it works to slow down the consumption of the grass which is good because I don't have to move the hutch as much, so thanks for that advice.

 

[AnnClaire]

I have found that a variety of foods (even if it is only in the summer) is very enriching for the bunnies and they will tend to self-regulate their intake. After a week or so, you might start offering a small amount of dried hay and I bet they will eat a bit of that along with all the greens and the standard pellets. Also, don't forget to provide a mineral block to your buns ... either in their night quarters, or in the day pen or both. I am glad that you have the time and resources to enrich your buns days and diet ... so many just don't have the time/resources.