Along with this, iceberg lettuce contains lactucarium. To rabbits, this can be very harmful. In a large dose which is not much for a little bunny , lactucarium will actually act as an intoxicant and sedative!
Finally, iceberg lettuce puts your rabbit at risk for the runs, and ultimately wet tail. This is a condition wherein a rabbit will experience near-constant diarrhea, resulting in a wet bottom, AKA wet tail. You will want to avoid this and treat it immediately so that your rabbit does not become seriously sick.
Along with lettuce, there are some other fantastic greens that you can offer your rabbit. These include:. You may feed a little pinch of mustard greens to your rabbit. This is a green that is nice and high in fiber! The main downside to mustard greens is that they contain oxalic acid.
This means that you will not want to pair them with other foods high in oxalic acid as well. Mustard greens work best as an occasional snack, perhaps once or twice a week. Everyone knows rabbits love carrots, right? Actually, these little guys tend to like carrot tops more! For rabbits, carrot tops are also considerably healthier.
These have lots of fiber comparatively and are much lower in sugar. This is one green that your rabbit can eat a great deal of. Feel free to give them carrot tops times a week! This is another green you can give safely give to your rabbit. In fact, dandelion greens are quite nutritional. They are stuffed with beta-carotene, and they have iron and potassium as well. Rabbits can eat the greens and flowers alike… the entire plant makes for a delicious bunny snack!
The leaves and stalk are certainly not the most relished part of broccoli. Well… not for humans, anyway! Rabbits, however, tend to love the leftovers we cast-off from broccoli , i.
Compared to the tender broccoli heads, these tougher, chewier bits contain even more fiber. For rabbits, this is truly ideal. Yes, Even organically grown lettuce could have pesticides on the leaves.
Always rinse any fruits or vegetables before feeding to your rabbit. Too much can cause illness. Dandelion greens are a good source of nutrition. Did you know that there were so many kinds of lettuce that your rabbit could have? Feel free to let them try a few. For instance if you feed parsley this week, then leave it out of the diet for next week and use something else. Rotating the greens will also give your bunny variety in taste, texture and general nutrition!
Some folks are concerned that you rabbits need to acquire a significant amount of vitamin A from greens. As mentioned above, hay is rich in vitamin A, so it is unnecessary to be concerned about the specific vitamin A content of the greens. Just for information though, kale is extremely rich in vitamin A as well as most of the leaf lettuces.
And while we are on the subject of vitamins, rabbits make their own vitamin C in their bodies, unlike humans who have to get vitamin C through their diet. You may know that dark green leafy vegetables and red peppers have more vitamin C per weight than citrus fruits! Some people are concerned about feeding foods that cause gastrointestinal GI gas in people such as broccoli.
The result can be serious GI disease. Foods that are notorious for causing rabbit GI problems when fed improperly are grains of any kind and legumes beans, peas, etc.
Even starchy root vegetables and fruits if fed to excess with their high load of sugars and starch could be a problem and should only be fed as a very small part of the diet. One study done on rabbits indicated that it would take several weeks of exclusively feeding huge quantities of these foods to see any abnormalities in the blood.
This is so far removed from normal feeding instructions for rabbits that there is no cause for concern in feeding these nutritious foods. These foods are often higher in starch or sugars and should be fed in lesser amounts than the leafy greens.
Avoid foods in the onion family such as leeks, chives and onions because eating these foods could cause blood abnormalities. Fruits can also be fed in small amounts. In the wild these would be special high calorie foods obtained only at certain times of the year. Fruits make great training treats! You also might choose to hand-feed the fruit portion of the diet as part of developing a close bond with your bunny and also to make sure he has an appetite every day. It is a great way to see if your bunny is feeling good when you observe if he takes his fruit treat every morning!
Remember that dried fruits are about 3 times as concentrated as the fresh variety so feed less of those. Rabbits, like many animals naturally gravitate towards high calorie foods such as those high in sugar or starch. A good rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of non-leafy green veggies per 2 pounds of body weight per day. A general feeding chart for various body weights can be found below. Providing 3 to 5 different types of greens and veggies daily is encouraged, rotating types and varieties each day or week.
These greens and veggies can be offered all at once, but it is best divided into multiple daily feedings if possible, to provide more enrichment, interaction, and avoid rapid intake in a short period of time.
If available, organic produce is preferred to avoid pesticides and produce should be washed before offering. Greens and veggies are excellent sources of vitamins A, B, C, and K, not to mention soluble fiber and trace minerals such as iron, manganese, copper, and zinc. The truly unique contribution of these dietary items, however, are the phytonutrients which are only found in plants. There are more than 25, phytonutrients found in plant-based ingredients including flavonoids and carotenoids, to name a few.
While not an exhaustive list, the following are bunny-approved greens and veggies to consider:. Even if a food is completely appropriate for an animal, a fast or lackadaisical transition can lead to gastrointestinal upset simply because the gut is not used to processing that food.
0コメント