Should I feed vegetables to my bunny?

The short answer is, "yes!" with a caveat or two. Rabbits who are receiving a diet of primarily pellets may experience some loose stools when first being introduced to vegetables. Because of this many people recommend feeding a very small piece (a 1/2 inch slice of carrot or one sprig of parsley) of vegetable daily for three days. If there are no reactions or problems then it can be added to the daily diet. Over the course of a few weeks, more and more vegetables can be added, one at a time. As your rabbit's system becomes accustomed to the fresh food you can offer more volume.

Why should I feed vegetables?

There are a couple reasons to include vegetables in the diet of a houserabbit. One of the biggest is variety and because the bunnies appear to enjoy the vegetables so much. As with humans, vegetables are also a good, natural source of nutrients. Vegetables are also a good source of fluid for bunnies, something that is very important to keep the digestive tract moving.

Why do people say never to feed vegetables to bunnies?

The actual source of this is unclear. It may be that some people have tried to feed vegetables without slowly introducing them had rabbits that experienced diarrhea as a result. Also, vegetables are not very energy rich, and if someone is feeding rabbits for weight gain, then vegetables are going to make the bunny feel full without a lot of calories. It has been my experience that feeding vegetables to houserabbits is not harmful in the least. All of my bunnies, permanent and foster, have had diets consisting of 2-4 cups of vegetables a day. This experience is shared by thousands of houserabbit owners across the United States and the world.

What age should I start feeding vegetables to my baby bunny?

This question is continually debated. On the one hand, there is the argument that baby bunnies should have no vegetables until they are four to six months old. Baby bunnies, especially those who were weaned at a young age, have very sensitive digestive tracts and get diarrhea easily. On the other hand, there is the argument that young wild bunnies eat vegetables when they are very young and have no problems.

I think both sides have merit. I do believe that a baby bunny weaned before 8 weeks and exposed to the stressful environment of a pet store is more likely to get diarrhea when fed strange foods, including vegetables. For bunnies in this situation, I ususally recommend hay and pellets for the first month or so that they are in their new home. This gives the flora in the GI tract time to stabilize and the bunny to get settled. After this the introduction of new foods is less likely to cause any GI upset. That being said, one of my foster rabbits had a litter. Those baby bunnies were introduced to vegetables while still nursing. Momma's milk contains lots of good stuff that stabilizes the flora in a baby bunny's tummy. These babies were also not stressed from transport and being displayed at a pet store. Many people have reported introducing greens to their bunnies when the bunnies were younger than 4 months old.

When you decide to introduce vegetables is up to you. I would suggest that if your bunny is experiencing any sort of digestive upset that you wait until she is older before introducing new foods. As with adult rabbits, new foods should be introduced one at a time and in small amounts. Vegetables should be discontinued if any diarrhea occurs.

What vegetables should I feed my bunny?

Almost any vegetable you can find in your local grocery store is fine for rabbits. Beware of gas or soft fecal poops when introducing any new food. The following are a few exceptions ¹:

Can cause gas or are very sugary: do not feed

Green beans
White and red potatoes
Beets
Fresh corn
Fresh peas

Dangerous, contain compounds that destroy nutrients: do not feed

Sweet potato
Cassava
Bamboo shoots
Maize
Lima beans
Millet
Bracken fern
Tea leaves
Coffee plants

Dangerous, contain toxins: do not feed

Rhubarb leaves
Raw lima, kidney or soy beans
Onions ²
Citrus peels

Can cause impaction

Whole seeds
Nuts
Grains
Dried corn
Dried peas

Things to watch out for

Carrots and root vegetables are high in sugar and may cause cecal problems or gas in some rabbits.
Celery and rhubarb stalks contain strings that should be removed before feeding. Alternatively, cut the stalks into small pieces.
Iceberg lettuce has a reputation for causing diarrhea in many animal species. I do not recommed iceberg be fed to bunnies. However, many people have reported feeding this to bunnies without a problem.

¹Much of this was taken from a post by Sue Smith to a private mailing list.

²Toxic to horses, assumed to be toxic to rabbits

Will lettuce give my rabbit diarrhea?

It has not been my experience that lettuce gives rabbit's diarrhea. Any vegetable can disrupt the digestive tract of different rabbits, so it is important to introduce any vegetable slowly and discontinue it if your bunny gets diarrhea.

What vegetables are high in calcium?

Many people worry about the calcium levels of different vegetables causing bladder and kidney problems in rabbits. In Calcium Metabolism in Rabbits Dr. Leah Postman explains it thusly:

"The other potentially significant source of calcium in rabbits' diets is fresh greens. Although many people worry about the greens noted for high calcium content -- kale, spinach, collards -- I do not. All fresh greens are about 70% to 85% water, which greatly dilutes all nutrients. To eliminate the potential to misrepresent nutrient content due to variability in water content, it is essential to compare calcium content on a dry matter basis, which is how the nutrient requirements are expressed on labels and in tables. For example, kale, which many recommend avoiding by virtue of its calcium content, has 1.6% calcium on a dry weight basis. In other words, dehydrated kale has roughly three times the NRC recommended calcium content. However, the fresh bunch of kale is mostly water, so the calcium content drops dramatically, to 0.24% when fed fresh. If you were to feed a medium-sized (5 pound) bunny 1/4 cup (about 60 grams) of a pellet meeting NRC recommendations, he would consume about 0.30 grams of calcium. To obtain a similar quantity of calcium from kale, the bun would have to eat over 4 ounces (130 grams) of kale. That is a sizable pile of kale -- about as much as you could stuff in a half gallon milk carton. Similarly, dandelion greens, have a calcium level of 1.6% on a dry matter basis. But since our bunnies eat them fresh, they are only getting 0.20% calcium. Again, we see that even for greens with a relatively high calcium content, the calcium level of the leaves the bun is munching is actually quite low."

Pellets are a much higher source of calcium in the diet of the rabbit, and if calcium is an issue then cutting back on pellets will have much more of an impact than cutting back on vegetables.

In conclusion

Vegetables make a wonderful addition to the diet of houserabbits. The high water content helps keep the GI tract hydrated, they contain micro and macro minerals that contribute to the health of your bunny and the bunnies sure enjoy them!

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