food for rabbits?

Question

i've read online that rabbits can have lettuce and i have also read that they can't? can someone who knows the answer from experience or a source help me pls? also what other food can they eat please? thanks.

Answer 1

Rabbit food, but you knew that ;)
Carrots
They can eat lettuce,
They also like to chew on wood,
We used to chuck any salad, (Not peppers!) in with them!
They like rabbit chocolate too!

Answer 2

Ok, iceberg lettuce isnt great, its mainly water and can contribute to poopy butt in rabbits (which leads to flystrike and a dead rabbit). The main staple of your rabbit's diet should be hay, they eat this constantly to keep their teeth to a comfortable length. Rabbits under a year old should have alfalfa hay, over a year meadow hay, this is because alfalfa contains a lot of calcium which is great while they are young and growing but not so good when they get older as it leads to bladder sludge and stones.

Next should be a good quality extruded pellet. Those rabbit mixes? Junk. Rabbits dont eat half the crap in them anyway, and they pick out the worst junk (think a kid given the choice between sweets and spinach) and leave the stuff that is good for them.

Greens can include romaine lettuce, kale, spring greens, dandylion leaves, parsley, and mint.

Carrots and fruits like apple, pear, and banana can be given in TINY amounts, certainly never a whole one ( a piece about half an inch square) because they are very high in starches. This feeds the bacteria in their gut and can lead to diarrhoea, poopy butt and then you are back in flystrike territory (this is where flies lay their eggs on the messy behind, and the rabbit gets literally eaten alive by the maggots - you don't want that).

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/rabbithealth.html

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html

Answer 3

NO,NO,NO,NO,NO,NO, NO. Rabbits must not eat lettuce, it contains an enzyme that slows their gut and leave them with gut stasis ( stops the gut working)and also makes them very lethargic and sleepy. Greens, broccoli, sprouts,, carrots and the tops, cabbage, apples, spinach (only once a week), are suitable. Only give half a carrot per rabbit or the equivalent of any other veg. Dandelion leaves are also ok, but buttercups are poisonous. The main diet for a rabbit is Excel pellets, not the dried veg ones as that leads to selective feeding, only taking what it likes and leaving the rest. The pellets contains everything. Give it pellets, enough to cover the bottom of it's bowl in the morning and make sure it has lots and lots of hay. Then give it veg at night and more hay. Plenty of water. This is the diet rescues give and keeps buns in good condition. Change any diet gradually over a few days/ weeks to avoid runny bum. I work at a rescue and we tell everyone to feed this. It is the best. Good luck and hope it helps.

Answer 4

It is best for the health of your rabbit to avoid too many `wet` foods. Lettuce is 99% water, and may contain residues from cultivation.Too many wet foods causes something similar to extreme diarrhoea,and can kill your pet. Buy a good standard dry food (any good pet shop) this will provide pretty much all of the animals requirements. Some show breeders use dry food almost exclusively, you can still supplement dry feed with chopped root vegetables,carrot , turnip, swede, and greens or green cabbage. Weeds from clean sources , dandelion,chickweed , plantain. What they dislike they will leave, don`t worry about this,rabbits have 7 times the number of taste buds ,as compared to humans. This allows them to find a variety of flavours from simple foods, such as grass. Rabbits never stop eating, or chewing, not ever. Provide a piece of wood ( not painted or treated) this helps the rabbit to sharpen and control its ever growing teeth. In summer place outside on unsprayed or clean grass for short spells, shade from the sun. You can contact your local vet for shots against some rabbit ailments.

Answer 5

Rabbits are prone to teeth and intestinal problems, this is largely down to diet. Many mixed feeds that you can buy, you will probably find that your rabbit will pick out the bits it likes and leaves the bits it doesn't, this suggests that the nutrition your rabbit is getting is unbalanced. Try Supa Rabbit, this is a pellet food and is a complete diet.

Take a look at this site for more information, you can also call and speak to a nutritional adviser about the use of veggie's & greens.

http://www.burgesssupafeeds.co.uk/small/index.php?page=home

and go to Rabbit

Answer 6

Do not EVER feed a rabbit iceberg lettuce. The general rule for rabbits and lettuce is that if you must feed it to them you want to choose leafy dark green varieties that contain more fiber. Romaine lettuce, for instance, is ok. But iceberg or other light/watery lettuces will give them diarrhea and can possibly kill them. Bunnies have very delicate constitutions. My vet gave me this advice: to ensure that your bunny stays healthy and gets the nutrients that he needs feed plenty of hay and try to work in at least three different varieties of veggies every day (the more variation you can get in colour the better as well). Here are some foods that my bunny likes:

~ Veggies~
- Red Swiss Chard
- Baby Bok Choy
- Carrot Tops (better than feeding him the whole carrot, carrots are full of sugar and should be given sparingly.)
- Dandelion Greens (Not flowers)
- Parsley
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Beet Tops (Tops only!)
- Radishes/Radish Tops

NO potatoes, corn, grains, nuts, beans, or peas!

~ Fruit ~
(feed sparingly as treats. No more than 1 or 2 Tbsp. a day per 5 lbs. body weight.)
- Bananas (he LOVES bananas! ^_^ )
- Apples
- Currants
- Berries (Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Blueberries)
- Peaches
- Pears
- Grapes

NEVER plums, cherries, tomatoes, or citrus! They are poisonous to bunnies.

Answer 7

Rabbits can have lettuce and it is good to give them a variety of greens every day. Iceberg lettuce isn't recommended because it is low in nutritional value. With any food, you want to introduce a new green slowly...a little bit one day and then wait 24 hours to be sure your bunny can handle it.
Bunnies need an unlimited supply of hay (timothy, broome, oat) and if your bunny is under 1 year then you also give it alfalfa. Plain pellets in limited quantities are fine as are fruits in very limited amounts. What you feed and how much depends on your bunny's age and weight.

There are many good sites on the web that will give you advice about what to feed your bunny, try:
Diet: http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabcare.html#diet
Hay: http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabcare.html#hay
and www.carrotcafe.com

Answer 8

Another reason lettuce is bad for rabbits is because it can give them gas and rabbits can't burp so they have no natural way of getting rid of it.

A basic rabbit book should tell you what they can and can't eat. It's best just to give them a good quality rabbit food, and let them have other things as treats occasionally.

Answer 9

Lettuce gives them the runs, just stick to rabbit food, carrots and maybe some potato peelings.

Answer 10

The vet told me think of the foods that rabbits would eat in the wild and that goves you an idea of what is best to feed them. My rabbits used to eat the dried food you buy any salad stuff and veg also they liked brown bread. But as someone has already said not too much greens/ cabbage cos it does give em loose poos!!