15/05/2021
In general, I always recommend extreme caution to new rabbit owners when feeding rabbits fresh greens. That might be a little confusing if you've seen how many garden trimmings the rabbits have gotten lately!
My hesitance to recommend fresh greens for *new* rabbit owners is two-fold.
First, the type of green does matter. You want to avoid greens with a high water content–lettuces, especially iceberg, are notoriously risky. Brassicas like cabbage and broccoli are also a high risk green due to their gassiness. (Rabbits can't pass gas.) Spinach is high in oxalic acid, which can form stones in the bladder or kidneys if given in large amounts over time. Carrots, apples, and other high-sugar treats also feed the bacteria in the gut that cause issues.
Garden weeds and trimmings are free, abundant, organic, and well-loved! Our rabbits enjoy dandelions, wild strawberries, grass, nettles, and various weeds from the garden. They'll nibble on dried leaves and pinecones too. When the pea vines get pulled for the summer, they'll go nuts.
Second, most newer rabbit owners don't understand how sensitive a rabbit's digestion is, and miss the clinical signs that their digestive system is struggling with a dietary change. Symptoms of gastrointestinal distress usually include: uneaten cecotropes, diarrhea, loss of appetite, teeth grinding (pain), and bloat. If you flip your rabbit onto it's back and see f***l matter around it's ge****ls, it has some degree of diarrhea. The most severe cases will cause the f***s to stick and mat over the rabbit's a**s and ge****ls and prevent them from using the bathroom at all. That means death within 24-36 hours unless the blockage is cleared very promptly.
Most folks simply don't know that they should be watching for these symptoms. And as prey animals, rabbits don't do a great job of telling us that something's wrong until it's too late. So when I say to new customers to stick to pellets and hay, it's also giving them time to do more research, become more familiar with their rabbit's behavior, and learn what's normal and what's not.
Do you feed your meat rabbits any fresh greens?
