Myth #1 - Rabbits eat carrots Rabbits don't naturally eat root vegetables or fruit. Carrots and fruit are high in sugar and should only be fed in small amounts as occasional treats. Rabbits need mainly hay and/or grass, some leafy greens and a small, measured amount of pellets.
No more than two cups daily of fresh vegetables should be given to adult rabbits. Dwarf breeds and rabbits under five pounds should get just one cup of fresh veggies per day. A variety of two or three vegetables is ideal.
3 rabbits eat 9 carrots in 9 minutes. 6 rabbits eat 18 carrots in 9 minutes.
On the other hand, carrot tops are low in carbs and sugar, making them healthy and entirely safe for your rabbit to eat. In fact, you should include this healthy and highly nutritious food on the menu because of its high phytonutrient, vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant levels.
They can upset a rabbit's digestive system if given too much. A better way to think about giving a healthy variety of foods to your bunny is to feed a salad a day. Salads are a very healthy and important part of your rabbit's diet.
That's right, the carrot myth was started by none other than Bugs Bunny himself. The problem is that Bugs is munching on a carrot because his creators were modelling his behaviour and mannerisms on Clark Gable's character in 1934's It Happened One Night.
Yes, it is safe for rabbits to eat cucumber! Most rabbits will love the fresh taste. Rabbits can also eat cucumber leaves. Before feeding cucumber to your rabbit, wash it in cold water to remove pesticides.
Rabbits should be fed and provided with fresh water daily; hay should always be available. As nibblers, they should have food available at all times.
Do not give broccoli to rabbits. It will give them painful gas. Never give your rabbit kale or spinach. Kale and spinach can cause health problems over time, due to the high amount of oxalates and goitrogens.
Overeating can quickly lead to obesity in rabbits, which is a very dangerous condition. Since rabbits have such a sensitive digestive system, they run the risk of developing complications in their gut that will require medical intervention.
Yup they can go without veggies.
While it is largely assumed that rabbits need only carrots and lettuce to survive, this simply isn't true. As with any other animal, rabbits need a whole rounded diet that includes various nutrients, such as lettuce and carrots.
Particularly good vegetables include the dark leafy greens like romaine lettuce, bok choy, mustard greens, carrot tops, cilantro, watercress, basil, kohlrabi, beet greens, broccoli greens, and cilantro.
As a general rule, the best types of vegetables for rabbits are herbs, lettuces, and other types of leafy salad greens. It may be tempting to give your rabbit carrots or other root vegetables, but they are not great for rabbit digestion and should only be given in small amounts.
A typical rabbit day
Rabbits usually wake up with the dawn and stay active until about mid morning. They spend this time eating, grooming, digging, foraging and playing. They may investigate a new toy or digging box, follow you around to see what you are doing, or race around burning off energy.
Rabbits like to play and need plenty of exercise to stay healthy and happy. Ideally you want to provide them with up to 4 hours daily of supervised time out of their cage. Rabbits are subject to depression and poor health if they're not provided with daily interaction and mental stimulation.
Feeding takes place mainly in the early morning, evening and at night – this is because in the wild this is when the rabbit is safest from predators, and many owners notice this pattern in their pet rabbits.
A rabbit's daily diet should consist mainly of large quantities of hay or dried or fresh grass that will provide the necessary fibre for the rabbit. Rabbits should have hay or dried or fresh grass during the day and night.
“A small acorn-size amount of seedless tomato per day is perfectly fine for a rabbit older than 12 weeks of age,” Henson said. So in general, tomatoes are an OK fruit to share with your rabbit, just as long as it's a small amount and the flesh part of a seedless tomato only.
High in sugar, apples should only be fed to rabbits as a treat. Also high in sugar, it's safe for rabbits to eat bananas occasionally. Rabbits have a sweet tooth, so grapes are great as a treat.
What can rabbits not eat? These foods are poisonous for your rabbit and could make her ill: Potatoes, daffodils, tulips, rhubarb, lillies, mushrooms, avocado, broad beans, sweet peas, buttercup, kidney beans, jasmine, foxglove and iceberg lettuce.
Rabbits are very loving, social animals, which means they not only love to spend time with their humans – they require it. Without human interaction, rabbits can get bored, even to the point of becoming lonely and depressed.
Rabbits enjoy fresh vegetables and fruits as part of a balanced diet. Apples are known to be among the healthiest fruits for humans, but you may wonder if apples are healthy for rabbits. Rabbits can eat apples with the skin, but only in moderation. Feed your rabbit only 1 or 2 slices of apple per week.