Any bunny people out there, help!!!

[RockyRoad]

Hi, I have a rabbit (duh), and I like to give him grass. But I'm afraid I'll give him a bad kind of grass, and I might hurt him!! He's not fond of lettuce, but he really loves grass and it is really cute to stic it through the bars in the cage and watch him stand up and nibble it up!! What kind of grass should I feed him??

[Karen]

Lettuce is not good for him, at least not iceberg lettuce, so don't worry about him not liking it. And if you are just giving him a little grass, there's no such thing as a "bad kind" as long as the lawn has not been chemically treated.

For a treat just about every bunny I know loves, buy a bunch of flat parsley in the produce section of your supermarket. It'll cost you less than a dollar, and make him very very happy!

[Daisylover]

I agree with Karen, there really isn't any bad grassfor bunnies to eat but it MUST be chemical free.....Someone I know killed her three bunnies by letting them eat chemically treated grass and it was a HORRIBLE experience when they started getting ill. The grass should be dark green in color. Bunnies also love clover.

Dark green veggies are excellent as well....romaine and green leaf lettuces, buns are especially fond of dandelion leaves (no chemicals if you are pulling them up from your yard!!!), swiss chard, collard greens, herbs such as dill, cilantro and of course parsley, mint, lemon balm. Also endive, the tops off of carrots, kohrabi and beets. They can have limited amounts of kale, spinach, mustard and turnip greens (they are too high in calcium for adult bunnies) and broccoli and cauliflower can cause gas pains if given too much so a very small amount of that is ok (mine love it). Carrots and fruit should be limited because they are high in sugar and can cause diahhrea.

Actually you might check www.hrs.org for a more complete list of acceptable veggies and fruit (not all fruit is good for them either). Also no corn, cereals, bread

Adult buns should only have a limited amount of rabbit pellets (2 tablespoons per 5lb of bunny) and they should be timothy based, NOT alfalfa. Alfalfa is way too high in calcium, which is excreted in their urine. You can tell this by looking at their urine as it dries...if a white patch forms that is a sign that the rabbit has too much calcium in his system. Too much calcium could lead to painful bladder stones, occasionally death. Several on-line rabbit suppliers offer timothy-based pellets for sale, some rabbit-specialist vet offices carry them as well.

Good luck with your bunny!

[Kelcie]

My Bunny will eat anything that happens to be in front of his nose, I don't let him eat anything outside just in case there's any pesticide. For a treat, he likes raisins, bananas and carrots...but only in moderation....keep an eye for the "wet tail".
Smokey is a Five years old giant Chinchilla Rabbit.