5 ms·
Fwiw for anyone who wants to feed some bunnies, leafy greens are better for them than carrots. Give them a big bunch of parsley and they’ll love you forever.
by enneff 4y ago
Fwiw for anyone who wants to feed some bunnies, leafy greens are better for them than carrots. Give them a big bunch of parsley and they’ll love you forever.
- flir 4y agoDarker the better, in my experience. They'll bite off your arm for some cavolo nero.
- bregma 4y agoTime for Brother Maynard to fetch the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.
- 0daystock 4y agoDarker greens should be used sparingly with rabbits, because of the high calcium and oxalate content. Cilantro, parsley, basil, any lettuce except iceberg are all solid choices for keeping buns healthy, shiny and happy.
- flir 4y agoI'm certain this is solid advice, hindgut fermenters live on a knife edge.
- dmurray 4y agoRabbits like carrot leaves, not the part of the carrot we eat. The stereotype of Bugs Bunny munching on the end of a carrot comes from farmers complaining about rabbits destroying their carrots. Cartoonists misinterpreted this either accidentally or intentionally for better visuals. (Humans can eat carrot greens too, though most people find other leafy vegetables tastier and easier to prepare).
- pooper 4y ago> Rabbits like carrot leaves, not the part of the carrot we eat. I took care of a pair of rabbits for a bit as a child. As relatively poor people, I couldn't afford to feed the rabbits actual carrots. I remember feeling amused at how the rabbits would (seemingly gladly) eat the green leaves of carrots (something we threw away) and not complain. I feel better about not being able to feed them actual carrots. Thank you for the trip down memory lane. It is amazing how much we actually remember but never think about...
- ejolto 4y agoMy father also grew up poor with rabbits. They would feed the rabbits things they would otherwise throw away, like carrot leaves and potato peels. Then they would eat the rabbits. Great way to turn inedible plants into edible protein.
- dllthomas 4y agoYour basic point holds, but carrot leaves and potato peels are both perfectly edible.
- Sohcahtoa82 4y agoAlso, potato peels are delicious. I don't peel my potatoes before making mashed potatoes or french fries, and they're tastier for it.
- ejolto 4y agoTrue! I eat them, but for some reason my grandmother refused to, so they gave them to the rabbits instead.
- BeFlatXIII 4y agoThat and the carrot looked like chomping a cigar.
- dale_glass 4y agoBugs Bunny is interesting in that it had a large cultural influence. It also turned "nimrod" into an insult, when people misunderstood Bugs Bunny sarcastically calling Elmer Fudd "Nimrod". Nimrod is a mighty hunter from the Bible, and Bugs' expression was equivalent to calling somebody stupid "Einstein". So now "nimrod" effectively means "moron", though that wasn't the intention.
- bena 4y agoTo be fair, "nimrod" sounds like a stupid word.
- aitchnyu 4y agoFunny how a 1930s tribute to Mel Blanc's mannerism still make people think carrots are good for rabbits.
- egypturnash 4y agoIIRC Blanc actually hated carrots, they kept a trash can next to him in the recording studio so he could immediately spit it out after a take involving a carrot crunch was done.
- 0daystock 4y agoFresh hay would be better still. Healthy rabbit diet should consist of 85-90% hay, some greens and fruit/sweets extremely sparingly.
- Ancapistani 4y agoMy family has two rabbits (mini lops) in a large divided hutch on our pack patio. They each get a fist-sized portion of greens every day - parsley, cilantro, kale, etc. depending on what's on sale at the grocery store or about to be thrown out. There's also a "treat" hidden in there somewhere. Sometimes that's a small baby carrot, sometimes it's a blackberry or raspberry, sometimes a piece of watermelon. In addition to the above, they always have access to pellets, timothy hay, and water. If it's not wet out, we put them out in ~6' circular mesh pens to play for at least an hour each day. They seem pretty happy with their lives, and are neither gaining nor losing weight. It's a far cry from the wire cages in an outbuilding where they spent the first couple of years of their lives for sure.
- zenexer 4y agoIsn’t kale one of the few greens rabbits aren’t supposed to eat?
- Ancapistani 4y agoIt's super high in calcium, which can be a big problem. We're usually feeding 3-4 different kinds of greens in each serving, though, and hay makes up the majority of their diet anyhow.
- Maursault 4y agoNo. You fees rabbits timothy hay and alfalfa. These are the staples of a healthy rabbit's diet. Anything else, greens, carrots, banana, strawberry, are treats not food. Too much treats causes diarrhea, which can be fatal due to dehydration.