What vegetables can rabbits eat: a list and feeding rules, what not
Cute, fluffy animal - a decorative rabbit, has long been a welcome pet in the family. It is believed that keeping them is simple: he gave cabbage, carrots - let him gnaw. But few people know that cabbage in the diet of these pussies is undesirable. As well as some vegetables and fruits. What kind of vegetables can harm, and what can be given to rabbits without harm, we figure it out together.
What vegetables can rabbits eat
It is known that the main food of animals is hay, but it must be supplemented with fresh vegetables and fruits. Juicy food is a source of vitamins and minerals, an opportunity to pamper your pet with a tasty berry.Vegetables are added to the feed gradually and carefully, even harvested in the country are not always useful for rabbits.
The delicate organism of animals can react violently with unpleasant moments, for example:
- disordered stool;
- edema;
- intestinal obstruction;
- gas accumulation.
After carefully observing the decorative rabbit, it is important to determine which vegetables are preferred. But you should not constantly offer one root crop or greens, you need to create variety for the eared. The following vegetables are needed in the diet:
- green peas;
- cabbage (some types);
- potatoes (tubers only);
- beets;
- lettuce (preferably dark varieties);
- carrots (root and tops);
- zucchini (pumpkin);
- cucumbers;
- radish.
Green peas. Fruits are rich in proteins, lysine, easy to digest. Rabbits quickly gain weight, but so that gases do not disturb the animal, it is better to mix peas with bran, compound feed.
Cabbage Rabbit's favorite vegetable, but with a bunch of caveats. Still, so juicy, up to 90% water, a lot of vitamins E and C. From vitamins, the wool becomes silk, pleases with a he althy sheen. Although the animals are happy to eat any cabbage, experts advise caution in giving leaves of cauliflower, savoy and broccoli. In white cabbage, only the upper leaves are used, which you need a little so as not to provoke bloating.
Potato. They use very little. Potatoes are high in starch, which promotes weight gain. Therefore, boiled tubers are given no more than once a week. Excellent nutrition for meat breeds, but for decorative breeds they make restrictions.
Beets. Fodder beet fits perfectly into the diet of eared animals. Especially the sugar variety - it is offered boiled and raw. The tops are rich in trace elements, but because of their laxative properties, they are given in combination with branches of oak, alder, which have an astringent effect.
Lettuce. The composition contains oxalic acid, which causes a malfunction of the kidneys. But also in the salad there are quite a lot of vitamins and useful trace elements. Choose dark lettuce leaves because of their low calcium content.
Carrots. Storehouse of carotene. Only a small root crop is fed raw, whole or in cubes. To make consumption regular, alternate with dried carrot greens.
Zucchini, pumpkinOnly fresh pieces increase the digestibility of hay. Zucchini quickly deteriorates and can cause diarrhea in the animal. Pumpkin improves digestion, which immediately affects the quality of wool. Seeds are suitable for the prevention of worms. Babies can make pumpkin puree.
Cucumbers. A low-calorie vegetable is indispensable for summer nutrition, added grated or chopped to other foods. Good for rabbits as it promotes lactation.
Radishes. Contains folic acid and a lot of useful substances. During the season they give without restrictions. Leaves are best mixed with other greens.
Corn (milk raw, boiled) will also be useful for a rabbit. And do not forget about the sense of proportion. Another vegetable can become a favorite delicacy - this is Jerusalem artichoke, a piggy bank of any utility. After tasting it raw, the big-ears often refuse other food.
Table of vitamins found in vegetables recommended for food:
| Vitamins | ||
| Vitamin C | Vitamin B | |
| rutabaga, carrot leaves, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, radish leaves, parsnip root, Jerusalem artichoke | broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrot tops, radish tops | |
Fruit to give
Rabbits sharpen fruit with great pleasure, it is difficult to keep track, so as not to overfeed the pet. Fruits and berries are not the main food, they are a supplement that stimulates digestion and helps cleanse the intestines from wool.
Applied in portions, between the main feed and grass. Be sure to observe the reaction of the body and cancel if necessary.
Pieces of fruit serve as a reward for training. How to accommodate a pet? These are delicious treats from:
- apples, pears;
- kiwi, banana;
- melon, watermelon;
- strawberries, raspberries,
- sea buckthorn;
- currants.
Forbidden foods
Although rabbits are willing to eat all vegetables and fruits, some are undesirable on the menu. For example, there are restrictions on cabbage, beets. Red cabbage is strictly prohibited, and table beets, unlike sugar and fodder, can be fatal.
Citrus fruits are not suitable for rabbit food, except for tangerine, just a slice a week. All stone fruits (apricot, plum, peach) are also out of favor with specialists.
Solanaceous tops are poisonous to animals. Therefore, do not try to add a little green stems of tomato, potato, eggplant. Raw potatoes won't help either. The diet of pets should not contain cuttings and leaves of rhubarb, beans.
How to feed properly?
Of course, only clean, dry vegetables at room temperature are fed. Products are best cut into small pieces. Do not give two different products at the same time, constantly check the pet's stool for abnormalities.
Alternate berries with vegetables. Try to exclude zucchini and melon in one go, choose the right combinations correctly. Of course, do not offer products that are overripe, fermented, with rot spots. Do not feed fruits to pregnant females due to possible indigestion.
It's easy to form a menu rich in useful elements. It is important to follow the recommendations, do not overfeed decorative rabbits, feed a variety of vegetables, fresh fruits.
Recommended
What bees eat: do they eat honey and the diet in nature, the rules of feeding in the apiary
Many people are interested in what exactly bees eat in the wild and in the apiary. In fact, their diet is quite varied and depends on the seasonal factor.
What grass do cows eat: what can and can not be given and grown for livestock feed
Before you take the cattle to pasture, you need to find out what kind of grass cows eat willingly, which ones are perceived badly, and which ones are completely forbidden to give them.
Can rabbits eat tangerines: feeding rules, contraindications and harm
The owners of eared animals have a question - is it possible to give tangerines to rabbits. They have a personal perception of food, for one they will not hurt, but for another it will become bad even from a piece.
