Carrots

Question
Hi, we just got a 7 week old white bunny with long ears that flop down.  I'm
not sure of his breed, but I was wondering when we can safely give him a
baby carrot.  I give him the alfafa hay and rabbit pellets now.  Thank you.  
Kathleen

Answer
Hi Kathleen,

you have a rabbit that falls into the "Lop" (for lop-eared) category.  There are several types, french, english, holland, or mini.  It doesn't really matter as long as you know he's a lop, and he is loved a bunch.  Be aware lops can sometimes have more ear problems (because they can get more infections with ears down) than other rabbits.  

I would avoid giving him any carrots at this young age, or any other food item that is high in sugar (natural and especially processed/added sugar) because it will screw up his digestive system.  His gi tract bacteria mix is just starting to handle solids (hay, pellets).  

You can, however, SLOWLY, in low quantities, start to give him green, leafy vegetables.  Do not give him more than one new (different) vegetable every two weeks.  That way his gut has time to develop the right bacteria to handle each specific vegetable, and if on the off-chance a veggie doesn't sit right with him, you can know immediately which one it is and avoid feeding that veggie to him anymore.  

Be prepared that if you start giving him a veggie, to feed him that consistently as part of his normal diet.  His digestive system will get used to having it and you don't want to abruptly stop giving him anything as this can set his  gut bacteria off-balance and cause problems.

If you do ever decide to eliminate a veggie, take a couple weeks to ramp down the quantity of that veggie, don't stop giving it altogether - so that his gut bacteria level can adjust slowly to the changes without causing problems.

Portion wise, as he is small now, I would say he should only get 1/4 cup of greens, max.  That would be a quarter cup of ALL greens, not each one.  However, depending on how many different ones you plan to give him, ramp up each from nothing to 1/3 of the total 1/4 cup.  So the first veggie, goes from nothing to 1/12 of a cup over two weeks.  The next veggie goes from 0 to 1/12 of a cup, and now he's getting 2/12 of a cup total after 4 weeks.  the next veggie goes from 2/12 ot 3/12 (or 1/4 cup).  Now he's at the 1/4 cup per day limit.

You can use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon.  It can be gently packed in there, but don't worry if it's not all fitting in there.  Once you get the idea of size in the cup, you can put it in your hand and then use your hand as a reference to how much to give him.

Once he's a year old, you can slowly bring up the amount to 1/2 cup of greens per day.

A good balance is two to three veggies in a bunny salad.  That way it isn't too hard to make sure you always have them around, and it isn't a lot of work to put together.  I also tend to use some/most veggies I can eat too.

For ex. I give my guys 3 greens.  Romaine lettuce, Green Leaf lettuce, and Italian parsley.  I can eat the first two, and sometimes add the third to a sauce if I need it.

Never give him iceberg lettuce - it is nutritionally garbage.

At about 7 months, you will want to start giving him Timothy hay mixed in with the alfalfa hay.  By age 1, he should be eating entirely timothy hay and timothy food pellets (no more alfalfa).  They are adults at one and do not need the extra calcium the alfalfa hay has.  If you keep giving him the alfalfa like normal, he will probably develop bladder sludge or kidney stones.

I would suggest visiting the House Rabbit Society web site and at the top of their page, search separately on the terms "diet", "nutrition" and "overweight" to bring up lots of great articles on these areas of rabbit care.

Enjoy your new little guy!  Lee