There's more to feeding rabbits vegetables than meets the eye: keep these three key points in mind
rabbits
People often mistakenly assume that rabbits like to eat vegetables, and many breeders feed vegetables to rabbits as well, not realizing that this is an unscientific feeding method, and that feeding vegetables to rabbits has many harmful effects.
Feeding rabbits one kind or several kinds of vegetables over the long term will cause nutritional deficiencies in certain respects, affecting the growth and development of young rabbits, while adult rabbits will not be able to give full play to their production performance.
Vegetables such as bok choy, napa cabbage, leaf beet, mustard greens, lettuce, radish, spinach, cabbage and kale are commonly grown, but because the variety is limited, feeding rabbits one kind or several kinds of vegetable leaves (or tops) over the long term can cause nutritional deficiencies in certain respects (insufficient protein, energy, crude fiber, etc.); young rabbits will have their growth and development affected, while adult rabbits will not be able to give full play to their production performance. Vegetable leaves (or tops) have an average moisture content as high as 75%-85% and a low crude fiber content, and their palatability is good, so rabbits tend to overeat them, causing gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea.
According to relevant reports, feeding vegetables to young rabbits within 90 days of age will cause diarrhea in just a few days. Cabbage, head cabbage, radish tops, amaranth, lettuce leaves, kale and others contain relatively large amounts of nitrate. In fertile soil, where heavy applications of nitrogen fertilizer have been made or certain herbicides have been applied, or during pest and disease outbreaks or drought, the nitrate content of vegetables can increase even further. Because rabbits often overeat vegetables, they take in relatively large amounts of nitrate, which can cause gastroenteritis, along with reduced appetite and diarrhea. After vegetables have been damaged by pests, trampled, frosted, piled up and transported, especially in hot, stuffy weather, the nitrate in them can very easily turn into highly toxic nitrite; a rabbit that eats only about 200 g of such vegetables will be poisoned, and may even die.
rabbits
Therefore, when feeding vegetables to rabbits, they must first of all be fresh, without mud, sand or dew. When feeding them, at the very least do not use a single kind of vegetable leaf (or top) continuously to feed rabbits; when mixing them with other forage grasses, the amount used should also be as small as possible, and at the same time feed some feed with a low moisture content and a high crude fiber content, such as bran, green hay and dry leaves. If vegetables need to be stored temporarily, by no means pile them up; spread them out instead. When the feeding amount is large, administer 0.2 g of chlortetracycline per rabbit to inhibit the growth and reproduction of reducing bacteria and prevent gastroenteritis and nitrite poisoning.
When diarrhea occurs in rabbits fed vegetable leaves, feeding of vegetables should be suspended and replaced with some green hay and dry leaves, and 2% charcoal powder or 1% medical charcoal, or else 3% zeolite powder, should be added to the rabbits' mixed feed or compound feed. When gastroenteritis occurs in rabbits fed vegetables, treat them promptly with antibiotics or sulfonamide drugs. If nitrite poisoning occurs in rabbits, use 1% methylene blue at 1 mg/kg body weight, or 5% toluidine blue at 2 mg/kg body weight, by ear vein injection or by intramuscular and intraperitoneal injection; vitamin C can also reduce methemoglobin to hemoglobin, so it is often used together with the above two antidotes, 0.5-2 g at a time by intramuscular injection or dissolved in 20-30 mL of 25% glucose for intravenous injection. At the same time, activated charcoal should also be administered to adsorb the nitrate and nitrite in the gastrointestinal tract, and cardiac stimulants and fluid replacement should be given to improve the body condition and promote the excretion of nitrite; with comprehensive treatment, the cure rate is high.
rabbits
There are three things to avoid when feeding rabbits vegetables
1. Avoid feeding rabbits vegetables that have been piled up, sealed and turned yellow
Fresh green vegetables contain 0.1 mg of nitrite per kg; after green vegetables have been piled up, sealed and turned yellow, the nitrite content increases to 2.4 mg per kg. If green vegetables that have been piled up, sealed and turned yellow are used to feed rabbits, the rabbits will suffer nitrite poisoning after eating them, and in severe cases may die. Therefore, when using green vegetables to feed rabbits, freshness must be ensured, and the amount fed each time should not be too much; they should be fed together with other feeds.
2. Avoid feeding rabbits cruciferous vegetables
The main cruciferous vegetables are: mustard greens, rapeseed greens, bok choy, head cabbage, radish and others; these contain a substance called glucosinolate, which is a glucoside and, under the action of myrosinase, can produce thiocyanate, isothiocyanate and other goitrogenic toxins that directly damage the rabbit's liver and kidneys and affect the rabbit's healthy growth. Therefore, cruciferous vegetables should be fed to rabbits as little as possible or not at all.
3. Avoid feeding rabbits vegetables that have been damaged by insects
Feeding rabbits vegetables damaged by aphids and cabbage caterpillars can cause rabbits to develop conjunctivitis, stomatitis, gastroenteritis, rhinitis, vaginitis and diseases such as abdominal pain and diarrhea. At this time, antibiotics should be injected promptly for symptomatic treatment, so vegetables damaged by insects should never be used to feed rabbits.