Mom trying to force my rabbit to eat greens!!

[MrCuddles]

She won’t take no for an answer. She thinks she knows more about bunnies and just walked up to my bunny with a handful of green to try make it eat it. I picked him up and walked away because he’s little only 6 weeks and is only eating pellets and hay at the moment. I heard her telling my sister that she’ll feed my rabbit greens when I’m gone!!!!! he’s too little!!! he’ll get sick!! I don’t know what to do!!!  What will actually happen if she feeds him spinach, dandelion leaves and  clover?? 

[Monkeybun]

Your bun could get a rather upset tummy, as he hasn’t had any greens yet. Especially as eh is only 6 weeks old, he should still be with his mama until 8 weeks

[MrCuddles]

Rabbits are weaned and legally sold at 6 weeks in all pet stores in South Australia. So he’s fine without his mom right now. I’m just worried about him getting diarrhoea! When is it suitable for a bunny to eat greens(what age)?

[Hunny's Momma]

Most will tell you 12 weeks… I started introducing my newest bun to greens at 8 weeks (also brought her home at 6 weeks) BUT she is a Flemish Giant and is already 4-5lbs @ 10 weeks old. And I started out with small amounts and fed her the same type for 3-4 days straight to make sure she didn’t have a reaction before I intoduced a different type. She’s up to 4 differnt types of greens with no reaction (upset belly or diarrhea) and is loving it.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Tell your Mom that if he gets sick you will have to take him to the vet.

[TH004]

I would put it into people terms, which may be easier to understand. Would she feed random foods to a 6-week-old baby? No? Just milk? Now why is that? Could it be that they are too young? Maybe that will help put it into perspective. It is hard for people to understand rabbits can’t just eat anything that isn’t meat (my parents kept wanting to feed my first one crackers).

[RabbitPam]

TH004 makes a very good point. Explaining to your mom in those terms clarifies why you are upset with her, and not just the general “it will make her sick” statement. You can also look at the diet section here under bunny info. and check out the House Rabbit Society’s site (www.rabbit.org) for articles on how to best feed a bunny of that age and when to change the diets. I would suggest copying and printing out these bits of information and give them to your mother to read.

Otherwise, it will be her responsibility to clean up the little one’s mess if he gets ill, and take him to the vet. I am sure the vet will explain what diet is best for bunny.

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