Are veggies from the grocery store unsafe?

[marinabunny]

I buy veggies (cilantro & mint) for my rabbit from the grocery section of walmart. Does anyone know if these are unsafe for rabbits, as this is the only place i can get them from (i can no longer grow them because the winter season is here). I have also noticed that her poop is becoming softer with the veggies from the grocery store, whereas when i fed her my backyard ones she was fine. So do store-bought ones have pesticides/dangerous chemicals?

[Deleted User]

Um, unless they are labelled organic I’d say they’ve been treated in some way with pesticides. No different to us – give them a rinse
/wash before you feed them to your bun. Cheers.

[LongEaredLions]

Do you wash the veggies well?
Did you feed her the same veggies (cilantro and mint) before you had to buy them from the store?
Are the veggies fresh? Sometimes veggies from Walmart sometimes doesn’t stock the freshest of veggies. Have you fed her more than you usually do?
Any other changes to her diet recently?
If fixing these things doesn’t work, I would take her to the vet.

[marinabunny]

The mint that i bought from the store was sort of different from the one i grew and yeah i dont think the veggies at walmart are very fresh… however i do notice that whenever i feed her veggies her poop is softer than when i dont. Is this a normal thing for her poop to be slightly softer?

[Stickerbunny]

Different TYPES of herbs can cause tummy issues. Just because a bun has had parsley for example, doesn’t mean ALL TYPES of parsley are safe. My male bun gets an upset tummy if I feed ITALIAN parsley but is fine with CURLY parsley. So, be sure you are matching exactly the type he/she is used to, or introduce slowly. And rinse the veggies well, yes they have pesticides on them – even organic often use organic pesticides. So, rinse, rinse, rinse.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Gosh I hate wal marts produce section. I go out of my way to get veggies elsewhere. I don’t even get meat from their store. Basically anything that is supposed to be purchased “fresh” I don’t dare get from them. I do get canned goods and boxed pasta and such but gah they just bother me for some reason lol

Anyhoo, even organic labeled veggies usually have pesticide on them. They use natural ingredients vs chemicals. So definitely rinse them thoroughly before offering him the veggies.

[Eepster]

Almost all of Porky’s veggies come from the supermarket. I get organic as much as possible, but conventional when I can’t.

I would recommend a wider variety than just cilantro and mint.

[marinabunny]

I should of added this- I have parsley in addition to cilantro and mint but I’m scared to give it to her because she is very sensitive. I usually don’t like introducing new veggies because she gets soft poop. She has had spinach before too, only a little

[tobyluv]

Have you tried Romaine lettuce for your bunny? That’s a very common veggie for rabbits, and it’s unlikely to cause any problems. Start slow, as you would with any new veggie.

I have only been to the Walmart grocery section a couple of times, and I was not impressed with the quality or selection of their produce.

[Jessie1990]

My rabbits refuse vegetables bought from Walmart, so now we don’t even eat them ourselves. Hy-vee gets their vegetables from local greenhouses, so we shop there. Just make sure you wash your veggies.

[marinabunny]

@Tobyluv I heard romaine lettuce/any type of lettuce was bad for them?

[Eepster]

Some lettuces, such as iceberg, are very poor in nutritional value. Other varieties though are great. Romaine is both nutritious and commonly available, so it tends to be the go-to lettuce.

[Kayota]

I like Red Leaf and Green Leaf too as well as those variety boxes you can get that have four kinds in them. The rabbits agree

The Walmarts here have plenty of selection but Kroger has much much better quality produce for the most part. And then there are the Fresh Foods and the Neighborhood Co-op which both have even better food, but they’re out of my way so I don’t get out there much. IGA isn’t bad but their stuff is expensive so I just go there if I’m already there and don’t want to go out of town that day.

[Bam]

Commercially conventional grown plants are often more watery or how I should describe it, than stuff you grow yourself. It’s because commercial, conventional growers grow stuff fast with artificial fertilizers, to get as many crops/year as possible. (You can see the difference, organic veggies are often smaller and less “perfect” to look at, but when you taste them, their taste is better.)

Maybe that’s why your bunny reacts to store-bought produce. Always rinse very carefully. And introduce slowly, just like you would introduce all new types of veggies. If I give my Bam a bunch of store-bought parsley he’s guaranteed to get sticky poop, so I only feed him a sprig or two/ day. My other bunny happily eats the rest of it, his stomach seems to be of stainless steel. Your bunny may be of the same type as Bam, the extra-sensitive type.

Organic is very expensive here, like 4 times the price of conventional plus I have to go a long way to get it, so my buns most of the time have to make do with conventionally grown greens during the winter. As long as you’ve got really good hay, bunnies will manage.

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