Fresh Foods For House Rabbits

In the interest of finding enough fresh green foods for our bunny friends, we've been researching what local & wild plants are good for bunnies and luckily there is a wealth of information on the web.

Check out this link from www.wisconsinhrs.org to "Gardening for Bunnies" by Karla Ortman
"One thing I enjoyed most about the garden were the fresh and varied salads I picked each day for our bunnies, Speck and Gilligan. And they made it clear that eating the salad was even more wonderful! If you don’t already do some gardening for your rabbits, I hope this article will inspire you to give it a try."

Here is "Suggested Vegetables" from the House Rabbit Society.
"Select at least three kinds of vegetables daily. A variety is necessary in order to obtain the necessary nutrients, with one each day that contains Vitamin A, indicated by an *. Add one vegetable to the diet at a time. Eliminate if it causes soft stools or diarrhea.

Alfalfa, radish & clover sprouts
Basil
Beet greens (tops)*
Bok choy
Broccoli (mostly leaves/stems)*
Brussels sprouts
Carrot & carrot tops*
Celery
Cilantro
Clover
Collard greens*
Dandelion greens and flowers (no pesticides)*
Endive*
Escarole
Green peppers
Kale (!)*
Mint
Mustard greens*
Parsley*
Pea pods (the flat edible kind)*
Peppermint leaves
Raddichio
Radish tops
Raspberry leaves
Romaine lettuce (no iceberg or light colored leaf)*
Spinach (!)*
Watercress*
Wheat grass

(!)=Use sparingly. High in either oxalates or goitrogens and may be toxic in accumulated quantities over a period of time."

More Helpful Rabbit Care Links:

"Please Don't Eat The Daisies!" by Carolina James, found on The Rabbit Charity website, gives lists of safe plants as well as ones to avoid.

And a partial list of Poisonous Plants, Compiled by the University of Illinois' College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and posted on the website of the San Diego chapter of House Rabbit Society.

For more house rabbit references, see the "Rabbit Super-Hero Links" page of our website at www.RabbitHouses.net

House Rabbits Thrive On Daily Routine

In the idea of creating a harmonizing daily routine with house rabbits, it’s very nice for bunnies to have free run of the area much of the time. We feel that when the rabbit is closed in, it should be with one of the original RabbitHouses or other shelter/playhouse along with a Rabbit Potty or other high-sided litter pan (high enough that their bottom can’t hang over the edge, or there will be drippings!) We’ve observed that if bunny is given an alternative litter or potty tray, they will choose to urinate and do most pooping in the potty. Hence the hay den inside the RabbitHouse stays relatively clean and is used mainly for lounging & eating the grass hay, which is refreshed every day or so depending on the rabbit’s consumption.
We’ve discovered that our house rabbits do best when they have their own litter box that is lined with grass hay and placed in the chosen corner or area where the bunnies prefer to pee. Rabbits are very habitual and may need help establishing a daily routine.
Check out the video on our webpage (www.RabbitHouses.net) to see the simple daily routine that our rabbits have gotten used to.
We allow our rabbits free run of the house during the daylight hours, and so the morning begins with the potty being lifted out of their enclosure and the lining pan cleaned and refreshed with new hay. The fence is collapsed and moved to the closet. The simple throw carpets are rolled up, shaken outside & replaced, and a quick sweep done around the RabbitHouse. Meanwhile, the rabbits are as eager as a bunch of long-eared ponies to get munching on the fresh hay in their potty and start their day the HappyBunny! way!

If I were a pet rabbit, what kind of home would I like?

This is one of the questions we pondered when we welcomed a rescued boy rabbit into our home. When tricky Ricky surprised us by giving birth to seven babies, we knew there must be some magic involved! Before long we had a bouncy group of bunz to live with and their curiosity and enthusiasm inspired us to create a special home for our bunny friends. It needed to be easy to keep clean, add to their floor space, give them opportunities for exercise and exploration as well as provide sanctuary from the environment.
In the self-built homes of our rabbits' ancestors, bunny families hopped into their nest homes thru a variety of entrances, crawled to other nest rooms thru indoor tunnels, had a look-out hole to survey the landscape before exiting, had hay dens with bunny-harvested, tasty dried vegetation, and even had a designated potty area. So we wanted to provide those elements and beyond all that, it needed to look great in the living room and fit in with our decor like a piece of fine wooden furniture. Thus the Original RabbitHouse was born, and has continued to evolve in the years since.
We have loads of pictures of our bunny family in their special houses on our website www.RabbitHouses.net , as well as more rabbit care information and Rabbit Super-Hero Links that we've gathered in our explorations. We invite you to check it out, and we welcome your comments, questions and/or suggestions to us via email Rabbit@RabbitHouses.net