Bunnies and Apples?

[Laurajean]

My house bunny, a New Zealand White, LOVES apples. They are by far her favorite treat. I've taught her to stand up and beg for a chunk of apple and she takes it and runs away and eats it in delight. Every time I have a new guest, they see the bunny and think it's cute that I have a house bunny, so I do the apple trick for them. Every single time, every time, they say in astonishment, "Rabbits can eat apples?!?!?!" as if I just fed her something bizarre. Every time I say, "Sure, she loves them."

Is there something I'm missing here? I mean, I realize these people obviously don't own rabbits, but why such the shock at apples? I can even list other fruit and veggies that she'll eat and they don't care about that. It's APPLES that shock them.

Is there anything out there I don't know about with bunnies eating apples? I just don't get the on-going shock from guests.

 

[GallusGal]

I think people tend to be frozen on the (misinformed) notion that "bunnies eat carrots!" regardless of how bad large numbers of carrots are for them. So discovering anything outside of carrots is probably a stunner to the average joe. Not sure why the incredulity about apples specifically, though. I personally go light on them & anything sugary, but as a treat mine certainly enjoy them as well!

 

[Laurajean]

Quote:
I let her out of her cage every evening for a few hours, since she's most active at night and can get exercise. When I first let her out, I give her half an apple. So that's half an apple a day. That's not too much, right? She seems healthy and a good weight and doesn't get any other sugary treats. Just a few other raw veggies, etc. And of course her hay and rabbit food.

But yeah, I can list all kinds of other veggies, etc that she will eat and they don't have any reaction to that. They just stand there stunned, and repeat "but APPLES??" It's the strangest thing.

 

[GallusGal]

I personally think it is a bit much, yes, mainly because in many rabbits excessive feeding of apples can lead to loose stool (plus it is an awful lot of sugar for a rabbit). With fruit I've always gone by the "1 tablespoon (two for a big bun; I have a flemmie), 1-2 days a week" rule with my bunnies, and try to stick to things like mango and papaya (which pack more of a nutritional punch along with that sugar).

Of course, the absorption of sugar is limited by other factors. For example, fiber helps to regulate blood sugar. So if she eats ample hay as opposed to being a pellet junkie, or plenty of dark leafy greens, it probably isn't as big of a deal as a rabbit who is sitting around eating pellets, carrots, and apples alone (sadly, a lot of people feed their buns little to no hay and no greens).

 

[okiron]

Haha when I first got into rabbits I was confused that I was allowed to give them all these different fruits and vegetables as well. Most people think rabbits = carrots and maybe lettuce.

Yeah, half an apple is way too much for 1 day, everyday imo.

 

[dewey]

They do relish almost any kind of fruit. If at all, a tablespoon or so per 5 pounds as an occasional treat should usually be ok. Banana with the skin on seems to be addictive to them.

 

[tcbfan5]

Wow! maybe i need to do some research! LOL I mean i do have access to the world wide web!

~ I guess i've never really thought about it before, but I've never heard rabbits can eat apples & i've owned 2 now for a couple yrs.. ~We mainly just feed em 'rabbit feed', on occassion, carrots ~ ((I have 2 mini lops.. 1 of thier babies from last yr is in my pic.)) I've heard they can't eat lettace, because it can give them brown spots on their liver, so this is good info here that i'm reading!! THANKS!

 

[ScissorChick]

No, apples are fine. But To much of them can be harmfull.

If fed to much, it may mess up your rabbits stomach. Feed any

sugary fruit in limted amounts. A couple qaurter sized peices daily

are ok. Lettuce should not be fed. Especially ice berg lettuce. Stick

to leafy greens. My rabbit loves them as much as he loves apples.

I'm growing herbs for him. Basil, parsley, and cilantro are all growing

right now!

 

[GallusGal]

Yup. The bulk of any rabbit's diet should be hay (esp timothy) - it should be offered ad libitum, 24/7. A small ammount of pellets, plenty of leafy greens (herbs, weeds, and fresh grass also great), small ammounts of lower-sugar vegetables, and occasional lower-sugar fruit make up the rest of the diet, ideally. House Rabbit Society's website has a good breakdown of diet on it. When I was a kiddo I used to do the 100% pellets, plus some carrots" diet, and I don't think I ever had a rabbit live past four or five years. I now typically have lifespans at LEAST double that, and while my husbandry overall has improved dramatically (housing, vet care, etc.) I credit that change in success at least partially to diet.

 

[DuckyGurl]

I know, we feed ours leftovers.I think ours are just weird with what they eat. They LOVE banana peels, squash peels, kiwi peels, apple cores of course they get it in small amounts but it is interesting to see what they will eat! If they don't eat it we just take it back out. They LOVE it when they see me coming up there with a plate of bowl!