# Can a 5-week-old rabbit have veggies?



## Holland Lops1247 (Sep 28, 2012)

Hi I have two 5-week-old Holland Lops. I have read they are not supposed to have veggies until they are older. Is this true? Or can they have lettuce/carrots?
I don't want them to die or get diarrhea or something... 

Thanks


----------



## Imbrium (Sep 28, 2012)

you should wait until at LEAST 12 weeks to introduce veggies, then introduce them one at a time.

when the time comes, iceberg lettuce is a huge no-no, btw... and carrots should only be given in very small amounts (they can be fed larger amounts of the green tops though).

http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html has a good veggie list with feeding instructions for veggies


----------



## Nancy McClelland (Sep 28, 2012)

:yeahthat:


----------



## LakeCondo (Sep 28, 2012)

To prevent diarrhea, when the time comes to introduce a veggie, do no more than 1 a week & start with just a bite or 2 the 1st day.

One the rabbit is full-grown & restricted as to calcium, I wouldn't feed many carrot top leaves. They contain an awfully lot of calcium, 10x the amount of other calcium-rich veggies.


----------



## Thumperina (Sep 29, 2012)

> Once the rabbit is full-grown


when does this happen? 

What is the damage if they try veggies a little earlier than 12 weeks? I am not saying "not a big deal", I really want to know. If veggies don't cause any immediate issues (with poop etc), is there a chance of health problems in perspective? I'm asking as I have 10-weeks olds who get to parents' veggies sometimes. I m trying not let them but not always I can. What issues can they develop if they seem to be OK and happy?


----------



## Imbrium (Sep 29, 2012)

full grown = around 6-7 months

I'm not sure exactly what the repercussions are of eating veggies earlier, I just know they're not supposed to. a few nibbles of mom's veggies now and then isn't a big deal, though.


----------



## OakRidgeRabbits (Sep 29, 2012)

Holland Lops1247 wrote:


> Hi I have two 5-week-old Holland Lops. I have read they are not supposed to have veggies until they are older. Is this true? Or can they have lettuce/carrots?
> I don't want them to die or get diarrhea or something...
> 
> Thanks



I would wait until 6 months old to feed any veggies to Holland Lops. I raise Hollands and they are much more susceptible to digestive upset as babies than the other breeds I've raised. I don't know why, they just always have been.

There is no rush and it certainly won't hurt to wait until their systems are more mature.


----------

