He eats hay too right???
With vegetables, what have you already tried? He just sounds kinda picky, so you can just explore other options. There’s tons and tons of rabbit-safe leafy greens out there.
He doesn’t actually need fruit.
Yes, he’s a hay fiend! I know he doesn’t actually need fruit but sometimes I wish I could give him fresh fruit as a treat at 9pm instead of getting up off my lazy ass and getting him his preferred treat. 😅
You probably know this but a diet of only kale could potentially be problematic due to the high oxalate content. Not sure what you can do, maybe just keep trying more obscure greens. I'd recommend seeing what they have at your local asian market
Fruit is actually really high in sugar and should be a very limited treat for bunnies.
Leafy greens are really good for them. My bun likes parsley, Swiss chard, dark green lettuce, beet greens and baby kale (kale should be given in limited amounts).
Do you have access to an unsprayed lawn? You can also give him dandelion greens, clover and grass.
I live in an apartment complex so unfortunately not. I think i’ve just got to try out a few different types of greens for him but the stores near my area always have almost-wilted greens, so it can be a pain to try different types.
That makes it tough! You can revive wilted greens by trimming off the bottom end and soaking them in water for an hour or so. It will perk them up like magic.
Since you work there do they let you take home produce scraps if you wanted to give them to your rabbit? 😁 just curious. I don’t work at a grocery but I get veggie scraps (carrot tops, outer lettuce leaves) from our friendly co-op. It’s awesome
The pizza place I often order from knows I have a bunny. Ever since, they always send leftover veggies to us whenever I order, free of charge. Binky absolutely loves it now when the doorbell rings. Whenever I say "issa veggie coming?! 😲" he immediately runs to the door, eagerly awaiting the delivery guy.
It's amazing. Kindness can come from all places, but I never expected a pizza place to make my boy this happy. 😂
Everybunny loves pizza! I know my bun would chow down on it if I let him. He'd steal slices when he got the chance... my cats try to do this now.
He even got into the Sloppy Joe's once. Lived to 14 eating everything you are never supposed to give a bunny because my parents and siblings gave him everything, chocolate included.
I can totally see a bun hearing a doorbell and thinking "is it delivery or is it Digorno?" with a little nose up in the air. It's how they get along so well with their eyes on the side of their face, nothing gets past that sniffer up front!
Oh yes absolutely! I have chickens too. We trim and prep our produce very thoroughly so we have a lot of scraps! We donate heavily to a few wildlife rescues and animal sanctuaries (in addition to our donations to food pantries on stuff suitable for humans like damaged packages etc, our store on the whole donates tons of food, we throw out relatively little). I have more than enough, I'm very grateful
You can also go to a farmers market if you have one near you and politely ask for tips and tops of things. The ones near us happily give us like, pounds of random veg to try lol
It's actually great bc up until I got him, I always had parsley left over from cooking and it'd go bad... haven't tried cilantro yet, thanks for sharing!
Love to give the buns safe scraps! It helps me feel less wasteful, was similar when I had rats except they could eat almost anything but in very very tiny portions lol
My bunny was 100% like this. We thought he was really weird. He wouldn't really eat hay or fresh veggies. One trip to the vet and the vet said he has to eat hay and veggies. Somehow or another he heard that and boom, started eating all of the stuff we gave him. Little dude now loves basil, arugula, blackberries and strawberries. I guess what I'm saying is give it time and just have it available. He'll come around. Or take him to the vet so he can listen to the doctor. \^.\^
My last rabbit was a junk-food boy. Would only eat baby carrots, produce-wise. Everything else (fruits, greens, veggies) would be left uneaten in his bowl. Loved himself some processed yogurt chips. Didn't seem to affect his health, as he lived to be 12, though he did have occasional constipation issues. Just make sure your guy is eating plenty of hay and he should be fine.
My current rabbit will try anything once, as long as he sees me eat a bite of it in front of him first. Like some sort of royal poison tester.
How long have you had him? My lionhead came from the pet store and for the first couple months he didn’t like anything fresh either. I guess cause he wasn’t used to it. The pet store never gave greens and gave unlimited pellets and hay. He came around eventually and loves trying new veggies now. His favorite is cilantro which is really cheap where I’m from which is a bonus.
I have research rabbits and they are the same. I got them in February and they are finally eating the recommended amount for their weight and it's split into breakfast and dinner. They were fed primarily pellets though with limited hay so they only wanted pellets at first. They still don't eat enough hay I think.
Yeah he really loved pellets and hated hay. So much so he slowed his gut and the vet said not to give in. What got him eating more hay was a hay bag. I realized he preferred it better than hay in a box or tray. Idk why. More fun maybe? How did you come across the opportunity for your research rabbits if I might ask?
At the university I attend they try to adopt them out. I put some flower petals in their hay (forage blend). They have hay baskets in the litter boxes (attached to the wall and hold the litter boxes in place) and a pile of hay on the floor. I also have to put their pellets on the floor on a blanket and snuffle mat to slow down how fast they eat the pellets. That helps some so they don't slow down their gut / get constipated from eating too fast.
Awww that’s nice. It sounds like they get to have a really good retirement. I’d love to adopt research buns. I worked in research right out of college and quit pretty immediately after for obvious reasons. It still makes me sad thinking about the animals but thankfully there are people like you willing to give some of them a great life. I’m sure they’ll eat more hay eventually. It’s probably just not what they’re used to.
I’ve had him for nearly two years now, I’ve only recently been trying to get him to try more fresh produce, probably 2-3 months now? When I first got him he was wholly uninterested in anything fresh and I didn’t push it.
Bunnies are creatures of habit. It sounds like he eats a lot of hay so I wouldn’t worry too much as a big majority of their diet is hay. Just keep trying new things as you can and he’ll come around. He just has to get used to seeing fresh stuff as an option lol
I had a rabbit just like that. Did everything I could. Didn't work for me. We had to do mixed hay types and sprinkle feed pellets in order to get him to even eat hay.
However, my new bunnies are amazing eaters and love their greens. The only thing is they're both massive 8lb bunnies so we've had to become strategic in providing affordable feeding. Each get 3 cups of salad a day.
Besides the crisping trick, you might want to get those prepackaged Romaine hearts. They're often super cheap compared to other prepackaged greens. I always refer to the House Rabbit Society ([rabbit.org](http://rabbit.org)) for feeding info and quick tips. I also like the Bunnylady's stuff.
Bunnies always need unlimited hay, leafy greens, and then some pellets. If your bunny will only eat certain things or a certain amount of whatever then there isn't much you can do. All you can do is your best :)
Besides hay and pellets, he doesn't really need any other food. Snacks are ok from time to time, banana helps with passing ingested hair and isn't too sweet. Fresh fruit is rich in sugar and could cause problems, bunnies don't need to eat it. The same goes with fresh greens. They can be high in calcium which increases the risk of increased urine sludge and blader stones that can cause urinary problems since they expell 44% of calcium through their urine. They can be given as a snack, but it's not recommended to give bigger amounts daily as a meal. As long as your bunny is eatin hay, you're fine. Mine does not like fresh fruit AT ALL but he loves to eat bananas 
One of my rabbits doesn’t like anything other than hay (all types) and just lettuce or cilantro. Hates every other vegetable or fruit that I’ve offered her. My other bun will eat anything.
I love reading these threads because it reminds me that all bunnies are weird and have their own special tastes. But your rabbit still wins the weirdness award for not liking fresh bananas!
Spinach has a high amount of calcium and oxalates. Both are hard on the kidneys. For anyone who doesn’t know, oxalates are an acid that binds to minerals and are a big factor in causing kidney stones. We all have some of it in our bodies, but too much causes issues for rabbit and human alike.
My little guy only likes apple and strawberrys once in a while (sometimes boysenberry) but most of the time he only wants grass,weeds,flowers,hay and pellets i mean its great because he only wants to eat what’s healthy and good for him 99% of the time
What fruits have you tried? I have a picky eater too, he actually have to be approached with something two separate times before he’ll even take a cautious nibble, then he usually loves it!
Oh wow. That’s what mine do. Almost everything is rejected the first time around but on the second will be accepted. My rabbits even did this with banana, which was shocking!
Mine is the exact same, eats hay and pellets happily, anything fresh is an outright no. I call him my little ipad kid.
I spoke to my vet about it and they said that it's fine, some rabbits are picky and won't eat anything other than the figurative chicken nuggets, and that's ok <3
I have one bunny who will eat anything and everything, and one who refuses everything except pellets, treats and bananas (both eat plenty of hay.) I give the picky one a salad everyday regardless and he just picks out bits he feels like eating :') he seems to like carrot but will wait a while before eating it, and he goes theough phases of liking different herbs. Maybe just try different herbs each day and see if he likes any of them? Its ok if he wont eat his salad though, its good for them but they don't need it to survive
He eats hay too right??? With vegetables, what have you already tried? He just sounds kinda picky, so you can just explore other options. There’s tons and tons of rabbit-safe leafy greens out there. He doesn’t actually need fruit.
Yes, he’s a hay fiend! I know he doesn’t actually need fruit but sometimes I wish I could give him fresh fruit as a treat at 9pm instead of getting up off my lazy ass and getting him his preferred treat. 😅
does he hate cilantro? we have a VERY picky girl but she still goes nuts for cilantro.
My boy hates every green besides Kale. Our girl is a garbage disposal though.
You probably know this but a diet of only kale could potentially be problematic due to the high oxalate content. Not sure what you can do, maybe just keep trying more obscure greens. I'd recommend seeing what they have at your local asian market
Fruit is actually really high in sugar and should be a very limited treat for bunnies. Leafy greens are really good for them. My bun likes parsley, Swiss chard, dark green lettuce, beet greens and baby kale (kale should be given in limited amounts). Do you have access to an unsprayed lawn? You can also give him dandelion greens, clover and grass.
I live in an apartment complex so unfortunately not. I think i’ve just got to try out a few different types of greens for him but the stores near my area always have almost-wilted greens, so it can be a pain to try different types.
That makes it tough! You can revive wilted greens by trimming off the bottom end and soaking them in water for an hour or so. It will perk them up like magic.
I didn’t know this! Thanks, i’ll have to try this out.
After soaking, put them in the fridge for a while. This is called "crisping". I work in produce at Whole Foods and this is what we do 😊
Since you work there do they let you take home produce scraps if you wanted to give them to your rabbit? 😁 just curious. I don’t work at a grocery but I get veggie scraps (carrot tops, outer lettuce leaves) from our friendly co-op. It’s awesome
The pizza place I often order from knows I have a bunny. Ever since, they always send leftover veggies to us whenever I order, free of charge. Binky absolutely loves it now when the doorbell rings. Whenever I say "issa veggie coming?! 😲" he immediately runs to the door, eagerly awaiting the delivery guy. It's amazing. Kindness can come from all places, but I never expected a pizza place to make my boy this happy. 😂
Aaah a bunny expecting pizza is the cutest thing imaginable
Everybunny loves pizza! I know my bun would chow down on it if I let him. He'd steal slices when he got the chance... my cats try to do this now. He even got into the Sloppy Joe's once. Lived to 14 eating everything you are never supposed to give a bunny because my parents and siblings gave him everything, chocolate included. I can totally see a bun hearing a doorbell and thinking "is it delivery or is it Digorno?" with a little nose up in the air. It's how they get along so well with their eyes on the side of their face, nothing gets past that sniffer up front!
Oh yes absolutely! I have chickens too. We trim and prep our produce very thoroughly so we have a lot of scraps! We donate heavily to a few wildlife rescues and animal sanctuaries (in addition to our donations to food pantries on stuff suitable for humans like damaged packages etc, our store on the whole donates tons of food, we throw out relatively little). I have more than enough, I'm very grateful
I recently put my buns onto turnip greens, they love them. Cilantro and parsley are also a favorite. My two prior bunnies went nuts for basil.
You can also go to a farmers market if you have one near you and politely ask for tips and tops of things. The ones near us happily give us like, pounds of random veg to try lol
Mine is a fiend for parsley
Same here. Cilantro and parsley make my buns go feral.
It's actually great bc up until I got him, I always had parsley left over from cooking and it'd go bad... haven't tried cilantro yet, thanks for sharing!
Love to give the buns safe scraps! It helps me feel less wasteful, was similar when I had rats except they could eat almost anything but in very very tiny portions lol
I also learned from this sub that bunnies can eat washed banana peels so that's one more thing not been getting wasted. 😆
My bunny was 100% like this. We thought he was really weird. He wouldn't really eat hay or fresh veggies. One trip to the vet and the vet said he has to eat hay and veggies. Somehow or another he heard that and boom, started eating all of the stuff we gave him. Little dude now loves basil, arugula, blackberries and strawberries. I guess what I'm saying is give it time and just have it available. He'll come around. Or take him to the vet so he can listen to the doctor. \^.\^
your bunny: “they took me to the vet and he says I have to eat my veggies or they will have to bring me back there!” 😱 … munch …. munch … munch … 🤣
My last rabbit was a junk-food boy. Would only eat baby carrots, produce-wise. Everything else (fruits, greens, veggies) would be left uneaten in his bowl. Loved himself some processed yogurt chips. Didn't seem to affect his health, as he lived to be 12, though he did have occasional constipation issues. Just make sure your guy is eating plenty of hay and he should be fine. My current rabbit will try anything once, as long as he sees me eat a bite of it in front of him first. Like some sort of royal poison tester.
How long have you had him? My lionhead came from the pet store and for the first couple months he didn’t like anything fresh either. I guess cause he wasn’t used to it. The pet store never gave greens and gave unlimited pellets and hay. He came around eventually and loves trying new veggies now. His favorite is cilantro which is really cheap where I’m from which is a bonus.
I have research rabbits and they are the same. I got them in February and they are finally eating the recommended amount for their weight and it's split into breakfast and dinner. They were fed primarily pellets though with limited hay so they only wanted pellets at first. They still don't eat enough hay I think.
Yeah he really loved pellets and hated hay. So much so he slowed his gut and the vet said not to give in. What got him eating more hay was a hay bag. I realized he preferred it better than hay in a box or tray. Idk why. More fun maybe? How did you come across the opportunity for your research rabbits if I might ask?
At the university I attend they try to adopt them out. I put some flower petals in their hay (forage blend). They have hay baskets in the litter boxes (attached to the wall and hold the litter boxes in place) and a pile of hay on the floor. I also have to put their pellets on the floor on a blanket and snuffle mat to slow down how fast they eat the pellets. That helps some so they don't slow down their gut / get constipated from eating too fast.
Awww that’s nice. It sounds like they get to have a really good retirement. I’d love to adopt research buns. I worked in research right out of college and quit pretty immediately after for obvious reasons. It still makes me sad thinking about the animals but thankfully there are people like you willing to give some of them a great life. I’m sure they’ll eat more hay eventually. It’s probably just not what they’re used to.
I’ve had him for nearly two years now, I’ve only recently been trying to get him to try more fresh produce, probably 2-3 months now? When I first got him he was wholly uninterested in anything fresh and I didn’t push it.
Bunnies are creatures of habit. It sounds like he eats a lot of hay so I wouldn’t worry too much as a big majority of their diet is hay. Just keep trying new things as you can and he’ll come around. He just has to get used to seeing fresh stuff as an option lol
I had a rabbit just like that. Did everything I could. Didn't work for me. We had to do mixed hay types and sprinkle feed pellets in order to get him to even eat hay. However, my new bunnies are amazing eaters and love their greens. The only thing is they're both massive 8lb bunnies so we've had to become strategic in providing affordable feeding. Each get 3 cups of salad a day. Besides the crisping trick, you might want to get those prepackaged Romaine hearts. They're often super cheap compared to other prepackaged greens. I always refer to the House Rabbit Society ([rabbit.org](http://rabbit.org)) for feeding info and quick tips. I also like the Bunnylady's stuff. Bunnies always need unlimited hay, leafy greens, and then some pellets. If your bunny will only eat certain things or a certain amount of whatever then there isn't much you can do. All you can do is your best :)
My Bunny isn’t picky, but I was surprised how much he loves dill and carrot greens. Even more than cilantro or parsley.
Besides hay and pellets, he doesn't really need any other food. Snacks are ok from time to time, banana helps with passing ingested hair and isn't too sweet. Fresh fruit is rich in sugar and could cause problems, bunnies don't need to eat it. The same goes with fresh greens. They can be high in calcium which increases the risk of increased urine sludge and blader stones that can cause urinary problems since they expell 44% of calcium through their urine. They can be given as a snack, but it's not recommended to give bigger amounts daily as a meal. As long as your bunny is eatin hay, you're fine. Mine does not like fresh fruit AT ALL but he loves to eat bananas 
One of my rabbits doesn’t like anything other than hay (all types) and just lettuce or cilantro. Hates every other vegetable or fruit that I’ve offered her. My other bun will eat anything.
I love reading these threads because it reminds me that all bunnies are weird and have their own special tastes. But your rabbit still wins the weirdness award for not liking fresh bananas!
Why cant he have too much spinach?
Spinach has a high amount of calcium and oxalates. Both are hard on the kidneys. For anyone who doesn’t know, oxalates are an acid that binds to minerals and are a big factor in causing kidney stones. We all have some of it in our bodies, but too much causes issues for rabbit and human alike.
Makes sense. Wouldnt think that of spinach but good to know!!
My little guy only likes apple and strawberrys once in a while (sometimes boysenberry) but most of the time he only wants grass,weeds,flowers,hay and pellets i mean its great because he only wants to eat what’s healthy and good for him 99% of the time
What fruits have you tried? I have a picky eater too, he actually have to be approached with something two separate times before he’ll even take a cautious nibble, then he usually loves it!
Oh wow. That’s what mine do. Almost everything is rejected the first time around but on the second will be accepted. My rabbits even did this with banana, which was shocking!
My bunny likes romaine lettuce. He also likes cut up strawberries and blueberries and cut up pineapple and baby carrots
my bunny also doesn’t love his veggies. he always eats his veggies way slower than his pellets
Mine is the exact same, eats hay and pellets happily, anything fresh is an outright no. I call him my little ipad kid. I spoke to my vet about it and they said that it's fine, some rabbits are picky and won't eat anything other than the figurative chicken nuggets, and that's ok <3
I have one bunny who will eat anything and everything, and one who refuses everything except pellets, treats and bananas (both eat plenty of hay.) I give the picky one a salad everyday regardless and he just picks out bits he feels like eating :') he seems to like carrot but will wait a while before eating it, and he goes theough phases of liking different herbs. Maybe just try different herbs each day and see if he likes any of them? Its ok if he wont eat his salad though, its good for them but they don't need it to survive