Rabbit greens: serving them together or one at a time changes what gets eaten
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
Putting together a nicely varied bowl of greens looks like the best thing you can do for a rabbit. A study by Safwat, Sarmiento-Franco, Santos-Ricalde and Nieves, published in 2014 in the Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, compared two ways of presenting five forage plants to young rabbits: all of them at once in the cage, or a single one at a time depending on the group (see the study). The results are clear enough to change how you test a new vegetable, a topic our rabbit food section rounds out.
Contents · 4 sections
Served together, one plant takes it all and the rest get ignored
In the first trial, twelve eight-week-old rabbits housed individually were given all five forages simultaneously. The hierarchy proved very pronounced: the favourite plant alone accounted for 25.66% of total intake, while the least popular one dropped to 2.13%. In between, three plants shared portions ranging from 6.83% to 7.91%. The coefficient of variation reached 34.28%, a sign of a very decisive choice: with a favourite available, the rabbit concentrates the meal on it and barely samples the rest.
Served alone, the same plant is eaten readily
The second trial split sixty rabbits into five groups, each receiving just one forage. There, the gaps narrow considerably: the most-eaten plant made up 50.54% of total intake, the least-eaten still 32.90%, with the coefficient of variation falling back to 16.32%. The most telling point concerns a plant that reached only 7.91% of intake alongside its competitors: served on its own, it became the most eaten of the five. In other words, the rejection seen in the mixed bowl wasn't a refusal, but a relative preference.
What this means when testing a new vegetable
The plants tested here are tropical forages, not supermarket vegetables: it's the presentation method to take away, not the list. In practice, judging how a new green is accepted within a mix distorts the reading — better to offer it alone at one meal, then work it in if it's well tolerated, following the gradual approach set out in our guide to a 7 to 10 day diet transition. Which species to pick stays guided by our list of safe vegetables and greens. This selective-feeding mechanism is well documented in the domestic rabbit: Prebble and Meredith, in a study published in 2014 in the Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition covering 32 rabbits, observed systematic selection in every group given a muesli-type mix, whether or not hay was also available (see the study). It's also why a rabbit that neglects its hay in favour of an appealing bowl needs a specific answer, set out in our article on the rabbit that refuses to eat hay.
- 12 rabbits tested with all five plants served at once, 60 rabbits split into 5 groups for the separate presentation.
- Simultaneous offering: from 25.66% down to 2.13% of total intake depending on the plant.
- Separate offering: from 50.54% to 32.90% of total intake, far narrower gaps.
- Coefficient of variation: 34.28% with simultaneous offering versus 16.32% with separate offering.
A rabbit that leaves a green untouched on a mixed plate isn't necessarily refusing it: there's simply something better right next to it. Testing it separately avoids striking a perfectly healthy food off the list for nothing.
Frequently asked questions
Should you stop mixing greens in the bowl?
No, a mix stays practical day to day; it's only for assessing how a new food is accepted that serving it alone, at a dedicated meal, works better.
How long should you test a green served on its own?
A few spaced-out meals are enough to settle the question, while staying within the small quantities recommended when introducing an unfamiliar food.
Does a rabbit that selects heavily end up eating worse?
The risk is an unbalanced intake: when a highly palatable favourite is available, it takes over most of the meal at the expense of variety and, often, of hay.
In our shop, for this use: Wooden hay rack with tray for rabbit, guinea pig and chinchilla (€21.90) · the whole shop
This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Rabbits universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.
