Rabbits can eat spring greens. It is one of the crunchy leafy vegetables that these animals enjoy so much, especially during early spring when it grows in abundance.
How should you feed them? Feed them like you do any other veggies, i.e., a chopped mixture of several vegetables and let the amount to two cups for a bunny weighing four pounds every day.
However, you deserve to know that spring greens are high in calcium. Therefore while serving them, don’t include others that are high in calcium such as mustard, dandelion, or beet greens as well as spinach and kale.
Diets high in calcium may result in urinary bladder stones, specifically those that are calcium-based. Therefore, rabbits with kidney problems or a history of urinary bladder stones should eat this vegetable sparingly, or you can avoid it.
What are they?
Spring greens together with kales, curly kale, collard greens belong to the Acephala group cultivar of Brassica oleracea whose central leaves don’t form firm heads, i.e., only forms a loose head or no head. Other members of the Brassica oleracea include Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, broccolini, kohlrabi, cauliflower, and so forth.
Primarily grown in Europe, mainly the UK, it is the closest cultivar to wild cabbage. A reason why you will hear it typical among the British and Europe is because and it can tolerate cold winters to provide people with vegetables in early spring. However, it isn’t the same thing as spring mix as the later has several veggies.
Finally, these vegetables belong to the family Brassicaceae, popularly known as the crucifers, mustard or cabbage family.
Nutrition
Nutritionally, these veggies have calcium, vitamins A, C, and K, folate, sodium, potassium, and iron, among other vital nutrients. Therefore, your bunny stands a chance to benefit from all these nutrients.
However, like any other fresh greens and plant material, they are low in fiber, a reason why they cannot form the bulk part of your pet’s diet. Instead, stick to 80% grass hay like timothy, and 10-15% fresh greens. The rest can be pellets.