The various foods you feed to your rabbits must not only be safe but also provide the essential nutrients to your furry friend and help wear overgrown teeth. Unlimited high-quality hay (grass, Timothy, oats, alfalfa, and other hays), water, pellets and some occasional treats of fresh fruits and vegetables make an essential part of their diet.
One of the common vegetables that human beings love is leeks. For those who do not know it, this is vegetables belonging to the Allium genus (which has onions, garlic, shallot, chive, Chinese onion, and scallion) whose leaf sheaths are eaten.
It is loaded with vitamins A, B6, C, E, and K, has folate, copper, manganese, calcium, magnesium among other vital nutrients making it essential to human beings. What about bunnies? Can they eat it or is it poisonous?
Do rabbits eat leeks?
Like all other members of the Allium genus such as garlic, chives, and onions, rabbits do not eat leeks. They are poisonous and harmful to bunnies and have a similar effect as onions and garlic on rabbits.
Why are they not safe for rabbits? There are a few reasons which make them harmful and not recommended. Here are the main reasons:
- Firstly, just like other allium family members, they are difficult to digest and as Animalwised notes that they “contribute to the loss of red blood cells, making your rabbit feel weak and dizzy.” Expect your bunny to have blood abnormalities as well as suffer from hemolysis. Rabbit.org states it will cause blood abnormalities.
- Since they are difficult to digest, you should expect your furry friends to suffer from digestion issues as well as the production of gases which they will not be able to expel.
- It has little nutritive value. For instance, its high sugar, calcium and phosphorus level make it unsuitable, notes onlinerabbitcare.com.
As you have seen, leeks are harmful and toxic to bunnies. Therefore, you should not give them including if mixed with other snacks.
Do not give them cooked foods that contain leeks. In general, bunnies should not eat any cooked food as cooking makes them lose some nutrients. Always give them raw bunny-safe foods and small amounts of fruits and vegetables that are safe.
Conclusion
As crunchy, firm and chewable it may look like, this vegetable should not be given to bunnies including young ones, and most of them will not want to eat them naturally. They are repellants.
Also, be very careful with any human food since there are those that are poisonous and toxic as we have seen.
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