Also known as the leaf cabbage, kale is a green vegetable that is enriched with a lot of nutrients. There are numerous health benefits associated with kale, including blood pressure management and protection against cancer. However, we aren’t concerned about humans! No, we want to see if your furball can eat kale or not. Yes, we are talking about rabbits today!
The key question? Can rabbits eat kale? One word answer? Yes. Rabbits can most certainly eat kale. There are plenty of health benefits even for rabbits when it comes down to kale consumption. But before you rush to the nearest grocery store to grab some kale, you need to know a lot of stuff. You simply can’t overdose your rabbit with kale. You need to know about both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of feeding your rabbit a mouthful of kale!
What nutrients kale is enriched with?
Every vegetable has something to offer, especially the green ones. You must be aware of what kale has for your rabbit. This helps you keep a track of things in case of over or underfeeding. Kale has two key elements, both crucial for your rabbit’s health. These are vitamin A and calcium.
Vitamin A is a key feature of nearly every green vegetable out there. It is also one of the most crucial elements required for normal health maintenance when it comes to rabbits. It is recommended by a lot of veterinarians that a rabbit’s diet must have a higher vitamin A content but a lower level of calcium and oxalates. Kale is one such green vegetable with this precise combination.
Too much calcium is never good for your rabbit, we will discuss reasons later in this discussion. Kale has a lot of other nutrients but its calcium content is not excessively high. Hence, it is an ideal choice for your rabbit to feed on. Kale is reported to have 94mg of calcium per one-cup serving. This is a very moderate amount, as compared to mustard spinach or collards. Hence, kale is the ideal green veggie for your rabbit’s diet!
The best way to feed kale to a rabbit?
So, what are the rules that you must be aware of while feeding your rabbit kale? The first and most important thing to do is to wash all the green vegetables, kale or no kale. The contamination can be simply hazardous for your beloved pet. It is just not the dirt we refer to, the modern-day insecticides and chemicals are a pure poison that must be washed properly. The best way of feeding healthy kale is to grow it in your garden. Nothing like organic vegetables, is there?
Now, we come to the cutting and chopping side of things. The kale stems have the highest fiber content of the rest of the plant. You must cut these into the smallest pieces possible. If these pieces are large, they can cause choking and a state of dysphagia for your rabbit. Care must be taken concerning the morphology of kale leaves as well. Feeding your rabbit a bunch of deteriorated or molded leaves is not going to be very healthy. This kind of diet can cause issues related to stomach sensitivity.
Side effects of feeding your rabbit too much kale
Too much of everything is likely to create trouble. Kale in your rabbit’s diet is no exception to this rule. We did a bit of research as to what could be the possible side effects of having too much kale in a rabbit’s diet. The findings were quite interesting.
Oxalates are the least desired in a pet’s diet. They contribute to the stone formation in kidneys. When it comes to kale, there is confusion as to the real level of oxalates found in kale. Usually, kale is described as a high-oxalate vegetable. But the recent researches have provided evidence quite opposite to this common perception. Hence, to be on the safe side of things, don’t feed your rabbit a lot of kale.
Rabbits have been reported to feel stomach distress when they were even given the normal levels of kale. This happened because of gas production or other digestive issues. We mentioned earlier, calcium is a key contributor to kidney stone formation. Too much kale can lead to the formation of kidney stones in your rabbit, which is quite a painful condition. The best way to feed kale to your rabbi is in an alternative manner. Make sure your rotate kale with other green vegetables in its diet.
Frequently Asked Questions
At this point in the discussion, you must be brimming with questions. To satisfy your curiosity, we have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions about kale’s effect on rabbit health. Let’s have a look at these questions now.
1- Can rabbits eat cooked kale?
A- Cooked kale loses all of its fiber. Hence, raw kale is better than the cooked kale.
2- Can rabbits eat frozen kale?
A- Yes. Frozen kale has a better texture than dried kale.
3- Can baby rabbits eat kale?
A- No. You must not feed any green vegetables to a rabbit younger than two months.
4- Can wild rabbits eat kale?
A- Yes, they can eat kale. But make sure you begin with small amounts of this green vegetable.
5- Can too much kale kill a rabbit?
A- No. But too much kale can cause serious permanent disorders like kidney stones.
Conclusion
Well, that’s a wrap. Green vegetables have a lot of health benefits associated with them, even for pets. Kale is one such leafy vegetable that is quite popular among rabbits. It is best to feed it in an alternative manner, too much of it can prove toxic, as we have seen throughout this discussion. In case you can’t get your hands on kale, you can always feed your rabbit other stuff like water, hay, and high fiber pellets. But hey, nothing in excess, of course!