To make rabbits feel good, their diet must be rich and varied. Among the herbal vitamin feed parsley stands out. The article will consider whether it is possible to give this root vegetable to eared little animals, from what age and in what quantity.
Can rabbits parsley
To answer the question asked, consider the properties of this plant.
Did you know? In Australia, rabbits are a serious problem. They are pests, and a large variety of methods have been used to control their population, from building a fence and hunting them to poisoning and the spread of viruses.Parsley is saturated with the following beneficial ingredients:
- vitamins A, E, B1, B2;
- vitamin C (in 100 g of green - 150 mg);
- iron;
- potassium;
- calcium;
- phosphorus;
- magnesium;
- carotene;
- folic acid;
- tocopherol.
Here are some of the beneficial effects of the plant on the rodent:
- Luteolin, which is part of it, has an anti-inflammatory property that helps prevent rabbit diseases;
- the plant is rich in fiber, which contributes to good digestion of animals and their high productivity;
- due to the effects of apiol, fungal diseases are suppressed;
- beneficial effect on the heart and circulatory system;
- prevention of urination problems;
- improved milk production in lactating females;
- increased sexual function in breeding males;
- bactericidal effect during stomatitis;
- improving immunity and improving overall health;
- removal of allergic manifestations (swelling and irritation of the skin).
- Root and its tops contain many essential oils that can trigger an upset stomach in pets.
Important! Wash parsley before feeding animals must be necessary: on the branches can be a lot of pathogenic bacteria.Next, we consider the features of the use of parsley as food in ordinary rabbits, as well as decorative.
Ordinary
Rabbits with pleasure use parsley, as well as any other juicy greens. As a fortified food, this spice should be in the diet of normal healthy rabbits, but not in large quantities.
Decorative
Decorative rabbits also need vitamin supplements for daily food, especially since they have more hereditary diseases and gene abnormalities caused by intragenital crosses. Like their larger relatives, ornamental rabbits love to absorb both tops and parsley roots.
Read more about how you can feed ornamental rabbits.
Feeding rules
As already mentioned, parsley can bring not only benefit for the rabbit organism, but also some harm if it is used excessively. In order not to harm your eared pets, it is important to know at what age it is permissible to feed them with the described plant. 
At what age and how to enter the diet
According to the recommendations of veterinary specialists, rabbit young can receive the first lure with parsley only from 6 months of age, provided that the babies have no problems with digestion.
It is important to remember that it is necessary to start introducing this plant into the diet from very small doses, literally from two or three small stalks, gradually teaching the kids to the product and watching the reaction of their organism. The additive is introduced into the feed 1 time in 2 days. Also, such an optimal amount of complementary foods will contribute to the prevention of various diseases.
Important! If, after feeding parsley, the rabbit had an eating disorder, then for some time you need to stop feeding it with this greenery.
How and how much can be given
Here are the principles of feeding parsley rabbits:
- Before serving, greens must be prepared: rinse in clean running water, dry and dry up in air. This is necessary in order to reduce the percentage of volatile oils in it.
- The plant should not be the basis of the rabbit's diet, but only a vitamin supplement to the herbal mixture of radish, carrot, dried nettle and dandelion, plantain, mother-and-stepmother and yarrow.
- It is necessary to add to the mixture of herbs only a couple of small twigs of greenery based on one animal.
What dry food can you mix?
Parsley goes well with the following dry foods:
- ground leguminous hay;
- special feed for rabbits;
- feed for cattle (for rabbits, you need to choose these feeds without synthetic nitrogenous substances);
- a mixture of crushed grain feeds (barley, peas, oats, vetch, corn).
Important! Undernourishment for rabbits is less terrible than thirst: lack of fluid leads to poor digestion of food, loss of appetite and deterioration of the general condition.
Collection and storage rules
In order to provide the rabbits with vitamins for the winter period, it is possible to harvest dried parsley, which does not lose its beneficial properties, if it is properly prepared and stored. 
How to prepare
When harvesting a vitamin supplement to feed, it is important to remember the following rules:
- suitable for picking parsley only home-grown and without the use of chemicals;
- you can not grow greens for food near motorways, as the spice absorbs harmful substances well;
- collecting raw materials, you need to make sure that poisonous herbs (black root, celandine, dope, tobacco) do not fall into it.
It will be useful for you to read about whether apples, grapes, pears, cabbage, peas, pumpkins, beets, corn, cereals, bran and bread can be given to rabbits.Step-by-step raw material harvesting process:
- It is necessary to collect greens in dry weather - this way it will dry faster.
- After collecting, you need to sort the stems, removing wilted and yellowed twigs.
- Rinse the materials thoroughly, first in a container with water and then under running cold running water.
- Shake off excess water and blot with a towel.
- Put the parsley on a cotton cloth and let it dry completely.
- Tie the parsley in small bunches with the help of threads and hang it down in leaflets in a well-drafted place.
- Direct sunlight should not be allowed to enter the raw material: because of this, the percentage of chlorophyll in it decreases, which will affect the benefits of the feed additive.
- Depending on weather conditions, temperature and humidity in the room, the raw materials can dry from 2 to 7 days.
- If by pressing the stalks in bundles easily break, it means that the raw material has dried sufficiently.
- Remove bundles from drying and store.
How to store
Dry parsley can be stored as follows:
- Fold the dry material in canvas bags or glass containers with lids.
- Store in a dark, cool, well-ventilated and dry place.
- It is necessary to store raw materials no more than 12 months.
We advise you to read about how to feed rabbits with feed, what additives should be given to rabbits, which branches can be given to rabbits, as well as what can and should not be given to rabbits.
What other greens can be included in the diet
To balance the diet of eared pets, use the following green plants:
- dill;
- clover;
- nettles;
- rape;
- sweet lupine;
- comfrey rough;
- rhubarb;
- sainfoin;
- Jerusalem artichoke;
- alfalfa;
- seradella;
- meadow rank;
- young shoots of rye and oats;
- mouse peas;
- tributary;
- blooming Sally;
- bluegrass;
- plantain.
Thus, the question raised above - whether it is possible to feed rabbits with parsley, we will answer in the affirmative.
Did you know? The word "Spain" in the ancient Finnish language means "rabbit shore".Only in this case it is necessary to remember that to please the animals with this vitamin supplement it is necessary to take small portions in order not to harm their health.
