Potatoes are a nutritious root vegetable that is widely used in livestock farming to feed a variety of animals. Rabbits are no exception. They eat potatoes with pleasure, especially in winter. However, the root vegetable cannot be given in any form. Animals have a very delicate and sensitive gastrointestinal tract, the functioning of which is very easy to disrupt and difficult to restore. That is why feeding eared pets is quite a responsible and troublesome task. In this article you will find answers to questions about whether all rabbits can be given potatoes, how to cook them and how to properly introduce them into the diet.
Useful properties of potatoes for rabbits
Potatoes are a moist root vegetable that contains an impressive list of vitamins, microelements and other substances beneficial for life. Root vegetables do not contain difficult-to-digest fats and organic acids that irritate the delicate gastrointestinal tract. But they contain a large amount of potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin C. 100 g of product contains 20 g of carbohydrates and practically no fat. The energy value comes from the high starch content. The constant presence of the product in the diet contributes to:
- increased activity and good mood;
- increased appetite;
- rapid weight gain;
- improving heart function (the result of a high potassium content);
- increasing immunity;
- the birth of healthy offspring;
- reducing the risk of developing colds and dry eye mucosa.
Rules for introducing potatoes into the diet
Is it possible to feed rabbits potatoes? Even experienced rabbit breeders have different opinions about potatoes as a valuable additive. Some farmers argue that adding root vegetables is not only allowed, but even necessary to diversify the diet. Other people involved in the breeding of long-eared animals are against the fact that potatoes often end up in the furry feeder. Is it possible to give boiled potatoes to rabbits?
Potatoes are a healthy root crop that is easy for farmers to grow. Feeding potatoes is a cheap alternative for rabbit breeders. The easiest way to collect and clean vegetables or waste is to use special crushers or cut potatoes by hand.
Types of potato additives:
It is acceptable to feed rabbits potatoes at least 2 times a week. But before that, you should observe how the root vegetable affects the animal.
How to give potatoes to animals? Raw or cooked potatoes must be selected and processed correctly. Only whole root crops that are not damaged by pests are sorted for cleaning.
Potatoes must be whole
First of all, the root crop is cleaned of eyes and skins. There should be no skin left on the potatoes. Neither raw nor cooked root vegetables are given without processing. The water in which the tubers were boiled must be drained; under no circumstances should it be added to the feeders. Only light-colored potato peels are used. The green and blue peel contains a lot of toxic substances that will cause poisoning in the fluffy. The healthy root vegetable contains B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus and potassium, so you shouldn’t refuse this supplement either.
How can you feed farm rabbits potatoes without harming domesticated pets? Potatoes cooked in water and raw are given to adult rabbits that have become stronger and grown. Potatoes are used for medicinal purposes when animals develop loose stools. This emergency measure is not a cure, but can save the rabbits' life.
In what form is it best to give?
Farmers claim that long-eared pets happily eat potatoes in any form. An important condition is correct pre-treatment.
Is it possible to give raw potatoes to rabbits?
This issue is the most controversial, the problem is in excess starch. The fact is that without heat treatment it makes food heavy and difficult to digest. This fact can negatively affect the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract: cause bloating and upset. For this reason, veterinarians are unanimous in their opinion that raw potatoes are not only harmful, but also dangerous.
However, experienced rabbit breeders are firmly of the opinion that raw potatoes can be given, the main thing is to cook them correctly:
- do not give tubers to young animals under 4 months of age;
- choose fresh, clean (without greens, mold or other types of spoilage) potatoes, carefully peel them and cut them into small pieces;
- give the raw product in small portions (no more than 10% of the daily food volume);
- remove the product from the diet at the first (even very weak) signs of indigestion.
By the way, no matter how funny it may sound, rabbits also have their own opinions. They are very picky about food, love to eat tasty food, and not every individual will eat raw potatoes. In the summer, due to the abundance of lush greenery, most long-eared animals will refuse raw root vegetables, but in winter, on the contrary, they will begin to lean on them.
More information about winter feeding of rabbits can be found here.
Boiled tubers
This is one of the most optimal feeding options. Boiled potatoes are easily digestible, quickly satisfy the feeling of hunger, and saturate the body with nutrients.
How to cook?
- Select the best specimens (young, fresh, without greens, shoots or signs of spoilage on the peel).
- Boil the tubers for 30-40 minutes, drain the water (do not use it to make puree).
- Chop the tubers into small pieces or even mash them into a puree.
Such food can account for up to 60% of the daily diet.
Potato peelings
It is also recommended to give them boiled or ground into flour. In the latter case, the peel must first be dried. Peels have no less beneficial properties than potato pulp. However, they should also be carefully selected. They must be undamaged, without eyes or green spots, and not frozen. Preference should be given to light skin: it accumulates fewer harmful substances, unlike dark skin.
Farmers prefer to feed a mixture of boiled peelings with crushed grain. This dish can be given daily.
Potato tops
This type of potato waste is strictly prohibited for consumption by rabbits. In them, as in the green peel, a large amount of solanine accumulates, causing serious poisoning in animals. In addition to poisonous solanine, all the chemicals that the plants were treated with during cultivation accumulate in the tops.
Mash
This is a universal food for almost all pets. It differs only in composition. At the base of mash for rabbits, potatoes can reach a share of 50%, and also include grass, hay, vegetables, and grain crops. Such mashes are easy to prepare, they are tasty for animals and very nutritious. The basis is boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes. Each farmer adds products to it at his own discretion.
However, there are recipes with calculated and balanced composition recommended by experts. They are worth adopting, especially if the farmer does not have enough experience:
- Take 50% mashed potatoes and mix it with mixed feed (45%) and herbs (5%) in the form of fresh scalded nettle or shredded cabbage.
- Potatoes (50%), steamed crushed grain (40%), boiled peas (5%), shredded cabbage or nettles (5%). From grains you can choose wheat, barley, corn.
- To prepare this mixture you will need 40-60% mashed potatoes, 30-40% feed, 5-20% meat meal and 1-2% bone meal.
Any of the mixtures described above is optimal for feeding rabbits. You should also observe the temperature and time regimes of nutrition. Potato mash should be given once a day at lunchtime. The optimal food temperature should be +20…+25 °C.
You may also be interested in the article: “What and how to properly feed rabbits at home.”
The diet of a nursing rabbit has some nuances. Be sure to add fresh chopped parsley to the mash. This stimulates milk production. When the babies are old enough, dill should be added instead of parsley a week before weaning them from their mother. On the contrary, it will gradually reduce milk production and ensure a painless cessation of lactation.
Boiled potatoes
Boiled potatoes are better absorbed by the body. Feeding in this form is recommended. At the same time, trim the sprouts from the tubers.
It is very useful to make special mash. They can only be given fresh; 250 grams per individual is enough. The temperature should be room temperature. Two popular recipes for boiled potatoes for rabbits:
- Steamed grain (corn, barley, oats) 35%, boiled peas 5-10%, cabbage 5%, boiled potatoes 50%.
- Cabbage 5%, steamed feed 45%, boiled potatoes 50%.
- You can follow other recipes or come up with your own.
The composition of the mash may vary depending on the purpose. Parsley is added to newborn rabbits. After the baby rabbits are deposited, it is replaced with dill.
The norm for an adult varies depending on activity. Rabbits roaming freely in a certain area can consume more. Thanks to mobility, obesity does not occur and you can safely give 100 grams of potatoes per day. Caged animals can be offered 50-60 grams.
Consumption standards
An adult healthy and active individual should receive at least 200 g of potatoes per day. The norms for unhealthy, sedentary individuals should not exceed 60-70 g. For young animals, the daily norm is 100-125 g. In the summer, when animals have a large selection of succulent food of different types, the share of potatoes in the menu can be slightly reduced. Most likely, the animals themselves will eat less of it. But in winter, on the contrary, the number of root crops increases.
Before slaughter, a slight excess of the norm is also allowed. This will allow you to gain more weight. Excessive consumption of potato delicacies can lead to obesity, which will affect the quality of the skin and reduce the ability to reproduce offspring.
Reasons for limiting consumption
Rabbits should be fed potatoes only in cases where their diet is scheduled and scheduled. A balanced diet to cleanse the body of furry animals will help get rid of weakness and strengthen the immunity of each rabbit. Is it possible to feed raw potatoes to rabbits immediately after weaning the young?
Rabbits are not given complementary feeding with potatoes until they are 2 months old. A diet with constant addition of root vegetables is dangerous for animals. Reasons why you should not rush to add unlimited quantities of potatoes to your pets:
- Substances it contains. Solanine is poisonous to rabbits and can lead to the death of young animals. Potatoes can only be added to the feeder in their peeled form.
- A sudden change in diet is fraught with serious consequences for the rabbit’s body. You cannot feed raw or boiled potatoes in large quantities: the rabbit may develop an individual intolerance to the substances contained in the tubers, so complementary foods should be introduced gradually, observing the reaction of the eared ones to changes in diet.
- Any negative reactions in animals’ bodies to new complementary foods are a good reason to refuse potato supplements. Rabbits should not be given tops or boiled tubers, which cause diarrhea or weakness. It is better to choose another healthy vegetable complementary food.
It is important to pay attention not only to the quantity of the product, but also to the quality. It is not profitable to give waste to long-eared animals who are fastidious in food. Boiled or raw grated potatoes are fed as the main product for diarrhea.
The rabbit absorbs potato supplements better in the fall and winter, but in the summer this supplement must be abandoned. Greens or twig food will help satiate the animals.
For what reasons is the supply of potatoes limited?
In some cases, the consumption of root vegetables is limited or completely removed from the diet. The main reason is deterioration in health. However, she is not the only one. Potatoes are excluded from the menu if the individual:
- prepare for mating (excess weight reduces sexual activity);
- is a lactating female (so that the milk does not thicken and clog the ducts);
- grown for fur (low protein content in root crops reduces the quality of fur);
- is a breeding male (in this case it is important to maintain a low weight).
In some cases, a product may not be completely excluded from the menu, but its share may be reduced. This is necessary if the individual:
- prepare for mating (the rate is reduced in about a week);
- began to gain excess weight;
- intended for decorative breeding;
- pregnant and feeling unwell.
Potato peelings
Rabbits can be given potato peelings and bran in small quantities, provided that the product is clean and not spoiled. Make sure that the peel is not green, otherwise it could seriously harm your pet's health. Never feed the skins of new potatoes.
It is advisable to thoroughly boil the peelings before feeding. Some rabbit breeders dry it and grind it into flour, after which they add it to various mixtures and feeds.
Possible harm
With the right approach, it is unlikely to harm the animal. However, the potential threat always exists. For example, if an animal is prone to gluttony, then it will quickly become obese, which will lead to a chain of ailments: disruption of the heart, blood vessels, decreased activity and, as a result, metabolic disorders, deterioration of reproductive function, and in both sexes. Also, the animal may well suffer from increased sensitivity to raw potatoes, which will cause constant disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract.
Can rabbits have potatoes: raw, boiled, tops, peeled?
Is it possible to give raw potatoes to rabbits? Those who have their own garden are most often interested. After harvesting, gardeners are ready to share the nutritious tubers with their pets, but do not know how this will affect the health of the animals. This article will help you figure out what type and how to properly feed potatoes to rabbits.
Potatoes for rabbits
Depends on the season
In winter, succulent feed becomes scarce. Raw potatoes can be stored under the necessary conditions all year round, so in winter their role in feeding rabbits increases. Is it possible to give rabbits potatoes in winter? There is a positive solution. It perfectly complements the poor winter diet.
In summer, succulent food is available in abundance, so the potato content in the diet should be reduced to provide a variety of products, each of which has its own value. You can get rid of it completely, since animals receive succulent food in abundance in the form of greens and plant branches.
Starchy root vegetable
So, let's figure out whether it is possible to give raw potatoes to rabbits and how to do it correctly.
This root vegetable is a succulent food that rabbits eat with pleasure. The animal’s body, in general, copes with the digestion and assimilation of this product. It contains a lot of useful things:
- vitamins C and group B;
- microelements: magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, silicon;
- ascorbic acid;
- starch.
The last component is quite controversial in terms of usefulness. On the one hand, it promotes rapid weight gain, which is good for fattening. But on the other hand, eating raw potatoes too intensely leads to obesity. Especially if the individuals are sedentary.
Therefore, because of the starch, potatoes should be given to rabbits in small portions. Especially at first, when you are just getting accustomed to this product.
It is necessary to introduce potatoes into the diet of rabbits that are going to breed with caution, because excess weight will be an obstacle to mating.
But for lactating and pregnant females, boiled potatoes are useful. It promotes the formation and process of lactation, and also improves the quality of milk. It is better not to give raw potatoes to rabbits during this period, otherwise the milk will be thick and clog the milk ducts.
There are absolutely no proteins or inorganic salts in potatoes. It is usually served together with products that contain these missing elements (clover, alfalfa, meat and bone meal and fish meal).
Study the benefits and harms of other vegetables in the article “Is it possible to give pumpkin to rabbits.”
Mash recipes
There are many recipes for root vegetable mash. Typically, five parts of potatoes and four parts of rabbit feed are used for the mash. The final part is the juicy food. You can take scalded nettle or chopped cabbage. All this is mixed, you can add a little vegetable oil.
The second method involves using four parts of potatoes, four steamed with hot water or boiled cereals. Finally, some boiled peas or cabbage leaves are added to the mash. This mixture should be warm - unusual temperatures can harm the rabbit’s digestive processes.
