Meat Eaters?

Apart from eating insects, I received an e-mail about a young bunny who "cleaned a chicken bone of its meat. She did not eat the bone. There was only a little meat on it to begin with but all she left of it was little bunny tooth scratches. Do you think she did that to satisfy chewing urges regarding to bone, or well maybe she just likes chicken. I came here to look it up to make sure it couldn't hurt her. She is a spoiled house bunny that is already litter trained. If it doesn't hurt her and she wants it . . . I don't see why she shouldn't have it!"

To which I replied: I've also heard of bunnies eating dog or cat food but wouldn't recommend regularly providing or allowing them to eat any kind of meat as part of their diet. This is simply because they are herbivores (vegetarians) and who's to know what the consequences are of them eating 'foreign' food or if it is detrimental to their digestive system. The trouble is, you won't know if chicken meat could hurt her until it's too late, best to stick to a natural diet and lean on the cautious side is my advice!

Received with thanks from Karen Deweske
I was just reading about the rabbit that ate some chicken off a bone and read about other people saying that their bunnies will eat dog or cat food. Well I have one of those bunnies! He is a house Rex and his favorite food is Whiskas Cat dry, and not just any of them, but the Chicken and Rabbit flavour! It has never had any effect on him and he has been eating it for 2 years now. I don't dare change the brand though he can eat other varieties of Whiskas, however he does prefer the chicken and rabbit one. *LOL* It's quite funny watching three cats and a rabbit at the food bowl but it's a different story when my little dog comes in and want's some too. Poor Malabu (the rabbit) is chased away but he doesn't mind he just comes running to tell me he has been brutally attacked *LOL*. Mind you, he is bigger than the dog!

Malabu's story has been included as simply another interesting case example, please do not take it as an endorsement to feed any form of meat to bunnies. Although the mentioned cat food advertised chicken and RABBIT flavoured, I very much doubt there'd be significant, if any genuine rabbit meat in the ingredients. Once again, I'll illiterate that it pays to be wary, take for instance when man decided to feed cattle their own by-products and bovine bone meal, the consequence caused the horrific and highly infectious Mad Cow Disease. I guess that in itself would be a good reason to avoid the unlikely (but who's to know or able to predict?) cause of Mad Rabbits running around! J

Further news from Karen: "Yes he does run around madly, he also had some spaghetti bolognese today that I forgot to pick up before he had a run LOL. Malabu is a little famous, he came to be a house rabbit after he showed signs of epilepsy as an 8 week old kit and has lived in the house ever since. He still fits, but they are not frequent and he's a joy to all who comes in contact with him.

 

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My name is Steph, and I live in South Australia. I was surfing the internet to find out more about rabbits and I came across your site. I was interested so decided to read onwards. I found a article on rabbits eating meat. For you see, I’m not sure about rabbits eating bugs but I do know a thing about them eating meats e.g. beef, pork, chicken etc.

I once owned a beautiful bunny called Flower, and she was quite young when I took her home from a local pet shop. When i got her settled in our home she was taken inside every night and let out to run around.
Flower and my dog Maggie started to form a very strong bond, and it got stronger every day. It built up quickly until Flower took Maggie in as her mother.

Maggie loved My little flower and they spent every night running around chasing after each other -often Flower chasing Maggie and Maggie rolling around in delight!!! One night, flower started watching Maggie eating and started to copy her. so every night my flower and Maggie used to eat kibbles (dried dog food) together, and then of course run and play with each other. One day Maggie got some fresh meat for dinner so Flower had a few nibbles and Maggie ate the rest.
In the morning, she was dead. I later asked the vet about it and he said that bunny’s tummy acid is unable to digest any sort of meat, even kibbles. And that the couple of nibbles of meat she had that night was the last straw, so she would have died of the kibbles soon. My flower died a slow and painful death.

I am writing this as a warning to any rabbit owner. Don’t let your rabbit eat any sort of meat.
Steph and Maggie
In loving memory of Flower

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Dear Steph,   Thank you for providing this helpful information and sharing your heartrending story.
With your permission, I would love to add your email to the website page as I think it is important for everyone to find out about your real life experience.   I would also appreciate a little bit more background such as further description about poor little Flower's symptoms. Unfortunately, some may think her death was coincidental and could have occurred from a number of other reasons – especially if their rabbits eat dry or fresh meat (or whatever) and yet continue to live on. I can also imagine some questioning the vet's opinion, especially since it is difficult to absolutely prove something unless an autopsy or tests were done to categorically verify this kind of detrimental cause and effect.  Readers would no doubt also be interested in finding out about the breeds of Flower and Maggie or if moggy crosses? I could add your answer to a survey I intend to conduct (in the near future) about which dog breeds are known to make good rabbit companions or alternatively react with predator instincts. I appreciate the time and trouble you’ve gone to help inform others. 

Hugs to Maggie
Christine

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Dear Christine,
You more than welcome to have my permission to put Flower’s story on your website! I am sure that would be what she wanted. Before Flower went to bed, she went very quiet and much later on she peed blood then she went to bed.
That’s all I can remember, sorry. Flower was a dwarf lop with small black and white spots, she was a very healthy little rabbit, fit and well fed. My vet just told me his opinion, there wasn’t an autopsy done.

My baby Maggie is a beautiful three-year-old Tenterfeild Terrier. Not many people know about this breed so I'll tell you a bit. Maggie is a very well tempered Tenterfeild, Tenterfeilds are a Mini Fox terrier or Jack Russel Terrier, that I’m not quite certain about. Maggie would never bite a child but she does kill the wild rabbits we have running around our property as well as mice and rats. Tenterfeilds are ratters therefore are meant to have short legs but Maggie is a runt so she has long ones!!!

If you look on Google Australia and look up Neverland Kennel/s, you should find the breeder of Maggie’s web site, they can tell you a bit more and, just for your own interest, go into pictures and find a dog called "Omah"
Your hopefully helpful Steph and Maggie!