Arugula, a green leafy vegetable belonging to the same family as spinach and cabbage, is a peppery-tasting veggie. Also known as rockets and roquette, this vegetable is a great addition to our salads due to its crunchy texture and peppery taste.
Green leafy vegetables make up a significant portion of a rabbit’s diet due to their fiber content and nutritional values. Does that make arugula a good addition to a bunny’s diet?
In this article, you’ll find out how arugula can benefit your rabbit, and whether they can have it as a part of their diet. Learn about this leafy vegetable well before you add it in!
How Safe is Arugula for Bunnies?
Arugula, or rockets, can be a safe addition if your pet isn’t bothered by its peppery taste. It’s packed with vitamins and minerals and is free of any toxins. The fiber content in rockets is also great if you want to keep your pet’s bowel movement healthy.
But you have to, of course, incorporate this herby component in moderation. Too much of anything, no matter how good they happen to be, can end up harming rabbits due to how delicate they are. Besides, you should always give fresh and washed arugula, and steer clear of the wilted leaves.
So, Can Rabbits Eat Arugula?
They absolutely can! And you can include arugula as a part of your pet’s diet. This peppery leafy veggie can be the perfect way to spice up your bunny’s diet and will assist in keeping your bunny in great shape. You can even give the stems and flowers of arugulas to your pet rabbit easily.
How Much Rocket Should Rabbits Eat?
Green leafy vegetables, no matter how good and herbaceous they are, should always be given in moderation to delicate pets like rabbits.
A handful of arugula is enough for a mid-sized mature rabbit. You can mix it in your rabbit’s food bowl, or just give it to your bunny to munch on.
However, don’t include it in your bunny’s food bowl every day, as that can very quickly enter the “overfeeding” territory. Give this vegetable twice or thrice a week so that its delicate body can handle and digest the rockets properly. Besides, it’s a good practice to alternate vegetables to ensure your pet gets all the necessary nutrients in the proper proportion.
What Are the Benefits of Arugula for Your Rabbit?
Just one leaf of arugula is packed with lots of beneficial vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Arugula has vitamins A, B9, C, and K, and minerals such as calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus. It’s also full of digestible fiber, carbohydrates, and proteins.
Let’s have a look at how each can benefit your pet rabbit.
Vitamin A
As we all know, vitamin A is crucial because it maintains the immune system, keeps reproductive health in check, and supports fetal development in the womb.
Vitamin B9
Arugula is rich in vitamin B9, an essential vitamin for healthy fetal development and great for generating more neurons. It helps in the generation of genetic components DNA and RNA, which are crucial for the development of babies.
Otherwise known by the names folate and folic acid, this vitamin also breaks down carbohydrates to glucose. It helps iron to carry oxygen properly and aids in the production of red blood cells as well.
Vitamin C
Rabbits naturally produce vitamin C in their body, which is why they don’t need much of it from external sources. Arugula has just enough of it, which can help bunnies to strengthen their immunity and not harm them.
Vitamin C is also important because it helps generate tissues and collagen, crucial elements required in the development of tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, and bones. Besides, vitamin C also keeps the skin healthy.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a very crucial element as it aids in protein synthesis. A good amount of this vitamin will ensure the proper development of muscles, as they are largely made of various types of proteins.
Calcium
Calcium is present in arugula in high amounts. This mineral is essential for bone and teeth development but it can also assist in the proper formation of blood clots whenever there are cuts and bruises. It also allows the muscles to contract properly and maintain the rhythms of the heart.
Magnesium
Magnesium is another element that’s crucial for protein synthesis, DNA development, strengthening the bones, and regulating blood sugar levels. It also regulates the nervous system and maintains blood pressure.
Potassium
Potassium is extremely necessary for your rabbit’s diet if you want its heart to beat rhythmically. Besides, it maintains motor function, which allows the muscles to function properly.
Iron
Iron, as we all know, is an important mineral that helps in red blood cell production and myoglobin. Besides, it helps our blood to carry oxygen throughout the body.
Phosphorus
Phosphorus work side-by-side with calcium to form bones and teeth. It also metabolizes fats and carbohydrates, helps the body repair damaged tissues, and produces proteins for the growth and maintenance of muscles and tissues.
But Do Bunnies Like This Vegetable?
Not all bunnies like arugula. Yes, you’ll see most rabbits enjoying chewing on these zesty leaves. However, the same zest that so many rabbits enjoy can be overpowering for others, which is why they avoid it. Moreover, many bunnies are repelled by the smell of this vegetable.
If your bunny happens to dislike it, you can still try and acclimatize it to the item slowly and patiently.
How Should You Feed Your Rabbits Arugula?
Providing your rabbits with a varied diet can be beneficial in many ways, such as enhancing their cognitive abilities and ensuring they have a balanced diet. And arugulas can be a great way to introduce diversity into your rabbit’s diet!
When you want to mix it into your bunny’s meal bowl, tear up the leaves into small pieces. This will ensure that the pet won’t choke on these leaves but will also be able to chew them nicely.
Or, if you want to let the rabbit munch on it, you can either hold the leaves in your hand or can hang them from the cage. Your rabbit will feed on these healthy leaves and enjoy an activity at the same time.
How Can You Introduce Roquette to Your Pet?
Whenever you try to incorporate something into your rabbit’s diet, you need to introduce it slowly. Rabbits habitually like hay, lettuce, carrots, and grass, and like to explore other options to chew on. So let your rabbit explore all parts of the roquette.
Hold an arugula leaf in front of your pet to let it sniff and taste it. If the bunny likes it and asks for more, you can include this vegetable into its regular diet, but only a little at a time. You can also let it explore the stems and flowers to see what it enjoys more.
And if you think it’s not fond of arugula but doesn’t hate it either, place small pieces of the leaf as a garnish on the meal bowl or hide it in the food. You can even just lay some around to allow your bunny to get used to the smell and grow fond of it.
When Can Arugula Be Harmful?
Arugula doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals or toxins that would directly harm your pet. However, things can turn for the worse if your bunny consumes too much of it.
For instance, it can cause urinary complications, like sludge in the urine, mainly due to excess calcium and its reaction with other elements.
Since this veggie is high in calcium, too much of it can create sludge, which is urine concentrated with calcium salts. Besides, if it’s mixed with other fruits, the undigested calcium can form kidney stones. Moreover, these can also cause gastrointestinal issues, diarrhea, pain, and other complications, ultimately leading to death.
But in moderation, calcium can be good for the development and continued strength of your rabbit’s bones.
Should You Feed Baby Rabbits With Arugula?
In terms of solid foods, you should never give baby rabbits anything more than hay. Nursing babies should only be fed on their mothers’ milk. And when their stomachs toughen up a little bit, they should only eat hay. That is more or less how the diet of baby bunnies should look like until they’re twelve weeks old.
Baby rabbits have very sensitive bodies and stomachs. They can’t digest anything highly fibrous, let alone anything with high amounts of minerals and vitamins. Even a slight excess of anything will make them ill and might even lead to their untimely and tragic demise.
Conclusion
Arugula is a great addition to your rabbit’s regular diet. It’s much better if you can grow it in your garden, and wash it properly before giving it to your pet. With every good food, you have to be careful about the amount of this green leafy vegetable that you let your rabbit eat.