Spinach is an edible flowering plant and is native to central southwestern asia. It is an annual plant and grows to a height of up to 30cm. They have leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to trianular based and vary in size. They are usually picked and sold around the world as they are a well loved vegetable.

So can Rabbits Eat Spinach at all?

Lets take a look at their nutritional data in particular, the fibre, sugar, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, fat and acidic content.

Energy 97 kJ (23 kcal)
Carbohydrates
3.6 g
Sugars 0.4 g
Dietary fiber 2.2 g
Fat
0.4 g
Protein 2.9 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.
beta-carotene
lutein zeaxanthin
(59%) 469 μg
(52%) 5626 μg
12198 μg
Vitamin A 9377 IU
Thiamine (B1) (7%) 0.078 mg
Riboflavin (B2) (16%) 0.189 mg
Niacin (B3) (5%) 0.724 mg
Vitamin B6 (15%) 0.195 mg
Folate (B9) (49%) 194 μg
Vitamin C (34%) 28 mg
Vitamin E (13%) 2 mg
Vitamin K (460%) 483 μg
Trace metals
Calcium (10%) 99 mg
Iron (21%) 2.71 mg
Magnesium (22%) 79 mg
Manganese (43%) 0.897 mg
Phosphorus (7%) 49 mg
Potassium (12%) 558 mg
Sodium (5%) 79 mg
Zinc (6%) 0.53 mg

source wikipedia

As you can see spinach contains quite a bit of phosphorus and calcium plus a hint of fat and sugar. It is also very acidic.

This means that spinach is not a good food for rabbits to eat because of its acidic content. They are fine to have a little of it, but it should be nothing more than that and should be highly regulated. This includes all part of the plant such as its stalks.

Originally posted 2015-01-08 21:54:25.

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