What foods can and can't rabbits eat?

[Kay2322]

Hello!

I've found myself constantly researching what rabbits can and can't eat!!! Since I am new with rabbits it is taking me a while to figure it out.

Are there any specific foods I should 100% not feed my rabbits?

 

[Preitler]

Depends.
It's different for feeding growouts that don't get older than a few months, or keepers, or pets.
For example, I do feed some old bread I get from colleagues at work to growouts since there are no long term health concern. Not much though, it rather makes them fat than grow fast, so not so useful anyway.

Of course, most processed human food, dairy products, sweets and so on should never be fed, but that should be clear anyway.

 

[Kay2322]

Depends.
It's different for feeding growouts that don't get older than a few months, or keepers, or pets.
For example, I do feed some old bread I get from colleagues at work to growouts since there are no long term health concern. Not much though, it rather makes them fat than grow fast, so not so useful anyway.

Of course, most processed human food, dairy products, sweets and so on should never be fed, but that should be clear anyway.

Alright, thanks!!!

 

[MaggieJ]

Hello!

I've found myself constantly researching what rabbits can and can't eat!!! Since I am new with rabbits it is taking me a while to figure it out.

Are there any specific foods I should 100% not feed my rabbits?

Kay, it is far easier to make a list of SAFE foods for rabbits that can be found in your area. Let's divide these into categories:

1) Foods and treats manufactured specifically for rabbits. These vary in nutritional quality, but barring recalls by the manufacturer, they should be safe. Most people start with these pelleted feeds until they get experience, and some branch out from there.
~~~~~~
2) "People food" and garden produce. Processed foods for people may or may not be "safe" -- but in most cases they are less than desirable as rabbit food or treats. Most of them are no better for people, incidentally.

There are exceptions. Large-flake rolled oats (brand doesn't matter, but Quaker Old-Fashioned Oatmeal would be an example) are good to have on hand for young rabbits suffering from "poopy butt" or who must be weaned early for any reason. The transition from momma's milk to rabbit pellets is sometimes hard for young bunnies, especially if it is abrupt.

Vegetables such as carrots, radishes, beets etc. and fruits such as a slice of apple or pear, a couple of grapes or berries, or a small piece of banana can be fed occasionally as treats for their nutrients and for variety. The greens tops of root crops are better choices -- and most rabbits like them just as well.
~~~~~~

3) Gathered forage from trees and plants that can be safely fed as food and sometimes medicine. Many of these are the invasive European "weeds" that we love to hate. Now they have a use.

There used to be a list of common ones -- I'll have to see if I can find it. In the meantime, get busy identifying weeds in your yard or neighbourhood for later and remember not to feed anything that has been sprayed. You likely have dandelions, chicory, plantain, mallow, sow thistles, prickly thistle and clover -- which make a good start. Identify your weeds by botanical (Latin) names from the Safe Plants List when I repost it. It's the only way to be sure it's the right plant. Common names vary wildly from place to place.
~~~~~~

4) Hay and whole grain and seeds purchased from a local farmer (try Kijiji to find one), or from a feed store, health food store, etc. These are not processed. The hay consists of dried grasses and legumes (especially alfalfa, red clover, timothy grass etc.) and the whole grains and seeds are merely threshed and winnowed to remove chaff. Planted, they will still grow. These are excellent for rabbits, but should be fed in very small quantities -- a tablespoon or two -- or your rabbits will get too fat.
(Sprouting these seeds and grain for rabbits has great possibilities for rabbits too, but save the idea for when you have more experience. It's an advanced topic.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~
As you can see, feeding rabbits safely is a huge topic and best eased into slowly. My son had a lovely pet rabbit when he was a kid and we learned a handful of safe wild plants to feed her alongside the pellets. But it wasn't until 2005 when I began to raise rabbits for meat that I really made a study of it. I no longer have rabbits because I have limited mobility from age and arthritis, but I hope much of what I know can be shared here for the benefit of others.

~ MaggieJ

 

[Kay2322]

Kay, it is far easier to make a list of SAFE foods for rabbits that can be found in your area. Let's divide these into categories:

1) Foods and treats manufactured specifically for rabbits. These vary in nutritional quality, but barring recalls by the manufacturer, they should be safe. Most people start with these pelleted feeds until they get experience, and some branch out from there.
~~~~~~
2) "People food" and garden produce. Processed foods for people may or may not be "safe" -- but in most cases they are less than desirable as rabbit food or treats. Most of them are no better for people, incidentally.

There are exceptions. Large-flake rolled oats (brand doesn't matter, but Quaker Old-Fashioned Oatmeal would be an example) are good to have on hand for young rabbits suffering from "poopy butt" or who must be weaned early for any reason. The transition from momma's milk to rabbit pellets is sometimes hard for young bunnies, especially if it is abrupt.

Vegetables such as carrots, radishes, beets etc. and fruits such as a slice of apple or pear, a couple of grapes or berries, or a small piece of banana can be fed occasionally as treats for their nutrients and for variety. The greens tops of root crops are better choices -- and most rabbits like them just as well.
~~~~~~

3) Gathered forage from trees and plants that can be safely fed as food and sometimes medicine. Many of these are the invasive European "weeds" that we love to hate. Now they have a use.

There used to be a list of common ones -- I'll have to see if I can find it. In the meantime, get busy identifying weeds in your yard or neighbourhood for later and remember not to feed anything that has been sprayed. You likely have dandelions, chicory, plantain, mallow, sow thistles, prickly thistle and clover -- which make a good start. Identify your weeds by botanical (Latin) names from the Safe Plants List when I repost it. It's the only way to be sure it's the right plant. Common names vary wildly from place to place.
~~~~~~

4) Hay and whole grain and seeds purchased from a local farmer (try Kijiji to find one), or from a feed store, health food store, etc. These are not processed. The hay consists of dried grasses and legumes (especially alfalfa, red clover, timothy grass etc.) and the whole grains and seeds are merely threshed and winnowed to remove chaff. Planted, they will still grow. These are excellent for rabbits, but should be fed in very small quantities -- a tablespoon or two -- or your rabbits will get too fat.
(Sprouting these seeds and grain for rabbits has great possibilities for rabbits too, but save the idea for when you have more experience. It's an advanced topic.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~
As you can see, feeding rabbits safely is a huge topic and best eased into slowly. My son had a lovely pet rabbit when he was a kid and we learned a handful of safe wild plants to feed her alongside the pellets. But it wasn't until 2005 when I began to raise rabbits for meat that I really made a study of it. I no longer have rabbits because I have limited mobility from age and arthritis, but I hope much of what I know can be shared here for the benefit of others.

~ MaggieJ

Thanks so much MaggieJ! Even though you can't have rabbits yourself, your information is very helpful to me

 

[Zee-Man]

I have found that, with the exception of forums such as this one, there is precious little available for rabbit foods. However, rabbits have a similar digestive system to goats and horses, specifically one having a hindgut. So when researching a food, you can generally reflect on foods for those species.

 

[Zee-Man]

Kay, it is far easier to make a list of SAFE foods for rabbits that can be found in your area. Let's divide these into categories:

1) Foods and treats manufactured specifically for rabbits. These vary in nutritional quality, but barring recalls by the manufacturer, they should be safe. Most people start with these pelleted feeds until they get experience, and some branch out from there.

Excellent summary Maggie!

I would add, that hay (see lower in the summary) should accompany a pellet diet. Rabbits need teeth wear. Pellets do not engage their cutting teeth. Hay and chew toys do.

 

[Kay2322]

I have found that, with the exception of forums such as this one, there is precious little available for rabbit foods. However, rabbits have a similar digestive system to goats and horses, specifically one having a hindgut. So when researching a food, you can generally reflect on foods for those species.

Thank you

 

[MaggieJ]

Excellent summary Maggie!

I would add, that hay (see lower in the summary) should accompany a pellet diet. Rabbits need teeth wear. Pellets do not engage their cutting teeth. Hay and chew toys do.

Thank you, Zee-Man.

You are absolutely right about prioritizing hay for rabbit dental health. Chew toys and branches or twigs from safe trees help too.

I started with rabbits in July, 2005, and fed a mixture of pellets, hay and limited forage for the first two years. Since my rabbits always had hay and branches/leaves/twigs from safe trees, I forgot to stress how important they are to rabbits fed a conventional pellet diet. The more I learned about feeding rabbits without pellets, the greater my satisfaction and confidence in natural feeding became.

We are fortunate to have 32 acres in South-Eastern Ontario, so no shortage of opportunities to gather forage for the rabbits. On pellets, dressed rabbit meat cost me about 1.50 CDN per pound. The rabbits gained weight faster - ready at about 12-14 weeks, but the carcasses had a lot of fat.

On natural feed, they took a couple weeks longer to reach 5 pounds, but the meat was lean and the flavour outstanding. My cost per pound dropped to about 75 cents.

Edited to add: I should stress that a lower cost-per-pound was not my main reason for going natural. There were recalls and unexplained problems with certain brands of pellets in the summer of 2007, including the brand I was feeding.

There was every reason, given our location and abundance of good forage, to make the complete transition at that time. I took a lot of flack for it on another forum (natural was not yet trendy) but I knew it could be done. After all, I was feeding them in much the same way as the wild European rabbits (from which our domestics are descended) foraged on their own. And since pellets were not much in use until after World War 2, it is the pellet diet that is the newcomer.

~ Maggie

 

[Kay2322]

Thank you, Zee-Man.

You are absolutely right about prioritizing hay for rabbit dental health.

I only fed pellets for the first couple of years I was raising rabbits, and since my rabbits always had hay and branches/leaves/twigs from safe trees, I forgot to stress how important they are to rabbits fed a conventional pellet diet. The more I learned about feeding rabbits without pellets, the greater my satisfaction and confidence in natural feeding became.

We are fortunate to have 32 acres in South-Eastern Ontario, so no shortage of opportunities to gather forage for the rabbits. On pellets, dressed rabbit meat cost me about 1.50 CDN per pound. The rabbits gained weight faster - ready at about 12-14 weeks, but the carcasses had a lot of fat.

On natural feed, they took a couple weeks longer to reach 5 pounds, but the meat was lean and the flavour outstanding. My cost per pound dropped to about 75 cents.

~ Maggie

My rabbits get a lot of hay and/or grass. Since they're young still, I do give them pellets

 

[eco2pia]

My rabbits specifically love brambles--blackberry or raspberry vines and leaves. They go nuts for them.

I find that there are also many ornamental plants that are good for rabbits, but MANY, MANY poisonous ones. Turns out what makes a pretty pest free garden plant is a lot of toxic shrubs! One thing that I have found helpful is to check for things listed as "deer resistant". This is many times an indication that it will be rabbit resistant also, either because they simply do not like it, or because they are toxic in some way, so I would avoid feeding those.

I also find that if I search the plant I'm interested in with the word "fodder" included you often can find feeding trials and even nutrition info like protein percentages. Such as "maple leaves fodder" returns many interesting articles about feeding livestock with silage made from various combinations of tree leaves.

 

[Kay2322]

My rabbits specifically love brambles--blackberry or raspberry vines and leaves. They go nuts for them.

I find that there are also many ornamental plants that are good for rabbits, but MANY, MANY poisonous ones. Turns out what makes a pretty pest free garden plant is a lot of toxic shrubs! One thing that I have found helpful is to check for things listed as "deer resistant". This is many times an indication that it will be rabbit resistant also, either because they simply do not like it, or because they are toxic in some way, so I would avoid feeding those.

I also find that if I search the plant I'm interested in with the word "fodder" included you often can find feeding trials and even nutrition info like protein percentages. Such as "maple leaves fodder" returns many interesting articles about feeding livestock with silage made from various combinations of tree leaves.

Thanks so much!

 

[MaggieJ]

My rabbits specifically love brambles--blackberry or raspberry vines and leaves. They go nuts for them.

I find that there are also many ornamental plants that are good for rabbits, but MANY, MANY poisonous ones. Turns out what makes a pretty pest free garden plant is a lot of toxic shrubs! One thing that I have found helpful is to check for things listed as "deer resistant". This is many times an indication that it will be rabbit resistant also, either because they simply do not like it, or because they are toxic in some way, so I would avoid feeding those.

I also find that if I search the plant I'm interested in with the word "fodder" included you often can find feeding trials and even nutrition info like protein percentages. Such as "maple leaves fodder" returns many interesting articles about feeding livestock with silage made from various combinations of tree leaves.

This is excellent, Eco2pia! Your search tips are right on target. Thanks for posting!

 

[Kay2322]

This is excellent, Eco2pia! Your search tips are right on target. Thanks for posting!

I agree. It's very helpful to me since I am new with these things

 

[arachyd]

My rabbits enjoyed a lot of apple and mulberry leaves along with the branches I pruned for them to work their teeth on. I noticed they didn't like mulberry as much as apple. They also seemed to like maple twigs and leaves when those were available.

 

[Kay2322]

Thanks. We don't have much of that kind of stuff here though

 

[MaggieJ]

Thanks. We don't have much of that kind of stuff here though

Kay, how about sharing a bit of detail about your yard, your surrounding greenbelts, your friends' yards etc. If you have a sizeable yard, you likely have more plants for rabbit feed than you think. Simply turning over the soil in an out of the way corner will result in a good supply of excellent weeds for next spring. The seeds can lay dormant for longer than you've been alive, just waiting for conditions to to be right for growth.

On the other hand, don't let me push you in a direction that may seem like too much work. Lots of people simply supplement a good pellet diet with a handful of dandelion greens now and again. But I think they -- and their buns -- miss out on a lot of satisfaction.

 

[Tom in Kingman]

Check this out

 

[ladysown]

There are lots of people who feed only pellets. A good pellet does the job in wearing down the teeth. so feed a good pellet

Bunnies can have a variety of weeds, mixed grains (not corn), a lot from your garden if you grow one, hay, hay cubes, canes from prickle bushes like raspberry, blackberry etc, apple branches, leaves from GREEN/Sugar maple trees, and a host of other plants. Do some research and you'll get yourself sorted. Generally if a horse shouldn't eat it, a rabbit shouldn't either.

 

[Kay2322]

Kay, how about sharing a bit of detail about your yard, your surrounding greenbelts, your friends' yards etc. If you have a sizeable yard, you likely have more plants for rabbit feed than you think. Simply turning over the soil in an out of the way corner will result in a good supply of excellent weeds for next spring. The seeds can lay dormant for longer than you've been alive, just waiting for conditions to to be right for growth.

On the other hand, don't let me push you in a direction that may seem like too much work. Lots of people simply supplement a good pellet diet with a handful of dandelion greens now and again. But I think they -- and their buns -- miss out on a lot of satisfaction.

I yard has a ton of different trees (poplar, cedar, birch, etc.) . We also have some naturel growing rubarb. Willow. I can look around more this evening