What Do Rabbits Eat & Drink? List of Foods You Can Feed to your Pet Rabbits

There are a lot of foods that a rabbit can eat but not all of them are healthy. If you are new to rabbits, then it is no surprise that you wouldn’t know much about their food and eating patterns. And this very article is here to help you with that.

You will get to know everything about rabbit foods, what fruits and vegetables they eat, what they drink, which foods they can’t eat, what do wild rabbits eat, etc. right in this article. So don’t go anywhere and give it a read!

What Do Wild Rabbits Eat?

Most part of a wild rabbit diet is Hay. Two reasons for this is, rabbits love hay and they don’t find anything else than it. However, there are a number of health benefits of eating hay, here are they!

Hay is a good source of fiber and rabbits need fiber to keep their digestive system well. Without proper fiber intake, Gastrointestinal Stasis can occur. This is a blockage in the digestive system and can cause death within 24-hours.
One interesting fact about rabbits is their teeth grow continuously and which can be alarming if they grow out of control. Chewing hay regularly wears the teeth off, so that keeps them safe.
Regularly chewing hay can make rabbits jaw strong. Plus, since they love eating hay it keeps them entertained.

Except for hay, wild rabbits also eat different grasses, flowers, and vegetables (when they get). But most of the time it is hay that is widely available for them.

13 Foods You Shouldn’t Feed to Your Bunnies

Before we get started with the foods that you can feed to your bunnies, it would be wise if I take you through a list of foods that would be very harmful to your rabbits. Here is the list!

1. Yogurt Drop

Sometimes rabbit owners use yogurt drop as a treat which is not healthy at all. Several pieces of research have been conducted and according to that, yogurt drop can support Enterotoxemia which means a toxic growth of bad bacteria in the intestinal tract. And you can guess how bad it could be. If you need treats for your bunnies, there are a healthy bunch of them. You can green peppers and Brussels sprout as a treat!

2. Cookies, Crackers, Bread, and Pasta

If you don’t want your bunnies to develop dangerous stomach issues, then do not feed them these. These foods are high in sugar and carbs. Even, we humans need to eat these foods in a moderate amount.

3. Avocado

It is healthy food for us but not for the bunnies. Whenever we think of healthy snacks for rabbits vegetables and fruits always crosses our mind. But that list should never include avocado, it can be deadly for rabbits.

4. Cereal

Feeding your bunnies processed food made of peas, pallets, flaked maize, grains, seeds can cause serious tummy and teeth problem. So stay away from any kind of processed foods like cereal.

5. Iceberg Lettuce

Do not feed your bunnies light-colored lettuce, iceberg is included. These contain a high amount of lactucarium. This is a chemical that can be super harmful if ingested by rabbits. Aside from that, Iceberg lettuce mostly comes with water which adds close to no nutrition to the bunnies diet.

6. Silverbeet

Silverbeet is also known as Chard. However, it is another leafy green like ice lettuce. And according to several pieces of research conducted by experts have shown that silverbeet can cause bunnies to suffer from bloating and colic. Silver beet can be easily replaced by other high-fiber fruits such as alfalfa, rosemary, and with some veggies as well.

7. Walnuts

High fat is harmful to most kind of animals including humans. Walnuts come with high fat which might cause your bunnies inconvenient indigestion. So you can’t feed walnuts as snacks, go for some fresh herbs and vegetables.

8. Oatmeal

Oatmeal doesn’t cause major harm to the rabbits but still, it is not healthy for them. This food doesn’t contribute any nutrition to their diet.

9. Chocolate

If you don’t want to kill your bunnies, then keep them away from any kind of chocolates. Chocolates are poison for rabbits. Most owners use chocolate as treats which can develop serious health issues over time.

10. Peanut butter

Like walnuts, peanut butter also comes with a high level of fat and they won’t do anything good to your bunnies except for bad tummy ache.

11. Potatoes

Potato is among the favorite foods of humans, and bunnies love this food as well. However, potato doesn’t do any major harm to the rabbits but if overeaten, it can cause digestive problems, since potatoes are high in carbohydrates and starch.

12. Rhubarb

It is a plant and many animals tend to love this plant but if eaten raw that can cause them to die within a very short time.

13. Cauliflower

This is a vegetable and it is a healthy snack but only when taken in moderate amount. Overdose of cauliflower can cause rabbits to become gassy and bloat.

15 Foods You Should Feed to Your Bunnies

Can Rabbits Eat peppers?

Pepper is an excellent vegetable for rabbits and they also enjoy eating them. Pepper has a wide range of health benefits; it delivers the needed vitamins to bunny’s health. That being, you should not overfeed them peppers, vitamin overload can also harm the body.

Can Rabbit Eat Grapes?

Yes, they can! And enjoy eating grapes. The more grapes you give them, the more they will eat. But overfeeding grapes can cause issues in their digestive system. Give them a moderate amount of grapes to eat weekly.

Can Rabbits Eat Bell Peppers?

Bell peppers are an amazing vegetable for rabbits. And like peppers, they need to be given at a moderate amount. Bell pepper should not be the regular food for your bunny’s diet.

Can Rabbits Eat bread?

Although rabbits can eat bread, it would be healthier for them if they don’t. You can use bread as treat and should be given once or twice in a month. Not only bread, but rabbits also should not eat any household foods like this, it would be unhealthy for them in the long run.

Can Rabbits Eat Cheese?

No! Rabbits cannot eat cheese and they wouldn’t. That being said, there are few rare rabbits which might nibble on cheese which shows that they are digestive-strong bunnies. However, even if your bunnies eat cheese, do not provide them that. It is deadly, not only cheese, all kind of dairy foods are poison for them.

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Can Rabbits Eat Chocolates?

A big No! Chocolate is another name of poison for both rabbits and guinea pigs. These small critters love to eat chocolates but it is you who have to ensure their safety. Do not give them chocolate and if you want to give a treat to them, give a very small amount once in a month. If anyhow your bunnies eat more than little chocolate, immediately visit the veterinarian.

Can Rabbit Eat Cherries?

Cherries are healthy for adult rabbits and the reason is, cherries come in a mushy texture which might not be suitable for a young rabbit digestive system. However, you can feed a very small amount of cherries to young bunnies.

Can Rabbits Eat Orange?

Orange is a great source of Vitamin C which is needed for all animals. And since rabbits can store vitamins like humans, it is much needed for them. However, as you know any vitamin overdose can cause issues. Aside from that, orange works like a treat for rabbits.

Can Rabbits Eat Bananas?

It is essential that you feed bananas to rabbits since they come with good protein. However, you should be very careful when feeding them bananas, some rabbits can’t digest bananas and that will reflect on their behavior. So after feeding banana to your bunnies, notice their activity. And do not feed many bananas, feed them once or twice in a week.

Can rabbits eat watermelon?

Watermelon is a healthy fruit for both rabbit and guinea pigs. They work best when you feed them in the summertime. But when feeding watermelon, you got to be very careful, especially when there are very young bunnies. Watermelon seeds can create a choking hazard for very young rabbits, so be careful.

Can rabbits eat celery?

Small critters like rabbits and guinea pigs love to nibble on different vegetables and foods. Celery has a couple of health benefits but it comes with some disadvantage as well. It can cause diarrhea but that is rare. So when feeding your rabbit’s celery start off with a very small amount. And after feeding them, notice their activity if they seem to be good, then keep feeding them celery once or twice every week.

Can rabbits eat apples?

Apple is good for rabbit health. But before feeding apple remove all its seeds and if possible peel it off. And do not overfeed, give a very small amount of apples.

Can rabbits eat spinach?

Guinea pigs and rabbits both love spinach and it is healthier for them when given at a moderate amount. Spinach contains Oxalic Acid Content, an overdose of this acid can damage the digestive system. Give a small amount of spinach to your bunnies in every week and observe their behavior.

Can rabbits Eat Cucumber?

Yes! They can! But there is not much of the health benefit of eating cucumber since they only provide water and little to no nutrition at all. However, they are still good food to add variety to your bunny’s diet.

What Do Rabbits Drink?

There is nothing much that your rabbit would drink. And if there is, you should not let them drink that unless it is suggested by the vet. Give your rabbits only boiled pure water in a cleaned bowl. And make sure you change the water every day so that they won’t drink dirty water. In this case, you can use rabbit water bottle.

What Do Baby Rabbits Eat?

What would a baby rabbit eat that depends on what kind of rabbit is it? Are you talking about feeding a wild baby rabbit or a pet rabbit? Wild rabbits eat only hay since that is what widely available in jungles. On the contrary, pet rabbits eat different types of foods.

That being said, a newborn rabbit might not be able to eat such vegetables at the very early stage. What to do in that case? Run to a veterinarian and they will prescribe what you should feed them. Most of the time it is Goat milk or Kitten milk replacer that veterinarians prescribe.

You have to be very careful when you feed baby bunnies. Baby bunnies should be placed in an upright position and should be fed by small syringe or eyedropper. Never use old syringe and eyedropper. Bring new from the store, they will cost only a few bucks. And boil them in hot water before feeding.

What is the exact amount you should feed and how often should you feed? These two are important factors as well. Anything wrong can cause those bunnies to suffer badly. However, here is the amount and sessions of feeding baby bunnies,

5 to 7 cc/ml two times in a day for 1 to 2 weeks old rabbits.

7 to 13 cc/ml two times in a day for 2 to 3 weeks old rabbits.

13 to 15 cc/ml two times in a day for 3 to 6 weeks old rabbits.

Baby rabbits should be fine if they are fed following the above amount. That’s not all. There is something else you should pay your attention to, you have to make sure that they are urinating and defecating after eating. If you notice anything unusual contact the veterinarian immediately.

Conclusion

These are exactly what do rabbits eat. I have tried to provide everything related to rabbits eating in this article. Hope that helped!

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