AT HOME PETS
  • AT Home Pets Blog
  • About
  • For Sale
    • My Animals for Sale
  • My Wee Littles
    • Expecting
  • My Rabbits
  • Mice
  • Articles
  • Information on Small Animals
    • Buying a Rabbit
    • Medical Advice >
      • Area Rabbit Savvy Veternarians
    • Caring for your rabbit >
      • Feeding Your Rabbit
      • Housing your Rabbit
      • Breeding
    • Caring for Guinea Pigs
    • Rabbit Activities >
      • The Rabbit and it's Uses
    • Articles to read
    • Rabbit Supplies
    • Forums and Organizations
  • Links
    • Clubs
    • Breeders >
      • Canadian breeders
      • Non-Canadian breeders
      • Directories of Breeders
    • Rescues
    • Forums and On-line Sales
    • Breed Information

Rabbit Safe Foods

1/3/2013

 

Think like a Rabbit

Remember an important detail.... rabbits are NOT people.   So even though rabbits are herbivores (vegetarians NOT by choice) and people can be vegetarians (herbivores by choice) does not mean that bunnies and people have the same vegetarian requirements.

Bunnies eat bunny food.  People eat people food.

With that said: think smart, think like a rabbit, and feed SAFE greens if so desired

Safe greens

This list inspired by Modern Homesteading newsletter, Newsletter 1-31-05.  
Acacia: no food value, but twigs can be entertainment
Alfalfa: fresh or hay
Apples: all parts - be mindful of seeds toxic over time.
Barley
Beets: both top and root of regular, sugar, or mangel
Bermuda grass
Blackberry bush leaves
Bluegrasses, including Canadian
Bread: dry, or soaked in milk
Buckwheat
Carpet grass
Carrot: root and tops.
Cereals (if fat-free and fresh)
Cheeseweed (malva)
Chicories
Clovers: any but sweet clover
Coltsfoot
Corn: fresh or dried ears, fresh or dried stalks.
Cow Parsnip
Crabgrass
Dandelion
Dogwood
Fescue: red, etc.
Filaree (stork’s bill)
Grains: all types, unless dirty, damp, or moldy
Grass: Lawn clippings, grass grains, as long as they carry no
insecticides & are fresh
Hazelnut leave
Jerusalem artichokes: tops, stems, or roots
Kale
Kentucky bluegrass
Knotgrass
Kohlrabi: all parts of plant okay
Kudzu
Lettuce: all kinds - think smart, don't over feed!
Lespedeza
Malva (cheeseweed)
Meadow fescue
Milk: fresh or sour, as well as milk products
Millet: foxtail and Japanese
Milo
Napier grass
Oats
Orchard grass
Panicgrass
Parsnips
Peas and pea vines
Plantain
Poplar
Prairie grass
Redtop grass
Rhodes grass
Root vegetables
Rye, rye grass, and Italian rye grass
Sheep sorrel
Sorghum grains
Spinach: in limited amount
Sprouted grains
Sudan grass
Sumac
Sunflower: leaves, stalks, or seeds
Sweet potatoes: vines or tubers
Swiss chard: in limited amount
Timothy
Turkey mullein
Turnips: all parts of plant
Vetch
Wheat
Willow

Other personal notes: mine will eat melon rinds of all sorts … plus any flesh I leave on them. I make a point of only feeding one slice per week. Don’t want to overdo this wet  and sweet food at all. Mine do not do well on cabbage itself, they can handle limited amounts of broccoli stalks. I am VERY careful with this family of plants.  Causing bloat in rabbits is NOT a good idea.

Exercise Caution

Potato: but, not peelings, sprouts or leaves!   Best if cooked.
Beans and bean vines (not soybean) - fresh NOT dried. 
Cabbage: some is okay --- I recommend caution, as some rabbits will bloat.
Fruit: oranges, grapefruit, cherries, peaches etc.   These are sugar to bunnies, pits are a no go for most any animal.
Carrot roots: these are sugar to bunnies.

Do NOT feed

Some greens are high in oxalic acid in the uncooked state: pigweed, amaranth greens, spinach, comfrey, and Swiss chard. To a small-weight rabbit, especially a young one, these can be a problem. I do feed some spinach and chard to mine because they like it, but I don’t give them a whole lot. The plants listed below range from deadly poisonous, to hard-on-a-bunny, to no nutritional value.

Amaranth - I've heard of folks feeding amaranth  without issues.
Arrowgrass
Bracken fern
Bromweed
Buckeye
Burdock
Castor beans
Cherry leaves
Chinaberry
Chokecherry leaves or pits
Comfrey — Personal note: some folks feed this with no problems.
Fireweed
Foxglove
Goldenrod
Hemlock, poison/water
Horehound
Jimson weed
Johnson grass
Larkspur
Laurel
Lupine
Mesquite
Milkweed — personal note: yet wild bunnies have been known to eat this no probs.   Dried it WILL kill a rabbit or at minimum make it quite ill.
Miner’s lettuce
Moldy bread, moldy anything
Oak
Oleander
Pigweed – mine will eat the young leaves, they leave the stalk and older leaves
Poppy
Potato leaves, sprouts, or peels
Rhubarb leaves
Soybeans or soybean vines
Sweet clover – personal note — what’s wrong with clover?
Tarweed
Tomato leaves - though some rabbits can eat these with ill effect!
All pictures on this site belong to AT Home Pets. Not for your use. Taking them in THEFT. If you want a picture ask for one.
Kelinci link
1/8/2017 01:12:31 am

Heavy thank for your tips rabbit safe foods.

Susan May Gudge link
6/8/2017 03:19:38 pm

I just got a tiny, baby rabbit of about 2 months old. Although I have had just about every pet animal in the book, I have never had a rabbit before. Therefore, have spent days trying to educate myself on what to feed her, etc. I must say that of all the sites I have seen (till my eyes bled) and so much contradictions, your page here is THE most informative with those lists of good and bad foods. Bookmarking it and will refer to it whenever I 'wonder' about a food. Thank you for your research and advice.

annette
6/9/2017 07:25:30 pm

you are welcome. :)


Comments are closed.

    Author

    I have been breeding rabbits for a quite a few years.  I thoroughly enjoy them as animals and think they make great pets.  I also like to take some of them to rabbit shows to see how they measure up to the standards.

    Picture
    You can find me on Facebook and instagram. 
    Picture
    For the BEST rabbit forum I've ever found.  Go to Rabbittalk.com.  Good for the pet rabbit owner as well as the breeder for meat or show. 
    Follow A Net In Time's board Rabbits on Pinterest.

    Categories

    All
    2012
    2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    Abuntay
    Acorn
    Aero Bar
    Aida
    Akara
    Alice
    AliceCherry
    Animal Management
    Animal Management
    Animal Rights
    Animal Welfare
    Aold
    AppleBlossom
    Aria
    Arrow
    Article
    Ascot
    Asia
    August
    AutumnAid
    Baby
    Baccia
    BandAid
    Bandit
    BandSaw
    Basic
    Beamer
    Beethoven
    Bella
    BellaStrand
    Benito
    BerryNose
    Billie
    Birdman
    Biscotti
    Biscuit
    Blaze
    Blaze (LH)
    Blossom
    Blue Lagoon
    BluePond
    BlueStone
    BonFire
    Bonnet
    Branchnook
    Breed Information
    Breeding
    Briarlight
    BrightSong
    BrightSparrow
    BrookAsh
    BrookPond
    BrownBand
    Buck
    Bumblestripe
    ButterBall
    Butterscotched
    Button
    CallsPlay
    Calypso
    Camden
    Captain Crunch
    Carina
    Carma
    Cheeko
    Cheeky
    Chesstine
    Cheta
    Chinpin
    ChocoBane
    CinderFlame
    Cloudtail
    CoalDust
    Companion Oriented
    Companion-oriented
    Contest
    CookieDough
    CookieSprinkles
    Copper
    Corbin
    Creamsicle
    Cross
    Customer Service
    Customer-service
    Cyan-lh
    Daisy-gp
    Daisyhawk
    Daisy-hl
    Dancer
    DanceStep
    Dayle
    Diablo
    Dj
    Dovewing
    DropPatch
    Duskpoppy
    DustDrop
    DustMite
    Dusty
    DustyMIller
    Echo
    Education
    Elsa
    Endorsements
    E Rosie
    Eureka
    Feeding
    Flash Mouse6aab2a8f36
    Flemish-giant
    Footsthebill
    Forest City Rabbit Club
    For Sale
    For-sale
    Gemma
    Georgia
    German
    Gerry
    Gina
    Gogo
    Goldenflower
    Gregory
    Guinea Pigs
    Hailey
    Hairy-spike-gp
    Hallowflight
    HareWing
    Harlequin
    HashBrown
    Health
    Heart's Cry
    Henna
    Holland Lop
    Holland-lop
    Holly
    Hollyleaf-gp
    Honeyfern-gp
    Horatio
    Housing
    Introductions
    Ivypool
    J
    Jack-hl
    Jackson
    Jewel
    Jill
    Jill Jill
    Jolea
    Joyce
    Keener
    Kettle Gpb8ee2be3ac
    Kit-care
    LatteBranch
    Leafblossom
    Lem
    Lena
    LightCinder
    Lil-angel
    LilyBane
    Lilyflower
    Lionstripe
    Lisa
    Litter Born
    Little-dawn
    Logos
    Marbles
    Marie
    Marilla
    Marilyn
    Marilyn'sCharm
    Maximus
    Meat Rabbit
    Meggie
    Merlo
    Merlo-hl
    Mice
    Midnight
    Milkshake
    Mini Rex
    Miscellaneaous
    Miss Q
    Mistyfoot
    Mitch
    Mittens
    Mixed Breed
    Mocha
    Moose
    Mop
    MossBelly
    Mousewhisker
    Natural Feeding
    Nero
    News
    New Zealand
    Nicholas
    Nicky Mouse3df29cf56e
    Nightlily
    Nights-cry
    Nookncranny
    Nutmeg
    Olivia
    OpalBerry
    Oreo
    Oscar
    Peach
    Pearstar
    Peek A Mommy
    Peekamommy2150c5dcc8
    Penny
    Pepper
    Peppin
    Peske
    Petey
    Pet People Pictures
    Peyton
    Pie
    Pinpin
    PistolKeeper
    PistolPete
    Pj
    Poco
    Polish
    PondFlower
    PondPuddle
    Popper
    Poppet
    Potter
    Questions Asked
    Rabbit Show
    Rain
    RainBerry
    Ranger
    RavenSpeck
    Reacher
    Redblaze
    Red-max
    Red-pete
    Rena
    Rescue
    Return
    Risensun
    Rizzo
    Rockfall
    RockSpirit
    Rodney
    Roger
    Rosepetal
    Rosewood
    Rosie-sp
    Rustic
    Sable
    Safety-issues
    Sage
    Sally
    Sandie
    Sandstorm
    Sarge
    SBerry
    Ser-bogs
    Shade
    ShadyBreeze
    Shaya
    SheerTangle
    Shiloh
    Shows
    Sienna
    Silverfrost
    Skipper
    Skitter
    Slip
    Sneak-thief
    Snow
    Snowpelt
    Snow-polish
    Snowshade
    Sold
    Soldier
    Sparkle Eyes
    SparksBranch
    SpeckDrop
    Spice
    SpiceBlossom
    Splash
    SplashHawk
    SplatterBush
    Spotlight
    Spots
    Spottedleaf
    Spottednose-gp
    Sprite
    Standard Rex
    Starburst
    Starflower
    Stevie
    Stolen
    StormLight
    StormSparrow
    Stormy
    Summer
    Sundrop
    Sunnyrock
    Sunshadow
    SunShine
    TangleFoot
    TangleHeart
    TangleWebb
    Tanner
    Tansy
    Tava Gp
    Tawnypelt
    Teddy
    Temp Gp
    Tempy
    ThistleStripe
    Tilly
    Tinker-gp
    Tiny-tim
    Tipper
    TipTop
    Tm-polo1
    Tmueka03-nellie
    Toadfoot-gp
    Toffee-gp
    Toffee Gpafa704b3dc
    Tommy Tit
    Tommy-titpeter
    Tommy Titpeter2ddcb0e531
    Tory
    TraceElement
    Tracey
    Training
    Trebel
    Triscuit
    Usefulness-of-rabbits
    Varia
    Varmints
    Vena
    Vicki
    Violet
    Vivian
    Wafer
    WebbsBeauty
    Website News
    Whiskerheart
    Whiskersong
    William
    Willowsong
    WingFlight
    Winters-coat
    Youtube

    Picture
    Click me to learn more about Rabbits and Guinea pigs

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.