What Can Rabbits NOT Eat? (65 Foods You Shouldn’t Feed Your Bunny)

What can rabbits NOT eat?

You have some leftover veg in the fridge and you’re thinking about giving it to your little fluff monster. Then you think: can they eat that?

You search the Internet, but you’re still not sure.

Let me put your mind at ease with this list of food you shouldn’t feed your bunny.

Confusion Over What Can Rabbits NOT Eat is Easy

“What can Rabbits NOT eat?” My Wife calls.

I’m sitting on the couch and I stop tying my shoelaces to glare at her through the open kitchen door. She’s stood by the open fridge, glaring inside and looking confused.

We’re rushing to get ready for work because we’re both late (standard) and we need to feed Ron before we leave.

But there seems to be a problem.

“No Kale?” I ask her.

Kale is Ronnie’s favourite food. He rushes to his food bowl and places both of his tiny paws inside it as soon as he hears the rustling sound of a plastic bag.

He often gets disappointed, but never in the mornings. There’s always Kale in the mornings.

Except for this morning of course.

My wife shakes her head. “No. Can he eat toast?”

I sigh. “Absolutely not.”

“I won’t butter it,” she says.

I shake my head.

“Well, what can he eat?”

I get from the couch and wander over to the fridge. I stare at the vegetable drawer and my mind draws a blank.

“I have no idea,” I tell her.

There are tons of vegetables in the fridge that I know he can have, but what can rabbits not eat? What’s actually dangerous for them?

Of course, the standard stuff like toast is easy. But what about other foods? What other foods are bad for them?

It’s easy to forget and if you don’t have a handy guide with you it can involve a lot of Googling.

Of course, I’ve already created a handy guide about what foods Rabbits can eat to help supplement their diet, but what about a guide detailing everything rabbit can’t eat?

That’ll be useful, won’t it?

Let’s start.

Rabbit Diet

When we talk about foods that rabbits can and can’t eat, it’s always worth mentioning Rabbit Diet.

You more about it in our fully detailed article, but the basics for a healthy rabbit consists of two main elements:

• Hay
• Pellets.

Hay should make up 80% of their diet, with the rest mostly being made up of pellets.

For my boy Ronnie, we get him the Excel Burgess with Dandelion and Marigold (because he’s a fussy little monkey):

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Excel Burgess with Dandelion and Marigold

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And the Burgess Excel Junior and Dwarf Rabbit Nuggets with Mint (because he’s smol):

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Burgess Excel Junior and Dward Rabbit Nuggets with Mint

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Any fruit or vegetables you choose to give to your little fluffer should be considered a treat and they should only get a handful a day max.

The Ultimate Rabbit Food List

Before I get into the list of foods rabbits can’t eat, I should mention again that I already have a pretty detailed article in place listing all the foods rabbits can eat.

There’s even a cool option to download that Rabbit Food List to keep with you just in case.

Handy, right?

My point is if you’re looking for a list of foods rabbits can eat maybe that’s the list you need.

BUT, if you do need a list of foods your rabbit definitely can’t eat, you’re in the right place.

Let’s take a look at the list.

What Can Rabbits Not Eat?

Let’s Go Into a Little More Detail

You have to admit, some of the foods on this list are kinda obvious.

For example, the food that’s not good for humans is bound to be bad for little fluffers too.

And meat. Giving Rabbits meat is also an obvious no-no.

But what about the foods that are left obvious? Let’s take a look.

Nuts

Nuts might surprise some people, but they are mostly high in fat and because of this are difficult for rabbits to digest.

Peas

Peas certainly fall into the surprising category, but they contain high levels of sugar and phosphorus. This doesn’t necessarily make it harmful to your rabbit, but it’s very unhealthy for them and can cause havoc to your little fluffers digestive system.

Avocado

Avocados are a really popular food right now and because you might have spares in your fridge right now you need to know: Avocados are poisonous to Rabbits and should not be given to them under any circumstances.

Tomato Greens

Wait…I thought rabbits can eat tomatoes? Yes! They absolutely can, but as I wrote in my Can Rabbits Eat Tomatoes article, Tomato greens are not good for rabbits. In fact, Tomato Greens are poisonous to rabbits because they contain something called Solanine which is actually a poison.

Potato greens also contain this poison, so that’s why this is on the list of foods Rabbit can’t eat too.

Cauliflowers

Cauliflowers are another surprising food that you shouldn’t give your little fluffer.

Why? Because cauliflower contains substances that cause bloating and gas (tell me about it).

The problem is, Rabbits cannot burp or pass gas (although I blame Ron for a lot of wind that goes on in my house) and this can cause your little fluffer pain or could even lead to death.

Cabbage

Cabbage should not be given to rabbits because when given to your fluffer in large quantities it can cause digestive problems and can also enlarge the thyroid gland.

Onions

Onions are actually toxic to rabbits and there has been some research that suggests they can cause blood abnormalities in little fluffers.

Mushrooms

Poor bunnies! They’re not even allowed unarguably the greatest vegetable of all time – Mushrooms. Okay, okay. Mushrooms aren’t even vegetables, they’re fungus but you know what I mean.

Much like Peas, Mushrooms are high phosphorus, but are also very acidic and will cause your bunny harm if you feed it to them.

Conclusion

So, what can rabbits not eat? The 65 different foods listed above that’s what.

Some are quite surprising and some are not, so it’s quite important that you double check with this list or our safe rabbit food list if ever not sure whether you should be feeding your little fluffer something.

It’s better safe than sorry.

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