What Vegetables Can Rabbits Eat? Safe, Limit and Avoid Lists

Start with leafy greens, then hay underneath

Leafy greens make up most of a rabbit's fresh food. Seven of them are named as good choices by all three sources this page draws on (House Rabbit Society, the RSPCA and the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund): romaine, arugula (rocket), watercress, cilantro (coriander), basil, mint and dandelion leaves.

Both the RSPCA and HRS put hay first. The RSPCA describes an adult rabbit's diet as roughly 85% hay and grass, 10% leafy greens and 5% pellets, and the HRS diet pyramid gives 85% hay, 10% vegetables and 5% pellets. Hay supplies the roughage that keeps the gut moving and wears down a rabbit's constantly growing teeth (HRS), so vegetables are added to hay and never swapped in for it.

How much to feed each day

The HRS vegetables page gives a rule of thumb of about one packed cup of greens for every two pounds of rabbit, while its diet page says 1 to 2 cups of vegetables for every 4 lb. The RSPCA puts it as a large handful of washed greens, herbs and safe weeds a day. The Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) is the most cautious of the three, at around 5 to 10% of the daily diet for all fresh vegetables.

Treat those figures as ranges: the HRS pages differ slightly from each other, and for adult rabbits none of the three gives an amount for individual vegetables. HRS points out that rabbits are usually good at regulating themselves when given a big pile of dark greens, but too many vegetables can give some rabbits runny stools. Those rabbits need their greens portioned strictly, and if the stools stay soft the RSPCA says to book a vet appointment as soon as possible.

Aim for at least three different leafy greens a day, as HRS suggests, and rotate them instead of feeding the same few every day. The RSPCA says the same about rotation and suggests offering greens and pellets in the early morning and late afternoon, when rabbits naturally like to graze. RWAF singles out parsley, which is safe but higher in calcium than other herbs, so it belongs in the rotation rather than in every bowl.

HRS puts leafy greens at about 75% of the vegetables fed each day, which leaves non-leafy vegetables as the smaller share at around one tablespoon per two pounds of rabbit.

Feed, limit or avoid: the three trays

When the sources disagree, an item goes in the stricter tray or gets its own note in the next section, and the trays below follow that rule.

Where the three sources disagree

The largest disagreement is over cabbage-family greens. HRS says the gas and thyroid worries people have about broccoli and cabbage do not carry over to rabbits, and cites a rabbit study in which abnormal blood results took weeks of feeding huge quantities. Its own list still warns that too much cabbage can cause thyroid and digestive problems. RWAF lists these greens as moderate, rotated foods because they can ferment in some rabbits, and the RSPCA lists cabbage as occasional. We lean toward the cautious reading: rotating greens costs nothing, and gas is the specific problem RWAF warns about. Watch the droppings after a larger portion.

Spinach and Swiss chard split the same way. HRS lists both as safe, RWAF and the RSPCA call spinach an occasional food, and RWAF generally does not recommend chard, so this page keeps spinach in the limit tray and chard in the avoid tray.

Iceberg lettuce causes a smaller disagreement. HRS calls it safe but nutritionally thin, with diarrhea possible in large amounts, the RSPCA lists it as a food to avoid, and RWAF discourages it. Darker lettuces such as romaine carry more nutrients, so iceberg is easy to skip.

HRS is not consistent with itself on the base of the diet either: its diet page says 85% hay and its vegetables page says 80%. All three sources do agree that fruit and carrots are high in sugar, and HRS keeps fruit and treats under 5% of the daily diet.

Introducing a new vegetable

HRS suggests offering one new type of vegetable, waiting 24 hours, and checking for soft stools or gas before adding another. If the droppings go soft, HRS says to discontinue that vegetable to prevent more serious gut problems.

Young rabbits need more care than adults. Their digestive systems do not finish developing until around 8 weeks, and an upset stomach can cause diarrhea or fatal enteritis that needs emergency veterinary care, so HRS advises waiting until 12 weeks of age before feeding vegetables and then starting with under half an ounce of one vegetable at a time. A baby rabbit that already ate a specific vegetable while weaning from its mother is the exception.

HRS notes that rabbits with megacolon may not react well to greens and can do better on pellets and hay alone, so a rabbit with a chronic digestive problem should have its fresh food changed only on the advice of a rabbit-savvy vet.

Washing, serving and foraging

Wash everything before it goes in the bowl. HRS suggests serving greens wet, which adds to a rabbit's water intake, and says to throw out anything you would not eat yourself, because rabbits are more sensitive to spoiled food than people are.

Foraged weeds and garden plants carry extra risks. HRS says plants picked outdoors must not have touched cat, dog or fox droppings or been treated with pesticides, and the RSPCA lists bluebells, foxgloves, holly and tulips among the poisonous plants, with the advice to leave out anything you are unsure of.