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Rabbit diet: what they can and cannot eat

The foundation of a rabbit's diet is unlimited hay, complemented by fresh vegetables and a handful of pellets. Learn which foods are safe, which are dangerous, and how to introduce changes without digestive upsets.

Uredništvo Živalce.si Published · Updated
Rabbit diet: what they can and cannot eat

A rabbit\'s digestive system is built for the constant processing of fibre. The wrong food is the most common cause of health problems in pet rabbits, so it pays to learn the basics from day one.

✅ In short
  • Hay: 80 % of the diet, available 24 hours a day.
  • Vegetables: a handful per kilogram of body weight daily.
  • Pellets: at most one or two tablespoons a day, grain- and sugar-free.
  • Fruit: a treat only, up to a tablespoon a day.
  • Never: bread, sweets, onion, avocado, iceberg lettuce.

Hay: 80 percent of the diet

Quality meadow hay must be available without limit, 24 hours a day. It keeps digestion moving and grinds down teeth that grow throughout a rabbit\'s life. Hay should smell fresh and must not be dusty; young rabbits up to six months can also have alfalfa, but adults should not, as it contains too much calcium.

Fresh vegetables every day

An adult rabbit should get roughly a handful of vegetables per kilogram of body weight daily. Safe choices include:

  • leafy greens: radicchio, rocket, lamb\'s lettuce, endive, carrot and radish tops,
  • herbs: parsley, basil, dill, coriander, mint,
  • in smaller amounts: carrot, pepper, cucumber, broccoli, celery.
A Holland Lop eating hay
Hay must be available to a rabbit without limit – it keeps digestion moving and wears down teeth that grow for life.

Pellets only as a supplement

Quality grain-free pellets with no added sugar should make up at most one to two tablespoons a day for an average-sized rabbit. Colourful muesli mixes with corn, seeds and honey balls are unsuitable – rabbits pick out the worst parts.

What rabbits must not eat

  • bread, pastries, cereals, rice and pasta,
  • chocolate, sweets and anything sugary,
  • onion, garlic, leek, avocado, rhubarb, raw potato,
  • iceberg lettuce (causes diarrhoea) and beans,
  • food meant for other animals (dogs, cats, rodents).

Fruit is a treat

Apple without seeds, banana, strawberries or blueberries are dessert – a tablespoon a day at most. Rabbits adore sweet things, so use them for training and hand-taming.

💡 Did you know? Rabbits eat their "night droppings" Besides ordinary pellets, rabbits produce soft, shiny cecotropes which they eat directly from their bottom – digesting the fibre a second time and gaining B and K vitamins. This is completely normal and essential behaviour, not an illness. If cecotropes are left smeared around the enclosure, the rabbit is most likely getting too many pellets or too much fruit.

Water and gradual changes

Fresh water must always be available, ideally in a heavy ceramic bowl. Introduce every new food gradually over several days and watch the droppings. If a rabbit stops eating or defecating, see a vet immediately – in rabbits this is an emergency.

⚠️ Emergency: a rabbit that stops eating A rabbit's digestion must run continuously. If a rabbit does not eat or produce droppings for 12 hours, gut stasis can develop and become life-threatening within a day. Do not wait until tomorrow – call a vet who treats small animals immediately.

This article is general advice and does not replace a visit to the vet. If your animal is ill, injured or getting worse, talk to a vet as soon as you can.

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Sources and photos
  1. Rabbit diet — RSPCA (accessed: 29.07.2026)
  2. Rabbit diet: what to feed your rabbit — Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) (accessed: 29.07.2026)
  3. Diet for Rabbits — MSD Veterinary Manual (accessed: 09.09.2026)
  4. Gastrointestinal Stasis in Rabbits — VCA Animal Hospitals (accessed: 29.07.2026)

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