This past summer I walked out to water my vegetable garden. As I approached the garden, I saw several rabbits nibbling around my beets. They seemed to be eating some beet greens and chewing on the beets that were partially popping out of the ground. Although I was concerned about my beet plants, I didn’t worry too much about the rabbits because I already knew that beets were non-toxic to rabbits.
Thats right, adult rabbits may eat beets, beet root, and beet greens in moderation. Beets and beet greens are very nutritious, but they are relatively high in oxalates, or oxalic acid, which can lead to health problems for some rabbits if ingested often.
So before offering your homestead or pet rabbits beets, read on to learn more about the benefits and risks this food has for rabbits.

As this Healthline article shows, beets are very nutritious. They’re low in calories yet high in valuable vitamins and minerals. In fact, they contain a bit of almost all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs!
Here’s an overview of the nutrients found in a 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of boiled beets:
- Calories: 44
- Protein: 1.7 grams
- Fat: 0.2 grams
- Carbs: 10 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Folate: 20% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Manganese: 14% of the DV
- Copper: 8% of the DV
- Potassium: 7% of the DV
- Magnesium: 6% of the DV
- Vitamin C: 4% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 4% of the DV
- Iron: 4% of the DV
In addition, beets provide a large amount of folate, which is a vitamin that plays a key role in growth, development, and heart health. They also contain a good amount of manganese, which is key for bone and brain health. Plus, they’re relatively high in copper, which is important for energy production and a healthy nervous system.
Finally, beets contain pigments called betalains. Betalains are believed to be anti-inflammatory. This means that they help reduce all kinds of systemic diseases.
I found the part about Betalains and anti-inflammatory properties very interesting
Are Beets and Beet Greens Healthy for Rabbits?
Beets are a vegetable high in water, moderate in fiber and protein, and low in calories which is excellent for rabbits. However, beets are relatively high in starch and sugar, which is not good for rabbits.
Additionally, beets and beet greens, or beet tops, are relatively high in oxalates which may cause kidney stones, and other urinary tract problems for rabbits that are sensitive to oxalates. For these reasons, beets and beet greens should be viewed as a treat for your rabbit, not part of your rabbit’s primary diet. Beets may be fed to augment the rabbit’s primary diet of grass and hay, but only in fairly small amounts. In addition, beets for your rabbit should always be raw, never cooked!
Lets take a deeper look at oxalates. This Healthline article explains that tubers (beets) and leafy greens contain oxalates or oxalic acid which bind to calcium and iron and may lead to kidney stones and other urinary tract problems in rabbits that are prone to kidney stones.
Typically, the oxalates are only harmful for a rabbit if eaten in large amounts and on a recurring basis. In addition, most rabbits will not be overly sensitive to oxalates and ingesting some oxalates, by eating beets or beet greens each week, will not be a problem. However, if your rabbit happens to be sensitive to oxalates, then you should NOT feed high oxalate foods like beets and beet greens to your rabbit.

Furthermore, this PetMD article titled, “Excess Calcium and Stones in The Urinary Tract of Rabbits,” states that Rabbits that have a high level of calcium in their diet may also be more prone to kidney stones and urinary tract problems. Again, calcium binds with the oxalates in beets and beet greens which may lead to health issues for your rabbit.
Further, if the water your rabbit drinks is “hard”, meaning it contains a high level of minerals such as calcium and iron, then your rabbit has a diet that is high in minerals that may end up binding with oxalates to create health problems.
Stained Rabbit Fur and Red Rabbit Pea!
Beets contain strong but natural pink/red pigments that can stain your rabbit’s fur. Eventually, the stain will wear off, but it may take longer than you think. Additionally, if you feed beets to your rabbit, do not be alarmed when you see that your rabbit’s urine is a reddish color! Again, this is due to the natural dyes in the beet root.
This short video shows a bunny eating beet root.
Can Rabbits Eat Beet Greens and Beet Tops?
Yes, adult rabbits may eat a small amount of beet greens, also known as beet tops. Similar to the beet root, the beet greens contain are nutritious but contain oxalates.
Can Rabbits Eat Cooked or Canned Beets?
Beets and beet tops should ALWAYS be fed to your rabbit raw. The rabbit’s sensitive digestive system is accustomed to raw food and cannot digest cooked food properly. In addition, do not use canned or processed beets, or beets in a sauce. Preservative chemicals and sugars that are bad for your rabbits sensitive digestive system are added to canned or processed foods.
Rabbits do not find pickled beets in the wild, so again their digestive tracts are neither designed for nor accustomed to pickled food!
Should I Wash Food For My Rabbits?
Always wash raw foods, like Beets, to remove pesticides, dirt and grime before feeding them to your rabbit. Pesticides and grime are not healthy rabbits. Similarly, over-ripe or rotting foods may irritate your rabbit’s digestive system and cause serious health problems.
Also, always inspect the raw food for parasites such as worms, beetles, or maggots. If a rabbit eats or ingests parasites, then those parasites may also infect and begin to live in your rabbit.
How to Feed Beets to Rabbit?
Cut the ripe, raw, clean, beets into chunks about half the size of a cherry tomato. Eating the clean skin or peel of the Beets is not a problem for rabbits.
Feed only one or two of these pieces to adult rabbits in a feeder bowl and always introduce new foods in moderation, meaning small pieces, a little bit at a time.
If the rabbit has not eaten beets, or has not eaten beets in a while, then after feeding the beets, observe your rabbit throughout the day to see if the rabbit is experiencing any problems, such as diarrhea, bloat, stomach pains, digestive tract blockage. Contact your veterinarian if you think your rabbit may be experiencing an adverse reaction to food or some other element of its environment.
How Much Beets Can a Rabbit Eat?
We do not recommend feeding more than two or three pieces of beets to your rabbit at any one time. Cutting the Beets into small chunks makes it easier to determine how much beets you are feeding the rabbit. Again, feed only one or two small chunks of beets at a time.

How Often Can Rabbit Eat Beets?
Beets are not a primary part of the rabbit’s diet and should not make up more than 5-10% of thier daily diet. Rabbits are small animals with small stomachs. If your rabbit seems to do well with beets, then you may feed one or two small chunks, in total about the size of a cherry tomato, one or twice a week.
If your rabbit eats too many beets, then it will eat less of its primary diet. Additionally, eating too much beets means eating less grass and hay that provide the fiber to keeps the rabbit’s digestive tract healthy. Remember, rabbits get most of the nutrients they need from their primary diet of grass and hay, perhaps augmented by some rabbit pellets.
How Sensitive is the Rabbit Digestive System?
A rabbit’s digestive system is very sensitive, much more sensitive than the typical human digestive system. This means that the kinds of foods that a rabbit can process, and digest are fairly limited compared to the broad range of foods that humans can process and digest.
A Rabbit’s digestive system is not designed to process meat, or an abundance of sugar, salt, milk, grains, nuts, spices, oils, or processed foods.
Through evolution the rabbit is designed to digest high fiber, low-fat and low-calorie food that are best limited to grass or hay, leafy green vegetables, and water. The rabbit receives its vitamins, trace minerals and other required nutrients from the foods it eats and the water it drinks. Some pellets that are manufactured and designed for rabbits may be used to augment a rabbit’s primary grass and hay-based diet.
Furthermore, rabbits’ digestive systems have a unique gut flora or microbiota, just as our human digestive system has a specific gut flora. Disrupting the rabbit’s gut flora, by feeding inappropriate foods, may lead to Cecal Dysbiosis.

Can Baby Rabbits or Bunnies Eat Beets?
No, Baby rabbits or bunnies should not eat beets or beet greens. Baby rabbits are designed to feed on their mother’s milk.
Bunnies should not eat any kind of fruits or vegetables until their digestive system grows and matures! Usually by 12 weeks of age a rabbit has matured enough to begin to eat fruits and leafy green vegetables in moderation.
Final Thoughts On Rabbit Eat Beets
This Can Rabbits Eat Beets post is part of our larger post about What Can Rabbits Eat? Please click and give it a read! It is full of great information and I guarantee you will learn something valuable.
As we discussed throughout this article, beets and beet greens are very healthy foods that may be fed to your adult rabbits in moderation, such as once or twice a week as a treat. Beets should never displace too much of the rabbit’s diet of quality, high fiber grass, and hay as they contain too much startch, water and the potentially harmful oxalates.
Finally, remember to always observe your rabbits with new foods and be sure to talk with your veterinarian about what and how much you are feeding your rabbits.
Want to know more about vegetables for rabbits and what vegetables can rabbits have daily?
Click on this link: Vegetables for Rabbits