Whether you’re an experienced hobby farmer or new homesteader adding rabbits to your list of farm animals, there is much to learn about rabbit care and proper rabbit nutrition.
To raise healthy and happy bunnies you must know what you can and can’t feed your rabbits, especially now, with so many different (and hazardous) rabbit food products, treats, and nutritional myths out there.
In this article, we will share all the information you need to know about whether or not you can supplement your bunnies diet with cranberries, and any precautions to take.
Can Rabbits Have Cranberries?
The answer is yes, you can safely feed your mature rabbits of 12 weeks or more small amounts of cranberries 1-3 times per week. Consider the cranberries to be a very sugary treat and limit them to keep your bunnies happy and healthy.
Why Can Rabbits Eat Cranberries?
Rabbits are natural herbivores, which means their digestive system is built to efficiently breakdown and utilize plant material. Cranberries are a fruit from the cranberry plant (Vaccinium macrocarpon) and are therefore a herbivorous food item.
Remember, your rabbit is adapted to eating and digesting large amounts of high fiber foods. So don’t worry, your rabbits of 12 weeks or more can have cranberries and digest them without an issue.
Nutritional Value of Cranberry for Rabbit
Cranberries have a number of nutritional benefits for rabbits. In general, cranberries contain over 150 nutrients and healthy compounds that are immediately usable for plant-eating organisms.
For example, cranberry fruits contain more than four natural antioxidants including A-type proanthocyanidins and ursolic acid. In particular, researchers have studied ursolic acid and discovered the incredible anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties of this natural plant compound.
In addition, cranberries are known as a preventative measure and remedy for urinary tract infections thanks to the multiple antioxidants and nutrients they contain. In vitro (test-tube experiments) and in vivo (with live animals) rounds of cranberry urinary tract infection research has found that cranberries are effective in preventing urinary tract infections in animals.
Here are a list of basic nutrients contained in every 1 cup of fresh cranberries:
- 46 Calories
- 87-90% Water
- 0.4 grams of Protein
- 12.2 grams of Carbohydrates
- 4 grams of Sugars
- 4.6 grams of Fiber
- 0.1 grams of Fat
What does all of this mean?
Well, as a hobby farmer looking for the best animal husbandry practices, adding small quantities of cranberries to the diet of your mature rabbits can benefit the overall health, longevity, and happiness of your bunnies. Rabbits will eat cranberries with gusto!
The natural vitamin, minerals, and powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic compounds found within cranberries are directly incorporated into the immune system of your rabbits when they eat and digest cranberries.
Be sure to introduce Cranberries to your bunny slowly. Take a single cranberry and cut it in half. Feed the two halves to your bunny and observe your bunny for a day.
If there are unpleasant side effects, then do not feed your rabbit cranberries. If bad effects are not observed, then you may begin to incorporate a small amount of cranberry into your rabbit’s diet as a treat food, not as a primary health food.
Can All Rabbits Eat Cranberries?
So now that you know that cranberries are a fruit that is okay to feed your rabbits, what about the guidelines and best practices of feeding them to your bunnies? Below we list some general tips and guidelines that you may find useful:
- Rabbits less than 12 weeks old cannot yet digest exotic foods. Therefore, do not feed cranberries to your rabbits that are less than 12 weeks old.
- Rabbits evolved eating green plant material, as such, while cranberry fruits are delightful and nutritious to rabbits, a very modest amount of fruits should be given to your rabbits 1-2 times a week. As usual with animal husbandry, error on the side of health and caution!
- Add cranberries to the diet of your rabbit if you notice unusual feces or pee. This could mean your rabbit is suffering from a urinary tract infection and the vitamin and antioxidant boost from cranberries can help resolve it naturally and quickly.
- Cranberries are a great way to provide a timely boost of minerals and vitamins for your rabbits before cold weather sets in.
- Pregnant rabbit Does can also benefit from cranberries as they grow and develop baby rabbits during their one-month gestation period.
Keep in mind that, while your bunnies can naturally enjoy and digest plant materials like cranberries or pumpkins (Can Rabbits Eat Pumpkins?), such items should be given as treats. Your rabbits should be receiving their primary nutrition from high quality rabbit hay, pellets and leafy green vegetables.
Can Rabbits Eat Dried Cranberries
Yes, dried cranberries can be fed to your mature rabbits if you keep in mind some important guidelines:
- Normally, dried cranberries have added sugars. Sugars are not ideal for your bunnies as they can lead to tooth decay and obesity.
- Dried cranberries contain 0% water but more than 10 minerals.
- Dried cranberries retain a good amount of potassium and calcium, but do lose other natural vitamins that are present in the fresh fruit
- Avoid freeze-dried cranberries, which contain the least amount of active and healthy compounds for your bunnies
- Depending on the size of the dried cranberries, you may need to cut them in small pieces to be enjoyed safely by your mature rabbits
In short, a very small amount (about 3 cranberries) of microwave-vacuum dried cranberries per week are a great option and can act as a nutritional treat for your mature rabbits.
Remember, your rabbit’s gastrointestinal physiology allows it to digest high energy plant food, such as a few dried cranberries, without issue.
Can Rabbits Eat Fresh Cranberries
Yes, fresh cranberries are one of the best treats for you mature rabbits. Here are some good things to remember before giving your rabbits fresh cranberries:
- Fresh cranberries have no added sugars and are about 90% water.
- The classic sour taste of fresh cranberries is due to the number of antioxidants present, which can help your rabbits maintain good mouth health, urinary tract health, and fight off colds.
- Like all fruits, fresh cranberries do contain small seeds inside the fruit. Don’t worry, these seeds are completely safe for your rabbit to consume.
Fresh cranberries are always a better option than dried cranberries. They provide your rabbits with a tangy, juicy, and nutrient packed treat that only contains 4g of sugar per cup. That is significantly different from the 22g of sugars that are found in dried cranberries!
Can Rabbits Have Cranberry Juice
The simple answer when it comes to whether or not you should give your rabbits cranberry juice is: No, rabbits should not have cranberry juice.
The real issue with cranberry juice is that the jugs of cranberry juice easily found and purchased by hobby farmers and homesteaders in stores are chock-full of sweeteners. This is because the naturally tart flavor of the fresh cranberry fruit makes the juice too sour to enjoy by the masses without sweeteners.
For the normal human consumer, a small glass of this sweetened juice is okay. In fact, there are a number of studies looking at the different benefits of cranberry juice for skin and cranberry juice for digestion in humans. However, for your mature bunnies, the amount of sugar present in commercial cranberry juice is too high for their small system to properly deal with and can easily lead to bad eating habits, obesity, aggravated digestive system and a whole load of subsequent health issues for your rabbits.
We have heard that some rabbit owners have used 2-3 drops of diet cranberry juice (lower sugar content) in the water of their rabbits suffering from urinary tract issues. However, here at Hobby Farm Heaven, we believe the risks of adding such a sugary and processed product to your rabbit’s fresh water outweigh the potential benefits.
Do not hesitate to contact your local rabbit veterinarian if you suspect your rabbits may have any health issues.
Can Rabbits Eat Cranberry Sauce
While your healthy bunny will eat cranberry sauce happily when offered, it is truly not the ideal form of nutrition to provide for your rabbit. The reasoning behind this follows the same logic as with cranberry juice: way too much sugar with little nutrients.
Cranberry sauce is a highly processed food product that has a lot of added sugars. In fact, your typical store-bought cranberry sauce has even more grams of sugar than dried cranberries! Your rabbit is sure to love this sugary treat but for the long term health and happiness of your farm and homestead animals, we suggest that you avoid giving such processed and sugar loaded food items to your rabbits.
Finally, for a last bit of inspiration, check out this video of a bunny falling over in its effort to eat a fresh cranberry 🙂
Frequently Asked Questions Related To: Can Rabbits Eat Cranberries?
Can Rabbits Eat Raw Cranberries?
Yes, rabbits can eat raw cranberries. In fact, raw cranberries are the same as fresh cranberries. As a fruit, the cranberry is in its raw form when it is fresh. In fact, raw (or fresh) cranberries are the best form of cranberry for your rabbit!
Again, feed at most 1 to 3 cranberries in a week. Treat cranberries as a treat!
Will Rabbits Eat Cranberry Sauce?
Your furry rabbit will surely enjoy eating cranberry sauce as it is full of added sugars (just like you enjoy eating that high-sugar candy bar) but here at Hobby Farm Heaven we don’t recommend feeding your rabbits cranberry sauce because it can quickly lead to obesity, digestive system malady and other health issues.
Do Rabbits Eat Cranberry Bushes?
Rabbits are natural grazers and, in the wild, eat a large range of greens and foliage because their digestive system is built to harness energy from these food sources. For farm and homestead rabbits it is the same!
So, your rabbit can eat cranberry bush leaves about 1-2 times per week as an additive to high quality pellets and hay.
Final Thoughts On Can Rabbits Eat Cranberries?
When it comes to raising healthy and happy animals, it is important to understand the dietary needs, restrictions, and limits of each animal.
If you are raising rabbits and wondering which foods you can supplement your mature bunnies diet with, especially healthy and beneficial treats, you are a-okay to move forward with mixing in a small amount of fresh cranberries to your mature rabbit’s diet. Please do this only as as an infrequent treat.
Mature rabbits can eat cranberries and will directly benefit from the hoard of vitamins, nutrients, and health properties that cranberries offer! In addition, cranberries can be a natural preventative for a recurring urinary tract issue that your bunny may be experiencing.
Remember, any highly processed or high in sugar cranberry products, such as cranberry juice and cranberry sauce, are not a good food option for your rabbits and contain too many additives and sugars to merit them healthy to feed to your rabbits.
Want to know more about fruit for rabbits? You can click on this post:
Fruits Rabbits Can Eat