You may be most familiar with dill as the famous herb of those crunchy dill pickles. It surely overtakes our hobby farm kitchen when we do rounds of cucumber pickling! Here and there we also offer this leafy green herb to our rabbits.
You may be wondering ‘Can Rabbits Have Dill?’ Fortunately, here at Hobby Farm Heaven we have all the facts and best practices to share when it comes to rabbits and dill.
The short answer is yes, mature rabbits can have dill. Dill (Anethum graveolens) is a very nutritious herb that offers many benefits to your bunnies. However, although bunnies can have dill, there are always a number of best practices to follow when offering your farm, homestead, or pet rabbit these leafy greens.
Before Feeding Your Rabbit Dill Check Out The Best Guidelines Below
Do Rabbits Eat Dill
Rabbits enjoy a number of different leafy greens, dill being no exception! Almost all rabbits enjoy the strong herby flavor of the plant and willingly gobble it down.
Will Rabbits Eat Dill
Yes. If fresh, green dill is offered to rabbits they will eat it. Rabbits will naturally avoid yellowing, rotting or old dill. For more information about the precautions of feeding dill to your rabbits, check out the Concerns section of this post.
Nutritional Value of Dill for Rabbits
Before feeding any food to your rabbits, even if it is a leafy green, it is important to understand its nutritional values and benefits. According to Healthline, dill is very low in calories but contains two important vitamins:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
Both of these are essential nutrients that support the immune system and act as natural antioxidants. In addition, dill contains the following minerals:
- Calcium
- Copper
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Riboflavin
- Zinc
Better yet, dill also offers small amounts of manganese, a special mineral that supports healthy brain and nervous system functions.
Is Dill Safe For Rabbits
If you are looking for a beneficial leafy green to offer to your rabbits, we highly recommend choosing dill. Dill is safe and delicious for rabbits to eat while offering many nutritional benefits, just like Oregano or Parsley.
All the vitamins and minerals within dill are immediately available to your rabbits when ingested!
How Much Dill Can Rabbits Eat
According to best hobby farming and homesteading practices, the daily diet of your rabbit should consist of:
- Unlimited hay (75% to 80% hay)
- Quality pellets (10% to 15%)
- Leafy green vegetables (5% to 10%)
This is because rabbits have a highly specialized and delicate GI system that hosts specific gut bacteria accustomed to high fiber foods.
Moreover, the metabolism of rabbits requires a constant ingestion of high fiber foods. Offering high fiber hay and quality pellets as the majority of your rabbit’s diet ensures it remains healthy.
That said, you can incorporate dill into the 5-10% of leafy green vegetables.
We practice offering about 1-2 sprigs of dill to our rabbits on any given day and they have never shown negative effects.
However, we also always follow certain rules about offering dill to rabbits that we will discuss below.
How Often Can Rabbits Eat Dill
Dill is a safe leafy green and can be offered to your mature rabbits often. It is simply important to make sure this herb doesn’t make up more than 5-10% of your rabbit’s diet.
Remember, while dill offers many vitamins and minerals, it is very low in fiber. Therefore, dill should only be used as a healthy dietary supplement and treat rather than a food staple for your bunnies.
Can Rabbits Eat Dill Everyday
Yes, mature rabbits can eat dill everyday. However, rabbit owners MUST remember: this does not mean allowing dill to become more than 5-10% of your rabbits’ daily diet.
Good farmers, homesteaders and pet owners remain constant with offering their rabbits a primary diet of unlimited hay and measured amounts of high quality pellets, mixing in leafy greens as a health boosting treat.
How To Feed Dill To Rabbits
When offering your rabbits dill we recommend the following steps:
- Choose only fresh and fully green dill. Avoiding wilted, yellowed, or insect eaten plants.
- Inspect the dill well to remove any insects or slugs that can cause digestive issues or sickness to your rabbits.
- Wash the dill well with cool water, removing any residual dirt and potential pesticides.
Once you’ve completed these steps, move forward with the following:
- Place a measured amount of washed dill into a clean bowl.
- Place this bowl in the hutch or house of your rabbit.
- Allow your rabbit to enjoy the nutritious greens.
- Be sure to remove the feeding bowl and any excess dill later in the day.
Another great option is to mix this nutritional herb in with the unlimited hay that your rabbits enjoy daily.
This method allows your bunnies to appreciate the extra flavor and benefits of dill while ensuring that they’re ingesting high fibers.
Now you still may be curious about all the different parts of the dill plant, as well as forms and variations of dill. We will go over a few common questions regarding all of that and rabbits now.
Can Rabbits Eat Fresh Dill
Yes, fresh dill is an ideal leafy green treat for mature rabbits. In fact, fresh dill is the best form of dill for your rabbits!
Can Rabbits Eat Dried Dill
Any form of dried dill contains less and/or different nutritional values than fresh dill. This includes dill flakes.
While rabbits can technically eat dried dill and dill flakes, they may be more difficult and less enjoyable. Instead, stick to fresh dill greens for your mature rabbits.
Can Rabbits Eat Dill Leaves
You’ll notice that dill leaves are very thin and look different from other herbal leaves. This is simply the physiology of the plant!
Fresh and green dill leaves are a great leafy green option for mature rabbits. Offer them alone or mixed in with high quality hay.
Can Rabbits Eat Dill Flowers
Yes, mature rabbits can enjoy dill flowers. Note that with some herbs, the nutritional values change once flowering occurs. Just be sure to remove all pollinators and insects from the flowers before offering them to your bunny.
Can Rabbits Eat Dill Stems
Yes, mature rabbits can eat dill stems. Not only that, but many rabbits enjoy the tender stem of dill plants.
Do Rabbits Eat Dill Plants
The only part of the dill plant that we do not recommend offering your mature rabbits, are dill seeds. While they are nontoxic, dill seeds are tiny and present a serious choking hazard for rabbits.
Can Rabbits Have Dill Oil
Avoid giving any dill infused oils to your rabbit as they are too fatty to be process correctly. An infused oil is a base of olive oil with some mixture of dill and is usually used for culinary purposes.
There are also dill essential oils. These are highly concentrated form of dill obtained by distilling the mature seeds or green matter of the dill plant. Dill essential oil uses include:
- Digestion Aid
- Odor Elimination
- Bug and Lice Repellant
Is Dill Oil Safe For Rabbits
There isn’t much wide-spread practice of using dill essential oil with rabbits. While using it topically or in the hutch of your rabbit for bug and odor control is harmless, we recommend checking with your local vet before giving dill essential oil to your rabbits.
Can Rabbits Eat Dill Variations
There are a number of culinary dill varieties including Elephant Dill, Greensleeves Dill, and Bouquet Dill. All are popular herbal garden plants and sport slightly different flavors and nutritional values.
However, all culinary dill varieties are safe to feed to your bunnies.
Do Wild Rabbits Eat Dill
Yes, if wild rabbits come across dill in a local garden, they will be sure to nibble on it with joy, much to the chagrin of the gardener!
Do Bunnies Like Dill
In general, yes, bunnies like dill and are happy to receive it as a daily or weekly leafy green treat. While some humans don’t like the strong flavor of this herb, rabbits that don’t like it are far and few between.
Concerns of Feeding Dill to Rabbits
Parasites
It is true that different parasites can be found on dill plants. Therefore, it is extremely important to inspect the dill well and remove any bugs, slugs, or insect eggs before offering it to your rabbits.
Pesticides
Unless you offer your rabbit your own homegrown and pesticide free dill it is very important to wash this herb well in cool water to remove any residual pesticides that could harm your rabbit if ingested.
Over Ripened Dill
Over ripened dill refers to dill that is starting to wilt, yellow in color, or is wet and rotted. Avoid giving your rabbit over ripened dill as it can quickly cause illnesses and digestive issues.
Overfeeding Dill To Your Rabbits
What happens if you give too much dill to your rabbits?
Remember, your rabbit requires a high-in-fiber diet due to their highly specialized GI system. It is important to only offer your rabbits dill as a treat and/or dietary supplement. Too much leafy green dill can cause a gut bacteria imbalance.
If your rabbits are eating too much dill in place of high quality hay and pellets, they may suffer from:
- Stomach Bloating
- Constipation
- Stomach Upset
Can Baby Rabbits Eat Dill
No, we do not recommend feeding your baby rabbits dill.
This may be surprising as we just learned that dill contains beneficial vitamins and nutrients. However, any rabbit less than 12 weeks of age is in a critical period of internal and external development.
The stomach and digestive system of baby rabbits is extremely particular and cannot yet handle more complex greens such as dill.
Wait until your rabbit reaches 12 weeks of age and, even then, only offer a leaf or two of dill to start.
Frequently Asked Questions Related To Can Rabbits Eat Dill
What Does Dill Do For Rabbits?
The natural mix of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants found in dill offer the following benefits for rabbits:
- Boost immune system
- Support proper brain function
- Support nervous system
- Act as an anti-inflammatory
Does Dill Repel Rabbits?
The tender leaves and stems of dill do not repel rabbits. Rather, they will enjoy the fresh leafy green whenever they can.
Will Dill Give My Rabbit Diarrhea?
If your rabbit is eating too much dill then yes, your rabbit may experience stomach upset and diarrhea.
If this is happening, stop offering your rabbit dill immediately and move to unlimited hay and high quality pellets until your rabbit is defecating normally.
In addition, if you offer dill to baby or immature rabbits (those less than 7 months old) they may experience diarrhea as their digestive system is not yet ready to break down this herb.
Final Thoughts on Do Rabbits Have Dill
Dill is a great green herb to offer your bunnies. It contains essential vitamins, nutrients, and a great flavor that your furry friends are sure to enjoy.
So feel free to add dill to your rabbits’ diet, following the best practice of keeping it below 5-10% of your rabbits’ total food intake.
Remember to inspect and wash fresh, green dill well before giving it to your bunnies. Don’t hesitate to offer them the tender stems and flowers as well, but exclude dill seeds as they present a choking hazard.
Avoid offering dill to baby or immature rabbits as their digestive systems are not yet ready to digest this herb correctly.
Here at Hobby Farm Heaven we believe in the natural benefits of herbs. We do our best to practice “the herb of the week” plan.
What is The Herb of the Week plan?
The herb of the week plan is where we feed a different herb to our rabbits each week.
How do we do this? Most often we mix a few sprigs of the Herb of the Week in with the rabbits’ hay, whenever we feed hay. This is easy and hassle free.
Want to know more about the benefits of feeding herbs to your rabbits?
Go to this post: Herbs That Rabbits Can Eat