When it comes to taking care of rabbits, there are lots of potential food and treat options. How do you know which ones are safe and which should be avoided?
Fortunately, here at Hobby Farm Heaven, we answer all your questions about safe rabbit foods. Including, ‘Can Rabbits Eat Strawberries?’.
Yes, mature rabbits of 12 weeks or more can safely eat strawberries. However, strawberries are high in sugars and low in fiber. High sugar and low fiber is not a good combination for long term rabbit health and digestive system happiness. Rabbits may eat strawberries in moderation, as an infrequent treat.
Check Out All The Nutritional And Best Practices Information To Follow When Feeding Your Rabbits Strawberries
Can Rabbits Have Strawberries
If you’ve been wondering ‘Can my pet rabbits eat strawberries?’ The answer is yes!
Strawberries are nontoxic fruits that mature rabbits can eat and enjoy.
However, you must ensure that you’re only feeding your mature rabbits strawberries, as the digestive system of baby rabbits is too sensitive to properly handle more complex foods.
In addition, strawberries should be given in moderation to your rabbits, as they are naturally high in sugar and low in fiber. Fiber is essential to your rabbit’s health, as they have evolved to process large amounts of high fiber food.
Too many high sugar/low fiber foods can lead to major digestive issues, tooth decay, and obesity in your rabbits.
Remember, the best rabbit diet is:
- Unlimited hay (75% to 80% hay)
- Quality pellets (10% to 15%)
- Leafy green vegetables (5% to 10%)
Nutrition and Health: Will Rabbits Eat Strawberries
Rabbits will eat strawberries with gusto! They are sweet, juicy treats that are sure to be a favorite.
According to Medical News Today, for every 1 cup of strawberries, the following minerals and nutrients are contained:
| Strawberry Nutritional Information | |
| Protein | 1.11 g |
| Carbs | 12.7 g |
| Fiber | 3.30 g |
| Calcium | 27 mg |
| Iron | 0.68 mg |
| Magnesium | 22 mg |
| Vitamin C | 97.6 mg |
In addition, strawberries are packed with antioxidants. Antioxidants are incredible anti-inflammatory molecules that can assist with soothing any inflammation your rabbit is experiencing.
Fruits like strawberries and Can Rabbits Eat Mangoes are great natural treat options that provide multiple minerals and vitamins for your furry friends.
How Much is Too Much Strawberry for Rabbits
If you want to give your rabbits strawberries, be sure that you don’t give them this treat more than once a week. In fact, the best rule to follow is no more than 1 teaspoon of sweet fruit per 2lbs of your mature rabbit’s weight per day.
Any more and you risk hurting your rabbit’s stomach through overproduction of gut bacteria (which can lead to GI Stasis) and encouraging your bunny to develop sugar addictions or bad eating habits.
Other Rabbit Health and Happiness Concerns: Pesticides
Commercially grown strawberries. Many commercial growers use pesticides to protect the maturing berries from bugs and pests.
Be sure to wash store bought berries very well before feeding, to wash off as much threat of residual pesticide as possible.
Do Rabbits Eat Strawberries
When it comes to bunnies and strawberries, there are all different parts and forms of the plant that need to be considered. Just because rabbits DO eat strawberries, doesn’t mean all forms of the fruit are the safest or most healthy!
Can Rabbits Eat Strawberry Tops
Yes, rabbits can eat strawberry tops. These ‘tops’ are the sepals of the strawberry flower before it develops into a fruit. They are safe greens (as long as you wash them well first!) and don’t need to be removed before giving strawberries to your bunny.
Can Rabbits Eat Strawberry Leaves
Yes, rabbits can eat strawberry leaves. You should wash these well before feeding them to your rabbit, and although they are greens, should still be considered a treat.
Can Rabbits Eat Strawberry Plants
If you like to let your bunny roam for a few hours a day, and find it nibbling strawberry plants, don’t worry! Strawberry plants are safe for rabbits.
Rabbits can eat the flowers, fruit, seeds, sepals, stems, and leaves of strawberry plants. All parts of the strawberry plant are nontoxic. Just remember, strawberries (in all forms) are a treat and should never exceed 5% of your rabbit’s diet.
Can Rabbits Eat Freeze Dried Strawberries
The usual process of freeze drying fruit involves first freezing and then vacuuming the fruit under low pressure. This process changes the frozen ice crystals within the fruit to water vapor, effectively removing all water from the fruit.
As such, freeze dried strawberries contain 0% water and are not an ideal form of strawberry to offer your rabbit. There is a high chance that this super dry form of strawberry will aggravate your bunny’s belly.
Can Rabbits Eat Dried Strawberries
Dried fruit contains more sugars than fresh fruit and little to no water. For this reason, we recommend that you don’t feed your bunnies dried strawberries.
Along the same lines, strawberry juice contains all the sugars of strawberries with no fiber. Not a good option for your bunnies. Can Rabbits drink strawberry juice? No, we advise sticking with fresh and juicy strawberry fruits!
Can Rabbits Eat Frozen Strawberries
Yes, you can feed your bunnies frozen strawberries. In fact, your rabbits will enjoy this frozen treat on a hot day. However, you must cut up frozen strawberries in very small pieces before feeding them to your rabbit. This avoids choking hazards and teeth damage.
While frozen strawberries are safe for your bunnies to consume, never feed your rabbits cooked or canned strawberries. All cooked and canned foods are heated in some form, which naturally changes the chemical composition of the food. Your rabbit has not evolved to eat cooked or heated foods and will develop multiple health issues and stomach problems if given cooked or canned strawberries. This includes strawberry jams and jellies.
Can Rabbits Eat Wild Strawberries
The strawberries that we usually enjoy are larger and juicer than the strawberries found in the wild. But wild strawberries are still close cousins to the big strawberries we eat, and are perfectly safe for your rabbits to nibble on.
Truth be told, wild strawberries may be a better choice as they are free of pesticide sprays used on some strawberry farms. You may also come across mock strawberries. These strawberry fruit lookalikes are wild plants that are common in backyards. Your rabbit can eat mock strawberries as they are also nontoxic and contain many vitamins and minerals.
However, once given a regular strawberry your furry bunnies may prefer it over mock strawberries because they are naturally sweeter.
Can Baby Rabbits Have Strawberries
No, do not feed baby rabbits strawberries. Rabbits less than 12 weeks old do not have a fully developed digestive and GI tract and cannot eat exotic or high sugar foods.
Remember, rabbits have delicate digestive systems. If you follow the rule of never feeding your baby (or less than 12 week old) rabbit treats or exotic foods, you will raise healthy and happy bunnies!
What Age Can Rabbits Eat Strawberries
You can feed your rabbit strawberries as a treat when they reach 12 weeks old. At this point, their stomach and digestive tract is ready to process and pass small quantities of natural fruit treats.
To introduce strawberries to your newly mature rabbit, offer it a small piece of fruit and observe its reaction. Even if everything seems okay, we recommend waiting a full 24 hours before offering more, to ensure all your bunnies’ behavior and fecal matter is normal.
If so, you can incorporate infrequent fruit treats like strawberries into your newly mature rabbit’s diet of high quality hay and pellets. If your newly mature rabbit seems to exhibit discomfort, abnormal behavior, or soft stool do not feed it more strawberries! This means that your rabbit needs a little more time to strengthen and develop it’s stomach and digestion, or may have a natural aversion to strawberries or a chemical (aka residual pesticide).
You can try feeding small pieces of strawberry to your bunny again in two or more weeks if you wish.
Frequently Asked Questions About Can Rabbits Eat Strawberries
Can Lionhead Rabbits Eat Strawberries?
Yes, lionhead rabbits can eat strawberries. Follow the same guidelines and suggestions mentioned above when offering your lionhead rabbits strawberry fruit treats.
Can Dwarf Rabbits Eat Strawberries?
Yes, dwarf rabbits can eat strawberries. It is very important to only offer your dwarf rabbits a very minimal amount of strawberries, sticking to the 1 teaspoon per 2lbs rule, as their small systems can be quickly overwhelmed with sugary treats.
And we love the thought put into this video of surprising a bunny with a strawberry treat, although we of course don’t suggest letting your bunny eat all of them at once!
Final Thoughts on Can Rabbits Have Strawberries
Key Points on Strawberries for Bunnies:
- Strawberries are high sugar and low fiber – not a good combo for bunnies
- Strawberries do have some good vitamins and other nutritional value
- Rabbits are herbivores – their digestive system is significantly different than ours
- Rabbits can not eat a human diet. They need to consistently eat a low fat, low sugar, high fiber rabbit diet
- Consider Strawberries for Rabbits as an infrequent treat
- Always thoroughly wash store bought strawberries – to remove dirt and residual pesticides
Now you can feel confident knowing the parts and forms of strawberries, as well as the proper amounts, that you can feed your mature rabbits.
Our final note for you is to always provide your rabbit with fresh, clean water when offering them fruit treats. This ensures that your rabbit can drink freely when enjoying the sweet fruit, which will aid in the digestive process!
Want to know more about fruit for rabbits? You can click on this post:
Fruits Rabbits Can Eat