Can Rabbits Eat Sweet Potatoes

Can Rabbits Eat Sweet Potato: All You Need To Know

Sweet potatoes are famous for being a nutritional and delicious option for all hungry homesteaders and farmers throughout the years. This sure rings true with our hobby farm: whether it be baked, boiled, grilled or fried, sweet potato recipes abound at our table. 

And while we highly recommend serving up sweet potatoes to your family, we do suggest opting out when thinking about diversifying your animals’ diets, especially your rabbits, with sweet potatoes. 

Bottomline is that yes, your mature rabbits can eat sweet potatoes, as they are nontoxic to rabbits. However, sweet potatoes are high in sugar and starch and are not a natural, nor ideal, food option for your bunnies. The sweet potatoe peel should also be avoided as it can cause mouth and stomach irritation when eaten raw.

To Learn All You Need To Know Before Offering Your Rabbits Sweet Potato, Read On! 

Nutritional Benefits of Sweet Potatoes for Bunnies

Let’s take a better look at why sweet potato shouldn’t be your first option as a dietary addition for your rabbits, below is a quick nutritional contents table sourced from Medical News Today.

Sweet Potato Nutritional Information per 124g Serving 
Protein 2 g
Carbohydrates18.7 g
Fiber2.48 g
Fat3 g

In addition, sweet potatoes contain the following vitamins and minerals: 

  • Vitamine C
  • Vitamin K 
  • Magnesium
  • Phosphorus
  • Potassium
  • Beta-carotene

Now the first thing that you should notice is the extremely high amount of carbohydrates that sweet potatoes contain, 18.7g, composed of different starches and sugars.

Secondly, sweet potatoes offer less than 3g of fiber per serving. For your bunnies, who naturally require high fiber and low sugar foods to power their digestive system, sweet potato is exactly the opposite.

For this reason, despite their mix of vitamins and minerals, sweet potatoes are not a frequent food option for your bunnies. 

Is Sweet Potato Safe for Rabbits

Generally speaking, yes sweet potato is safe for rabbits. When peeled, they are not immediately toxic to your bunnies and are a safe food item. S

o no worries if you’ve already offered some to your furry friend! 

Can Bunnies Have Sweet Potatoes

Because sweet potatoes are nontoxic to mature rabbits, they CAN have them.

In fact, your rabbit is sure to beg for more if given a small piece, as the crunchy and sweet root is sure to please them.

However, just because your rabbit enjoys sweet potatoes, doesn’t mean they are GOOD for your rabbit.

Are Sweet Potatoes Good for Rabbits

Asking if sweet potatoes are good for rabbits is an altogether different question. Let’s answer that one by reminding ourselves of the ideal rabbit diet: 

  • Unlimited hay (75% to 80% hay)
  • Quality pellets (10% to 15%)
  • Leafy green vegetables (5% to 10%)

The reason that your rabbits thrive primarily on unlimited hay and a measure of quality pellets is because both are high fiber/low sugar foods. 

Remember, the digestive system of rabbits is incredibly specialized and delicate, supporting a specific mix of gut bacteria that can be thrown out of balance if too many low fiber/high sugar foods are ingested (not to mention fast weight gain!).

Upset gut leads to GI stasis and other intestinal issues, nothing that rabbits, or farmers, want to deal with. 

It’s clear that with not a lot of fiber (but lots of sugars and starches) to offer, sweet potatoes are not necessarily good for rabbits. However, like with most things, there are a few circumstances when feeding your bunnies sweet potatoes may be a good idea. 

Homestead Sweet Potato Harvest

Benefits of Sweet Potatoes for Bunnies

All the starches and sugars in raw sweet potatoes make it an ideal once-in-a-blue-moon treat for your mature bunnies. That means no more than 5% of their total diet, making sure to focus on those hay and pellets!

In addition, if your rabbit is suffering from unhealthy underweight or recovering from an illness that robbed it of its normal weight, you can add sweet potatoes to its diet as a way to quickly restore lost pounds (like with other treat foods such as Oatmeal).

However, once your rabbit reaches a healthy weight, remove those fattening sweet potatoes and pile on the hay! 

Are Sweet Potatoes Bad for Rabbits

As an infrequent treat food sweet potatoes are not bad for rabbits. The issues begin if you decide to offer carbohydrate packed sweet potatoes to your bunnies often, who will then become susceptible to the health issues listed below.

Side Effects of Sweet Potatoes for Rabbits:

  • Obesity 
  • GI Stasis (which can be fatal)
  • Inconsistent Defecation
  • Bad Eating Habits
  • Tooth Decay (due to high sugar) 

These negative effects are why here at Hobby Farm Heaven we don’t feed our rabbits sweet potatoes often, regulating this food item as a treat.

This in and of itself begs a whole other set of questions that we will answer for you, so read on!

How Often Can Rabbit Have Sweet Potato

Because sweet potato is a treat food, it should not be offered often to your bunny. For example, we follow the good habit of not feeding our rabbits treats like sweet potatoes more than 1-2 days a week. 

How Much Sweet Potato Can Rabbit Eat

As a treat, sweet potato should not comprise more than 5% of your mature rabbit’s diet at any time. The general rule is to feed no more than 1 teaspoon of treat food per 2lbs of your mature rabbit’s weight per day

Furthermore, we do not recommend feeding your rabbits that are less than 12 weeks old sweet potatoes (or any other treat food for that matter).

This is because immature rabbits are still developing their digestive system and are even less equipped to digest more exotic and sugar packed foods like sweet potatoes. 

How to Prepare Sweet Potato for Rabbit

Knowing how to properly prepare treats like mango or sweet potato for your rabbit is important as it will eliminate chances of sickness and choking:

  1. Thoroughly wash the sweet potato to remove dirt, grime and residual pesticides.
  2. Cut the sweet potato into small slices or cubes, about half inch by half inch.

How to Feed Sweet Potato to Rabbit

Once the sweet potato is washed and cut into small pieces, following these steps to properly offer it to your rabbit:

  1. Place a measured amount of washed and cut sweet potato into a clean bowl.
  2. Place this bowl in the hutch or house of your rabbit. 
  3. Allow your rabbit to enjoy the treat.
  4. Be sure to remove the feeding bowl and any excess treat later in the day. 

When it comes to rabbits and sweet potatoes, there is more to think about then just the root itself, so what about all the other parts of the plant? 

Can Rabbits Eat Sweet Potato Leaves

Yes, rabbits can eat sweet potato leaves in moderation as an overload can result in slight toxicity.

NOTE: Regular potato leaves are poisonous to rabbits!  Ensure that you are offering sweet potato leaves to your rabbit.

Do Rabbits Eat Sweet Potato Vines

If you’ve been wondering ‘Will Rabbits Eat Sweet Potato Vine?’ The answer is yes, rabbits can eat sweet potato vines without issue (like these bunnies below), although these greens should be treated as an infrequent treat.

NOTE: Regular potato vines are poisonous to rabbits! Ensure that you are offering sweet potato vines to your rabbit.

Can Rabbits Eat Sweet Potatoes Raw

Yes, raw sweet potatoes are safe for rabbits to eat. Simply remember to peel the sweet potatoe before offering it to your rabbit to avoid irritation.

Can Rabbits Eat Yam Leaves

Yams are not sweet potatoes. The two roots are often mixed up but are from two different plant families. We recommend that you stay on the safe side and don’t offer yam leaves to your rabbits, as many yam species are toxic!

Can Bunnies Eat Sweet Potato

Can Baby Rabbits Eat Sweet Potatoes

No, baby rabbits cannot eat sweet potatoes. As mentioned before, any rabbit that is younger than 12 weeks has not yet fully developed and has a digestive system that is even more sensitive than mature rabbits.

If baby rabbits are given sweet potato, they will have an extremely hard time digesting it and can quickly develop serious stomach and intestinal issues. 

Can Rabbits Eat Sweet Potato Peels?

Better not, the sweet potatoe peel can be slightly toxic for sensative stomachs and should be avoided!

Can Rabbits Eat Dried Sweet Potatoes?

We do not recommend feeding rabbits dried sweet potatoes. Dried foods contain little to no water and, in addition to the high sugars found in sweet potatoes, will be very hard for your rabbit to digest. 

Can Rabbits Eat Cooked Sweet Potatoes?

Rabbits have evolved to eat and digest raw plant materials. Subsequently, we follow a basic rule: never feed cooked food to rabbits.

So, we do not suggest feeding cooked sweet potatoes to your bunnies.

Final Thoughts on Can Rabbits Eat Sweet Potatoes

In conclusion, lets go over the big-hitters when it comes to rabbits and sweet potatoes: 

  • Sweet potatoes are nontoxic and can be eaten by rabbits.
  • Sweet potatoes are high in starches and sugars and, if eaten too often, can lead to serious health issues for your rabbits.
  • Sweet potatoes can help underweight rabbits regain a healthy weight.
  • Never feed baby or immature rabbits sweet potatoes, as their digestive system is too sensitive.  
  • Your rabbit can also enjoy sweet potato leaves and vines as an infrequent treat.

Want to know more about vegetables for rabbits and what vegetables can rabbits have daily?  
Click on this link:  Vegetables for Rabbits     

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