Can Rabbits Eat Tarragon?
Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is a herb that is famous for its variable use with veggies, meats and seafood. As you mix and season with tarragon in the kitchen and catch a glimpse of your farm, homestead or pet rabbit, you may wonder ‘Can Bunnies Eat Tarragon?’.
Yes, mature rabbits can enjoy tarragon as a healthy leafy green. However, tarragon should only be offered as a dietary supplement and not all rabbits will eat it due to its strong aromatic characteristic.
Before Offering Your Rabbits Tarragon,
Read Below About All Benefits and Risks
Do Rabbits Eat Tarragon
Yes, in general rabbits do eat tarragon, although not all bunnies will nibble on this green herb because of its strong aromatic properties and flavor.
Nutritional Value: Tarragon for Rabbits
It may surprise you that one tablespoon of tarragon contains 5 calories, which is much more than other green herbs. In addition, tarragon offers the following nutrients:
- Manganese
- Iron
- Potassium
Manganese is very important for growth and brain health while iron aids with blood production in the body and potassium assists with muscle function.
In addition, a small serving of tarragon can supply a surprising array of vitamins such as:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin B6
Vitamin A is a natural antioxidant while Vitamin C offers great immune system support and vitamin B6 is essential for the creation of blood cells and neurotransmitters.
Is Tarragon Good For Rabbits
With the number of minerals and vitamins that tarragon offers in a small helping it is a great leafy green option. Without doubt, when given in proper amounts, tarragon is very good for rabbits.
Can Pet Rabbits Eat Tarragon
Yes, your pet rabbits can enjoy tarragon as a nutritional treat as long as you do not overfeed it to your rabbits.
How Much Tarragon Can Rabbits Eat
The best daily diet for your rabbits consists of:
- Unlimited hay (75% to 80% hay)
- Quality pellets (10% to 15%)
- Leafy green vegetables (5% to 10%)
Therefore, tarragon and other healthy greens should make up no more than 5-10% of your rabbit’s diet.
We practice offering about 1-2 stems of tarragon to our rabbits on any given day and they have never shown negative effects. However, we also always follow certain rules that we will discuss below.
How Often Can Rabbits Eat Tarragon
Can Rabbits Eat Tarragon Everyday
As discussed, tarragon is a rabbit-safe herb and can even be offered every day. It is simply important to make sure this herb doesn’t make up more than 5-10% of your rabbits daily diet.
Why? Because rabbits’ digestive systems are very particular and have evolved to break down and metabolize lots of high fiber food such as hay and pellets.
While tarragon offers rabbits many vitamins and minerals it does not contain the high fibers they require. This is why tarragon should only be offered as a dietary supplement rather than a food staple for your bunnies.
If tarragon is eaten too often, your rabbits may experience gut issues and nutritional imbalances.
How to Feed Tarragon to Rabbits
We recommend the following steps when feeding your rabbits tarragon:
- Choose only fresh and fully green tarragon. Avoiding wilted, yellowed, or insect eaten plants.
- Inspect the tarragon well to remove any insects or slugs that can cause digestive issues or sickness to your rabbits.
- Wash the tarragon well with cool water, removing any residual dirt and potential pesticides.
Next steps:
- Place a measured amount of washed tarragon 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 tarragon later in the day.
Remember, you can always mix this nutritional herb in with the unlimited hay that your rabbits enjoy daily.
This method allows your bunnies to appreciate the flavor and benefits of tarragon while ensuring they’re ingesting high fibers.
If you’ve offered your rabbit tarragon and it refuses to eat it, no worries! This simply means your rabbit isn’t a fan of this herb. Instead, try a different rabbit-safe herb such as Dill or Rosemary.
Can Rabbits Eat Fresh Tarragon
Yes, mature rabbits can eat fresh tarragon. In fact, fresh and green herbs are the best form of leafy greens to offer to your bunnies.
Can Rabbits Eat Dried Tarragon
While mature rabbits can technically eat dried tarragon, the dried leaves or flakes will prove difficult for your rabbit to enjoy.
Dried herbs can also contain less nutritional value than fresh herbs, so we recommend sticking to fresh tarragon.
Do Rabbits Eat Tarragon Plants
Mature rabbits can eat all parts of the tarragon plant.
This includes leaves, stems, and flowers. Remember to remove any bugs from tarragon flowers and only offer new growth stems to your rabbits. Older stems are woody and not as enjoyable.
Tarragon for Rabbits: Concerns and Risks
Parasites
Any herb could host parasites. Therefore, it is extremely important to inspect tarragon well and remove any bugs, slugs, or insect eggs before offering it to your rabbits.
Pesticides
Unless you harvest it from your own pesticide-free garden, it is very important to wash tarragon well in cool water to remove any residual pesticides that could harm your rabbit if ingested.
Over Ripened Tarragon
Over ripened tarragon means any tarragon that is starting to wilt, yellow in color, or is wet and rotted. Avoid giving your rabbit over ripened tarragon as it can cause illnesses and digestive issues.
Over Feeding Rabbits Tarragon
Never overfeed tarragon to your rabbit. Remember that your rabbit requires a high fiber diet in order to maintain daily and long term health.
Only offer your rabbits tarragon as a treat and/or dietary supplement.
Too much tarragon herb can actually harm your rabbit by causing a gut bacteria imbalance, stomach upset, and/or stomach inflammation.
Can Baby Rabbits Eat Tarragon
No, we never recommend feeding tarragon to your baby rabbits.
While tarragon is filled with beneficial vitamins and minerals all rabbits that are less than 12 weeks old have stomachs and digestive systems that are extremely sensitive. These immature rabbits cannot yet digest tarragon, or incorporate its beneficial components, properly.
To save your baby rabbits lots of stomach pain and other potential health issues, wait until they reach 12 weeks of age before offering tarragon. Even then, begin by offering just a leaf or two of tarragon to see if your newly mature rabbit likes it.
Frequently Asked Questions Related To Do Rabbits Eat Tarragon
Does Tarragon Repel Rabbits?
Like Sage, tarragon can be a potential repellant for some rabbits.
Some wild and domestic rabbits alike find the smell and taste of tarragon too strong for their liking. However, this is very variable and tarragon is not a fail-safe rabbit repellent.
What Does Tarragon Do For Rabbits?
Tarragon offers essential vitamins and minerals such as Manganese, Iron and Vitamin B6.
When your rabbits eat tarragon herb, these components are immediately available to their system and are used to support brain function, growth, and generation of blood cells.
Will Tarragon Give My Rabbit Diarrhea?
If you offer your rabbit too much tarragon (more than 5-10% of their diet) they may experience stomach upset and diarrhea.
If this happens, simply stop offering your rabbit tarragon and move to unlimited hay and high quality pellets until your rabbit is defecating normally. You can then offer your rabbit tarragon or other leafy greens again, doing so in moderation.
What Does Tarragon Taste Like?
Many forms of tarragon have a licorice-like taste. The estragole in tarragon is what gives it a licorice taste. Estragole gives a licorice taste to fennel and anise as well.
Here is a helpful video about what plants and herbs are safe for rabbits.
Final Thoughts on Can Rabbits Eat Tarragon
Tarragon is a great leafy green so feel free to add this rabbit-safe herb to your mature rabbits’ diet. Remember to follow the best practice of offering them unlimited high-fiber hay with small supplemental amounts of tarragon or other leafy greens as a treat.
Always inspect and wash fresh, green tarragon before giving it to your rabbits and don’t worry if they refuse to eat it, that simply means they don’t like the strong aroma and/or flavor!
Finally, never feed tarragon to baby or immature rabbits as their digestive systems cannot yet handle this complex green.
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