Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a widespread culinary and medicinal herb native to Eurasia that is part of the mint family. In this article, we will go over the benefits and risks of feeding your farm, homestead, or pet rabbits thyme.
Do Rabbits Eat Thyme
Yes, mature rabbits do and can eat thyme. Thyme herb is a healthy leafy green that can be added as a supplement to your mature rabbit’s everyday high fiber diet!
Before Offering Your Rabbits Thyme, Read On To Know About All Risks and Benefits
Nutritional Value: Thyme for Rabbits
Listed on WebMD with only 0.8g of calories per teaspoon, thyme may not seem to offer much when looking at general nutritional value:
| Nutrients | Grams Per Teaspoon |
| Protein | 0 |
| Fiber | 0.1 |
| Carbohydrates | 0.2 |
| Calories | 0.8 |
However, thyme packs a secret punch by offering a number of beneficial vitamins, minerals and other compounds:
| Component | Benefit |
| Vitamin A | Natural antioxidant |
| Vitamin C | Immune support |
| Magnesium | Assists in metabolism |
| Thymol | Anti-inflammatory and anti-infection |
Is Thyme Good for Rabbits
Thyme is rich in different components that can support the long-term health and happiness of your rabbit. For example, assisting with internal inflammation or infections while boosting your rabbit’s metabolism.
Without doubt, when given in proper amounts, thyme is very good for rabbits.
Can Pet Rabbits Eat Thyme
Yes, your pet rabbits can enjoy thyme as a leafy green treat as long as you do not overfeed it to your rabbits.
How Much Thyme Can Rabbits Eat
Remember, your rabbits best daily diet should consist of:
- Unlimited hay (75% to 80% hay)
- Quality pellets (10% to 15%)
- Leafy green vegetables (5% to 10%)
Therefore, thyme and other healthy greens should consist of no more than 5-10% of your rabbit’s diet.
We practice offering about 1-2 stems of thyme 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 Thyme
Can Rabbits Eat Thyme Everyday
Thyme is a safe herb and can be offered to your rabbit 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 work best when rabbits eat lots of high fiber food such as hay. And while thyme offers many vitamins and minerals, it doesn’t contain high fiber or other nutritional value.
So thyme should be offered as a dietary supplement rather than a food staple for your bunnies. If thyme is eaten too often, your rabbits may experience gut issues and nutritional imbalances.
How To Feed Thyme To Rabbits
We recommend the following steps to feed your rabbit thyme:
- Choose only fresh and fully green thyme. Avoiding wilted, yellowed, or insect eaten plants.
- Inspect the thyme well to remove any insects or slugs that can cause digestive issues or sickness to your rabbits.
- Wash the thyme well with cool water, removing any residual dirt and potential pesticides.
Next steps:
- Place a measured amount of washed thyme 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 thyme 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 extra flavor and benefits of thyme while ensuring they’re ingesting high fibers.
If you’ve offered your rabbit thyme and it refuses to eat it, no worries! This simply means your rabbit isn’t a fan of this herb. Instead, try an all around favorite leafy green such as Parsley.
What Kinds of Thyme Are Good for Rabbits
While we’ve answered general questions on Can Rabbits Eat Thyme? You may still be wondering if your rabbit can eat all the different parts of the thyme plant as well as Will Rabbits Eat Thyme Variations?
We will go over a few common questions regarding all of that and rabbits below.
Can Rabbits Eat Fresh Thyme
Yes, mature rabbits can eat fresh thyme. In fact, fresh green thyme is the most delicious and nutritious form of the herb!
Can Rabbits Eat Dried Thyme
Dried herbs change slightly in their nutritional value and dried leaves or flakes may be harder for your rabbit to eat. For these reasons we always offer our rabbits fresh thyme.
Do Rabbits Eat Creeping Thyme
Creeping thyme is a landscape variation and has a very strong flavor. For this reason, although it is a safe green, most rabbits do not like eating creeping thyme. Another thyme variation that you can try offering your rabbits is wooly thyme.
Can Rabbits Eat Lemon Thyme
Lemon thyme is a variation famous for its citrus flavor and large leaves. However, lemon thyme has acidic compounds that may hurt your rabbit’s stomach.
If you’re wondering if bunnies can eat lemon thyme, we suggest passing on this variation and sticking to common thyme instead.
Can Rabbits Eat Thyme Plants
Yes, mature rabbits can eat thyme plants. This means thyme leaves, thyme stems, and thyme flowers. Older thyme stems are woody so stick to offering your rabbits new, green growth.
Thyme for Rabbits: Concerns and Risks
Parasites In Thyme For Rabbits
Any plant can host parasites. Therefore, it is extremely important to inspect thyme well and remove any bugs, slugs, or insect eggs before offering it to your rabbits.
Pesticides In Thyme for Bunnies
It is very important to wash thyme well in cool water to remove any residual pesticides that can harm your rabbit if ingested.
Over Ripened Thyme
Over ripened thyme refers to thyme that is starting to wilt, yellow in color, or is wet and rotted. Avoid giving your rabbit over ripened thyme as it can cause illnesses and digestive issues.
Other Concerns
Remember, your rabbit requires a high-in-fiber diet due to their highly specialized GI system. This is why it is important to only offer your rabbits thyme as a treat and/or dietary supplement. Too much leafy green thyme can actually harm bunnies by causing gut bacteria imbalance and stomach upset or inflammation.
Can Baby Rabbits Eat Thyme
No, we do not recommend feeding your baby rabbits thyme.
Any rabbit less than 12 weeks of age has a stomach and digestive system that is extremely sensitive. These immature and baby rabbits cannot yet digest thyme (or its beneficial components) properly.
To save your immature rabbits from stomach issues, wait until they reach 12 weeks of age and, even then, only offer a leaf or two of thyme to start.
Learn More About Vegetables And Herbs For Rabbits
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For Fun: Here is a great video of several highly talented rabbits. Notice how the trainer uses treats to reward the bunnies.
Frequently Asked Questions for Can Rabbits Eat Thyme
What Does Thyme Do For Rabbits?
Thyme can act as a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-infection agent for rabbits.
Thyme can also boost a rabbit’s immune system and support the over health of your mature bunnies through Vitamin A and C.
Does Thyme Repel Rabbits?
Yes, thyme can be an effective rabbit repellent, but it doesn’t work on all rabbits!
While some rabbits find herbs like thyme or Sage repelling others enjoy nibbling these aromatic herbs. As such, thyme is not a fail safe rabbit repellent.
Will Thyme Give My Rabbit Diarrhea?
If you feed your rabbit too much thyme they may experience stomach upset and diarrhea.
If this happens, simply stop offering your rabbit thyme and move to unlimited hay and high quality pellets until your rabbit is defecating normally.
Final Thoughts on Can Rabbits Eat Thyme
Thyme is a healthy and nutritional herb to offer your bunnies, filled with vitamins and compounds that your rabbits will benefit from.
Feel free to add this rabbit safe herb to your bunnies’ diet, following the best practice of keeping it below 5-10% of your rabbits’ total food intake.
Always inspect and wash fresh, green thyme 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 thyme to baby or immature rabbits as their digestive systems cannot digest this herb or take advantage of its health properties.
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