Can Rabbits Eat Zucchini?

Can Rabbits Eat Zucchini?

Rabbits are natural herbivores and love to eat grass, greens, fruits, and veggies. However, it can be tricky to know which fruits and veggies are safe from them to eat and which ones pose a threat to their sensative digestive system. If you’ve been wondering if rabbits can eat zucchini, this post will fill you in on all there is to know!

Yes, adult rabbits may eat all parts of the zucchini squash plant and fruit in moderation.  Thats right, zucchini is a type of squash and is actually a fruit! But unlike other fruits, zucchini is not high in sugar.

In fact, being low in surgar is a key part of what makes it a good side dish for rabbits. Now a good rule of thumb to not allow the amount of fruit your rabbit eats be more than 5-10% of their daily diet of high fiber hay and quality pellets. That means zucchini may be fed to your homestead or pet bunny in fairly small amounts.

Now that you know that adult rabbits may eat raw zucchini in moderation, here are some very important related points of interest about rabbits eating zucchini.

Can Rabbits Eat Zucchini - Young Zucchini

Can Rabbits Eat All Parts of the Zucchini Plant?
(Leaves, Stems, flowers, “Tops”, Skin or Peel)

Yes, adult rabbits may eat the leaves, skin or peels, stems, flowers and fruit of the zucchini plant. As Healthline outlines, zucchini is packed with nutrients. One cup (223 grams) of zucchini provides many nutrients.

  • Calories: 17
  • Protein: 1 gram
  • Fat: less than 1 gram
  • Carbs: 3 grams
  • Sugar: 1 gram
  • Fiber: 1 gram
  • Vitamin A: 40% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
  • Manganese: 16% of the RDI
  • Vitamin C: 14% of the RDI
  • Potassium: 13% of the RDI
  • Magnesium: 10% of the RDI
  • Vitamin K: 9% of the RDI
  • Folate: 8% of the RDI
  • Copper: 8% of the RDI
  • Phosphorus: 7% of the RDI
  • Vitamin B6: 7% of the RDI
  • Thiamine: 5% of the RDI

Moreover, zucchini offers healthy amounts of important ingredients such as Iron, calcium, other B vitamins and zinc. It is also plentiful in antioxidants that help reduce disease such as cancer.  More specifically, carotenoids such as lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene, are plentiful in zucchini.  These antioxidant and heart healthy carotenoids are found more in the yellow zucchini than the green and particularly in the skin.

I found the part about zucchini being healthy for eyes –
(by helping to filter blue light wavelengths) very interesting!

This WebMD article notes that the same Carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin help keep eyes healthy and reduce the risk of developing cataracts.  This article corroborated what I have seen in other articles about these compounds filtering blue light wave-lengths and therefore protecting the cells of the eye throughout the day.

Should I Wash Food For My Rabbits?

Always wash raw foods, like Zucchini, to remove pesticides, dirt and grime before feeding them to your rabbit.  Pesticides and grime are not healthy rabbits.  Similarly, over-ripe or rotting foods may irritate your rabbit’s digestive system and cause serious health problems.

Also, always inspect the raw food for parasites such as worms, beetles, or maggots.  If a rabbit eats or ingests parasites, then those parasites may also infect and begin to live in your rabbit.

How To Feed Zucchini to Rabbits

Cut the ripe, raw, clean, zucchini into chunks about half the size of a cherry tomato.  Eating the clean skin or peel of the zucchini is not a problem for rabbits. Once the pieces of raw zucchini are good to go, feed only one or two of these pieces to adult rabbits in a feeder bowl.

We do not recommend use canned or processed zucchini, or zucchini in a sauce as preservative chemicals and sugars are added to canned or processed foods. In addition, we suggest against feeding cooked zucchini to your rabbit.  Your rabbit’s digestive system is sensitive and is accustomed to raw food, not cooked food.

It is very important to introduce new foods to your bunny in moderation. This means small pieces a little bit at a time. If the rabbit has not eaten zucchini, or has not eaten zucchini in a while, then after feeding the zucchini, observe your rabbit throughout the day to see if the rabbit is experiencing any problems, such as diarrhea, bloat, stomach pains, digestive tract blockage.  

Contact your veterinarian if you think your rabbit may be experiencing an adverse reaction to food or some other element of its environment.

How Much Zucchini Can a Rabbit Eat?

As long as raw zzucchini doesn’t make up more than 5-10% of your rabbits daily diet they should be able to handle it well. Cutting the fruit into chunks about half the size of a cherry tomato will make it easier to determine how much Zucchini you are feeding the rabbit! Again, feed only one or two small chunks of zucchini at a time.

Here’s a quick, very informative, video about feeding Zucchini to your rabbit.


How Often Can Rabbits Eat Zucchini?

Rabbits are small animals with small stomachs.  If your rabbit seems to do well with Zucchini, then you may feed one or two small chunks about one or twice a week. Zucchini is not, and should never be, a primary part of the rabbit’s diet.

If your rabbit eats too much zucchini, then it will eat less of its primary diet.  Additionally, eating too much zucchini means eating less grass and hay that provide the fiber to keeps the rabbit’s digestive tract healthy. Remember, rabbits get most of the nutrients they need from their primary diet of grass, hay, leafy greens.  This may be augmented with some rabbit pellets.

How Sensitive is the Rabbit Digestive System?

A rabbit’s digestive system is very sensitive, much more sensitive than the typical human digestive system.  This means that the kinds of foods that a rabbit can process, and digest are fairly limited compared to the broad range of foods that humans can process and digest.

A Rabbit’s digestive system is not designed to process meat, or an abundance of sugar, salt, milk, grains, nuts, spices, or oils. Through evolution the rabbit is designed to digest a narrow range of raw foods that is best limited to grass and hay and leafy green vegetables.  Some pellets that are manufactured and designed for rabbits may be used to augment a rabbit’s primary grass and hay-based diet.

It is important to realize that a rabbit’s digestive system is designed for high fiber, low-fat and low-calorie foods, like hay.  Trying to digest foods that are high in fats and carbohydrates stresses the rabbit’s system.  Moreover, rabbit digestive systems have a unique gut flora or microbiota, just as our human digestive system has a specific gut flora.  Disrupting the rabbit’s gut flora, by feeding inappropriate foods, may lead to Cecal Dysbiosis.

Can Rabbits Eat Zucchini - Garden Harvest

Can Baby Rabbits or Bunnies Eat Zucchini?

No, Baby rabbits or bunnies should not eat zucchini or any parts of the zucchini plant. Baby rabbits are designed to feed on their mother’s milk. 

In fact, bunnies should not eat any kind of fruits until their digestive system grows and matures.  Usually by 12 weeks of age a rabbit has matured enough to begin to eat fruits and leafy green vegetables in moderation. 

Final Thoughts About Can Rabbits Eat Zucchini

This Can Rabbits Eat Zucchini post is part of our larger post about What Can Rabbits Eat? Please click and give it a read! It is full of great information and I guarantee you will learn something valuable.

As we discussed throughout this article, Zucchini is a very healthy food and may be fed to your adult rabbits in moderation, such as a few small pieces of clean, raw, zucchini once or twice a week as a treat.  Zucchini “tops” and flowers are also fine for rabbits.

Now while zucchini is very healthy for rabbits it should not displace too much of the rabbit’s diet of high fiber grass, hay, and leafy greens. Providing high quality hay to your rabbit is one of the best things you can do for your rabbits health and happiness!

Finally, always observe your rabbits and be sure to talk with your veterinarian about what and how much you are feeding your rabbits.

Want to know more about fruit for rabbits? You can click on this post:
Fruits Rabbits Can Eat  

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