Rabbit’s are non-aggressive animals and most people enjoy their company. A lot of people who aren’t allergic to rabbits have them as pets. Rabbits do not live for a long time, though.
This is why as an owner of such fragile creatures; one must think they need to know about all that there is to know about them in order to keep them safe and healthy.
Hence arises the question of giving them processed human food.
In this case, peanut butter is in question of such human processed food. Keep reading below to know more about rabbits’ diet as well as if they can consume peanut butter or not.
Can Rabbits Eat Peanut Butter? Is It Safe To Feed Your Rabbit Peanut Butter?
Thankfully, rabbits can’t eat peanut butter. Peanut butter is high in fat, and as such, it’s not safe for rabbits to eat. It will only result in a stomachache that they’ll never want to experience again.
There are other foods that are much better for them to eat, including carrots, apples and celery.
Peanut butter and walnuts are high in fat, which is bad for rabbits since they cannot metabolize that lipid well.
These are processed snacks that have no nutritional value other than some protein (but not enough to call them “high quality”).
Domestic Rabbits:
The rabbits we see on the tv are different from what these two are doing. We think all rabbits are on the same level because of how popular they are.
In addition, they have plumper cheeks and wide round-shaped eyes as well as floppy ears. Their diet mainly consists of hay and grass.
Sometimes they will eat leafy greens and pellets, but not processed food. For example, they don’t eat anything with peanut butter in it.
If they eat fatty, rich food like that, they won’t feel good or digest their food properly. This would lead to digestive problems and stomach aches, which aren’t harmful but do damage their health.
Baby Rabbits:
Baby rabbits grow very fast when they’re healthy. Their mother’s milk and solid hay provide them with the right nutrients, which means they grow very quickly. This becomes true once they are at least two weeks old.
These little rabbits will probably not do well with eating peanut butter this early in life and it may even be unhealthy for them.
Baby bunnies start eating hay and pellets by week 4, they will not be able to eat the consistency of peanut butter just yet.
Peanut butter is so smooth and sometimes chunky that baby rabbits can easily choke themselves on it. They should never eat peanut butter- that’s how dangerous it is!
Wild Rabbits:
Many people think that rabbits look similar. However, domestic rabbits are the ones that never have floppy ears and usually have more narrow faces.
Wild rabbits normally eat plants, clover, and flowers. They do not eat any processed foods made by humans.
Things like peanut butter will upset a person’s stomach because it’s an unfamiliar element to them.
Is Peanut Butter Good Or Bad For Rabbits And Bunnies?
By their nature, rabbits do not normally eat peanut butter. If they do, they are at a higher risk of danger to their health.
Rabbits should never eat peanut butter under any circumstances because it offers little nutritional value and could cause both long-term and immediate adverse effects.
Here is a list of the reasons not to feed your bunny or rabbit peanut butter.
High In Fat:
Peanuts have a high fat content, which means that it may cause digestion problems for your four-legged friends. While we humans can digest fats well, this is not the case with our furry friends.
Furthermore, if there’s too much fat in their system, it will break down and lead to a loss of vital nutrients.
Excessive amounts of fat can result in diarrhea. This leads to dehydration and an excess amount of fluid lost from the body.
High-Calorie:
It’s not surprising that peanut butter contains a lot of calories. It has a high caloric content even when eaten in small quantities. Humans are careful about how much they eat at once by nature.
Peanut butter can lead to obesity in rabbits and other weight issues by providing animals with little nutritional value. Thus, it isn’t worth the risk.
High In Sugar:
It’s become near impossible to find a peanut butter that doesn’t have added flavors. Most high-sugar ones simply add more of the sweetener to the product.
A rabbit or bunny will typically experience stomach aches, gas, diarrhea or other more serious issues if they eat such high levels of sugar.
High In Salt:
The peanuts in our little fluffballs already have the perfect level of salt to give them that perfect peanut butter taste. With added sugar for a little sweet flavor, you won’t need anything else.
This is why eating these things leads to more health complications.
Other harmful contents:
With the four major points mentioned in the previous paragraph out of the way, let’s take a look at why peanut butter isn’t good for bunnies. For one thing, it contains phosphorous, calcium, and acid.
Not only are these items dangerous for rabbits, but they’re not something that rabbits need to enjoy a good quality of life.
This peanut butter can help prevent issues like a bladder infection.
What Happens If A Rabbit Eats Peanut Butter?
Rabbits are very sensitive creatures that can’t eat most of the food humans do. Their stomachs can’t handle fats, which is what we predominantly consume.
Essentially, they can’t take most of the food we eat because their stomachs are more fragile than ours. For some people, eating a lot of peanut butter makes their stomach upset.
It’s full of fat and can make them feel bad, as well as tire them out. Excessive consumption could lead to diarrhea, gas, stomach aches, and even dehydration.
There are a few cases where the rabbits won’t be able to swallow the smooth and chunky peanut butter.
It’s unsafe for them in every case, so there is never a time when giving rabbits peanut butter would be good.
Can Rabbits Eat Peanut Butter Crackers?
As a rabbit owner, it’s vital that we maintain the right level of calcium and phosphorous intake as well as high levels of acid. What this means is that we’re not meant to feed our bunnies foods that are high in carbs.
It would be unwise for people who need to watch their carb intake to consume foods like crackers.
Peanut butter should also be avoided, so if the cracker has peanut butter in it, then that choice should probably not be chosen.
Can Rabbits Have Peanut Butter And Jelly?
In the paragraphs above, we discussed how and why peanut butter is not good for rabbits that are such sensitive animals.
Foods that a company makes have high levels of fat as well as other sugars, salts, and preservatives.
Some food can be unhealthy for our pets. This includes ice cream, jelly, and things like sugar and preservatives.
That’s why, we should not feed our rabbits any items containing peanut butter and jelly.
To be honest, we should avoid feeding them anything that comes from us as it likely would make them sick.
To Conclude
Rabbits are sensitive animals that rely mostly on grass and hay to maintain their body. They do not need anything else to take nutrients from.
Their digestive system is drastically different than ours and will face the high levels of fat, sugar, and salt present in peanut butter.