There is nothing cuter than a rabbit for a pet. But do you want to show your love? If so, make sure you follow these tips to take proper care of them and be knowledgeable about their needs:
- Make sure they’re always fed the right type of rabbits food
- Make sure they’re not too cold
- Be gentle with them
- Let them out every day
It’s a game!
Rabbit owners often confuse birdseed with rabbit food. However, while they both contain healthy items, rabbits can’t eat birdseed.
Whether you have a wild or a domestic bunny, we’ll let you know here whether seeds are a yes for them.
Is It Okay For Rabbits To Eat Birdseed?
Rabbits eat seeds. Rabbits are particularly attracted to birdseed, but some other species can consume it if given the opportunity.
This is okay because bird seeds are not enough to keep the rabbit healthy, but they do not cause them any harm. The rabbit can be allowed to eat a small amount of seed in addition to their regular food.
While they are designed to feed birds, bird seeds also contain a variety of seeds such as millet, sunflower, and flax. If rabbits eat these seeds at a moderate rate, they won’t be harmed.
Rabbits are herbivores which mainly means that they eat plants and vegetation like leaves, wildflowers, etc. But they can also eat bird seeds if given the opportunity.
Providing rabbit food (like bird seed) is important for a rabbit’s well-being. This seed contains vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin D3, and some B vitamins as well as calcium which are vital for your pet. Give them bird seed in a measured amount.
Wild Rabbits:
Wild rabbits are the biggest customer for bird seeds. This is because they live in woody areas and eat what they find, including seeds that have fallen on the ground.
Most rabbits living in the wild prefer foods like birdseed which contain healthful oil. The fat in these foods helps stay warm during the colder months.
Domestic rabbits:
One thing about domesticated rabbits that many rabbit owners don’t know is that they’re not regular eaters of birdseed.
In fact, human interference helps to strive for their selective eating habits. Despite this, if a domesticated rabbit ever finds some bird seed, it will happily chow down due to its calming alluring aroma.
Cottonball rabbits:
Because cotton ball rabbits are omnivores, they can eat bird seeds. They eat mostly plants but will get attracted to seeds or fruit.
Cottonball rabbits like sunflower seeds just like their other food choices (e.g., clover and legumes).
Is Birdseed Safe Or Harmful To Rabbits?
Due to the healthy ingredients within birdseed, including vitamin A, vitamin D3, and calcium, among others, it’s safe for rabbits.
Feeding a rabbit bird seeds will lead to better health as well as other benefits like stronger bones and teeth.
The occasional consumption of bird seed never hurt a rabbit. In fact, this might even help them feel better!
However, bird seeds are often used to feed rabbits. But they need more than just that to stay healthy and happy. Rabbits have a naturally meat-based diet, with not more than 3% of oil per day.
Healthy bunnies need to eat just a few seeds every day, but if the feeding goes unchecked, it can lead to serious health problems. Besides this, occasional eating of seeds won’t pose any risk for rabbits.
What Are Bird Seeds Made Of?
Bird seed is the combination of various seeds, grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts. It’s an easy-to-eat food that contains many nutrients for birds.
There are plenty of different bird seed varieties made from a variety of materials. Here we’ve listed some common ingredients that many types have:
All sunflowers start out as black seeds, but what differentiates them is how they’re harvested. Some are stripped or hulled.
Different sunflower seeds such as black sunflower oil, that’s stripped or hulled.
- Cracked corn
- Nyjer seeds
- Peanut
- Millet
- Wheat
- Dried mealworm
- Fruits such as cherries, oranges, raisins.
- Safflower seeds etc.
What Seeds Can Rabbits Eat?
Rabbits are herbivores but they’re also foragers. They’ll eat plant material and anything else they find or think might be attractive to them.
Rabbits should have a diet that is both interesting and varied. Owners often give their bunnies’ usual food, such as hay, grass, or leaves, and also add seeds.
Seeds contain protein, vitamins, calcium and other things that are good for rabbits if given to them occasionally.
Rabbits cannot eat any seed, as their diet is mainly focused on processing and eating plants. But let’s take a look at what seeds they can enjoy –
Black oil Sunflower seeds:
Sunflower seeds are a popular choice for many animals, like rabbits. They contain vitamins and calories, as well as oil that is good for the rabbit’s health when fed occasionally.
Rabbit-safe sunflower seeds contain no harmful ingredients. Rabbits can eat these seeds.
Pumpkin seed:
Pumpkin seeds are a great source of vitamin A, B, Iron, and calcium. Rabbits can eat them in their raw form but should not eat too many because they can be bad for their health.
Millet:
Millet seeds measuring a half-inch or less in length (with or without the chaff) can be fed to a rabbit – they’re packed with minerals, vitamins, and are lightweight enough for rabbits living in wild environments to digest.
Safflower seed:
Rabbits can eat safflower seeds, but the hemp seed husks will just pass through the body and provide no nutrition. Regularly eating them won’t do any harm, but it won’t have much effect either.
What seeds are bad for rabbits?
Seeds aren’t essential for rabbits to have as a part of their diet. They get the needed nutrients from plant-based foods, but sometimes they get to eat seeds when living in the wild or as a tasty treat from their owner.
But not every kind of seed is safe for rabbits. So now you may be wondering what types of seeds can potentially cause them harm. You can get an idea about that below;
Corn:
Corn can no be fed to rabbits, because it’s hard for them to digest.
With its high sugar content, rabbits can’t eat this food. There are carbs in the corn that will make their stomach stop working.
Peanut:
Never feed peanuts to your rabbits. They’re hard to chew and impossible to swallow. More importantly, peanut contains a lot of fat, which can harm your rabbit if they’re diagnosed with fatty liver disease.
Dried peas:
Eating peas might make you happy, but they can do serious harm to rabbits. Dry peas can block rabbits’ intestines because they are too hard for them to chew; they can also injure the teeth and mouth of a rabbit.
Beans:
Allow your rabbits to enjoy beans as a rare treat from time to time but never allow them have them as their main meal.
Dried beans can lead to digestive issues like gas, so you must be careful with how often you feed your pets beans.
Do Rabbits Like Birdseed?
Solutions include letting the cottontail population thrive, contain rabbits to yards and farms, and foraging for your own food.
Rabbits who live in the woods often find bird seeds and eat them. As most of their food is vegetation, it doesn’t seem to bother them-and in fact, they enjoy eating it.
Seeds are particularly attractive to Cottonball rabbits and they eat them often.
Most domestic rabbits enjoy some bird seeds this time of year. Bird seeds contain a lot of fat and thus help keep rabbits warm on cold days. These are the rabbits favorite food during the winter.
Rabbits generally don’t eat bird seed, but if an owner decides to give them a treat with it they will eat it.
But it’s not something they’re typically used to so they would much rather eat their regular diet.
What Do Rabbits Like To Eat The Most?
Rabbits are herbivores, and their favorite food is plant materials. They’ll eat leaves, hay, vegetation, fruits, and grass.
Rabbits are herbivores and enjoy eating fresh grass. In addition to hay, they like basil, parsley or thyme. Vegetables make rabbits happy, and they eat many different kinds of vegetables.
Some favorites include fresh lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, beetroots and asparagus. Baby sweet corns are also loved by a group of rabbits called “blues.”
Rodents enjoy eating fresh fruits, including berries, apples, bananas, mangos and more.
However, they eat them every once in a while to keep things interesting or find themselves as a sweet treat.
Rabbits sometimes enjoy the occasional dried fruit, which can be enlisted to their favourite list of foods.
Here’s Our Thoughts
Rabbits are typically herbivores, which means they enjoy plants as their main source of food.
Eating bird seed will do nothing to harm them, but the nutrients that rabbits need can’t be found in bird feed. So while it’s not harmful, it won’t be sufficient for their needs either.