Your pet’s eating habits should be maintained by keeping in view his bodily mechanisms, apart from its likes and dislikes. Similarly, no matter how much your pet rabbit likes bread. But you should know whether can rabbits eat bread or not?
The answer is simply No. Rabbits can’t eat bread. Eating bread can lead your rabbit to have extreme abdominal discomfort. It is always better to avoid feeding bread to your pet bunny. Otherwise, be ready to face dire consequences.
We all have bread in our kitchens. In fact, we all love to have some in our breakfast, too. But don’t think of sharing it with your rabbit. Your pet is likely to intake some of it from your kitchen and consume more if he likes it.
Why Can’t Rabbits Eat Bread?
Bread is not somewhat well going with your pet’s digestive system. Hence, the real question should be: why can’t rabbits digest bread? Let us answer that.
1) Do Rabbit Like Bread?
Bread isn’t good for your rabbit’s digestive system, but he isn’t aware of this fact. It is possible that your rabbit might become a fan of bread. Many animals love to have sweat and soft bread.
But in the case of rabbits, there are some dire consequences to this diet. To avoid such situations, try to keep him away from bread in the first place. If you fail to do that, try alternative foods.
2) Why Can’t Rabbits Digest Bread? – 2 Indigestible Components:
Rabbits generally have a very sensitive digestive system. They can’t digest foods that contain starch and complex carbohydrates. They need meals that are not very complex chemically, and bread is definitely not one of such foods.
- The starch content: Rabbits are herbivores. Hence, their digestive systems are more comfortable with plant-based nutrients. Consuming starch leads to discomfort, as they cannot digest it.
Bread is highly loaded with starch. Hence, an uptake of bread, which is actually starch, can cause serious health problems to your bunny.
Your bunny is likely to face abdominal discomfort, intestinal gas, runny stools, and some other digestive problems. Other than that, more consumption leads to obesity which makes your pet lazy. - The sugar content: Apart from starch, bread is rich in sugar. Rabbits’ natural diet doesn’t contain much sugar. A large quantity of sugar leads to different health issues.
Though rabbits do get some sugar through vegetables and fruits in their diet. But bread contains more than the usual amount of sugar. This excess sugar is harmful to your rabbit’s digestive system.
Sugar is mainly responsible for uncontrolled bacterial growth in the rabbit’s gut. This excess quantity of bacteria is mainly responsible for making your rabbit ill.
3) Do That Mean Rabbits Can Eat Brown Bread?
Although brown bread has healthier components, it is still not advisable to let your bunny eat it. Brown bread still leads to obesity, eventually making your bunny lazy and lethargic.
In short, it isn’t harmful to short-term usage but considering the long-term consequences, it should be avoided.
4) Is Bread Toxic for Rabbits?
Though your rabbit should not eat bread, it isn’t toxic for your pet like mushrooms and avocados. It will cause discomfort only. Actually, rabbits cannot digest the complex components of bread which leads to different digestive issues.
Although it isn’t toxic, unchecked consumption can cause you to lose your pet. Consuming bread will cause diarrhea and if the consumption continues, diarrhea leads to dehydration. Dehydration can eventually cause death.
Hence, keep a check on your bunny if he had been sneaking into the kitchen to have bread.
Also, bread has the capability of swelling by soaking in water. A swollen piece of bread can get stuck in your bunny’s intestine. Only surgery will remain an option to treat and save your pet.
Keeping that in mind, always try to keep your rabbit away from bread. Try using alternative foods to let your pet have a treat. But bread is something that should be kept away from rabbits.
5) What If Your Rabbit Is Adamant to Eat Bread?
It might happen that your bunny liked bread too much. Apart from that, if you also want to feed some of it to your pet, here is a small guide for you.
- You should only provide bread in small quantities. Generally, half a cube is enough for one treat.
- Only keep it as an occasional treat. Regular meals are not advised.
- It is a big no for newborns and young rabbits. Only feed bread to your adult rabbits and that too only according to the advised quantity.
Though following the above points will keep your bunny out of danger, it is always sensible to not feed any bread to our rabbit. You should be more concerned about your pet’s health than its likes and dislikes.
6) What To Do If Your Rabbit Already Ate Bread?
First of all, you don’t need to panic. As stated earlier, bread isn’t toxic for rabbits. They just can’t digest the starch. So, if your pet accidentally ate some bread, he’ll probably be fine very soon.
What you need to do, is to make sure that he doesn’t have any more of it. Small quantities are harmless. Larger quantities lead to health issues and you should consult a vet. However, unchecked consumption can cause death.
So, always keep track of your rabbit’s daily routine. If he had been taking bread sneakily, put bread somewhere at a safer place.
16 Other Harmful Foods That Should Be Avoided
By now, it is well established that bread is not the food for rabbits. But are there any other foods that your rabbit should avoid? Yes, there definitely are some such foods like mushrooms and many more.
Know that a rabbit’s digestive system is sensitive, hence, be careful before feeding him any new food.
Here is a list of some food items that should be avoided for feeding your pet. Some of these are just not good and others might be toxic for rabbits. Hence, it is recommended to avoid these foods.
| Cauliflower | Avocado |
| Peanut butter | Potatoes |
| Meat | Cereal |
| Walnuts | Yogurt |
| Pasta | Oatmeal |
| Hamster Food | Cookies |
| Iceberg Lattice | Candies |
| Chocolates |
16 Alternative Foods To Feed Your Rabbit
After knowing all about what your rabbit can’t eat, you might be curious about what your rabbit can eat. Well, there is a lot to that. Rabbits are herbivores. Hence, they can eat most of the vegetables, except those mentioned above.
Some of the foods that you can feed to your rabbit are:
| Bok choy | Cucumber | Endive | Carrot tops |
| Brussels sprouts | Fennel | Apple | Escarole |
Other Foods:
To keep your rabbit away from bread, try these items. He might love most of them. It will help you to keep him away from bread.
Apart from these, hay is something that is liked a lot by rabbits. In fact, it is considered their staple food.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) What Happens If A Bunny Eats Bread?
A small quantity of bread will most probably create no discomfort. But if your bunny has consumed large quantities, the starch content is most likely to create health problems like diarrhea.
2) Do Rabbit Like Bread?
Yes, the soft and sweet bread can be your pet’s favorite. But you can’t simply ignore the fact that eating bread is harmful to rabbits.
3) What Human Foods Can A Rabbit Eat?
When offering your food to your bunny, you should first search whether it is suitable for your pet to consume or not. Some of the foods that are safe for rabbits include cucumber, celery, bananas, carrots, and oranges.
Can Rabbits Eat Bread? – Conclusion:
No, rabbits should not eat bread. Bread is not toxic for them, but is highly unhealthy and even can cause some devastating digestive issues. Being a responsible pet owner, you should avoid bread at every cost.
A little negligence can become severe. Knowing that your pet rabbit should not eat bread, you should take measures to avoid it. Try keeping bread in a place that is out of the reach of your rabbit.
Find other alternatives for your pet. You can, in fact, pick one of the above-mentioned foods. Find something that is healthy and is liked by your pet too. Having complete knowledge of your pet’s required and natural diet is necessary.