What should you never feed a pet rabbit, and which foods are simply best kept as occasional treats? The difference matters: a small piece of apple flesh is different from apple pips, and broccoli or cauliflower is not automatically poisonous.
If your rabbit may have eaten something poisonous, or has stopped eating, contact a rabbit-experienced vet immediately. Do not wait for visible symptoms before asking about a suspected poisoning.
Key Takeaways
- Keep chocolate, avocado, onions, garlic, leeks, rhubarb and unfamiliar plants out of reach.
- Remove apple pips and stone-fruit pits; suitable fruit flesh is only a small occasional treat.
- Broccoli and cauliflower can suit healthy rabbits in moderation. Introduce changes gradually and watch their response.
- Build the everyday diet around grass hay, suitable greens, a measured pellet ration and fresh water.
Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Rabbit
The RSPCA’s rabbit feeding guide lists foods to avoid. A useful way to apply that guidance is to check three things: the ingredient, the plant part and the preparation. An edible fruit does not make its leaves or seeds suitable; a suitable vegetable does not make a seasoned human meal appropriate.
- Chocolate and caffeine: keep these products away from the food bowl and exercise area.
- Avocado, rhubarb, onions, garlic and leeks: do not offer these or leftovers containing them.
- Potatoes: avoid raw or cooked potatoes and potato foliage.
- Mushrooms and iceberg lettuce: choose an established rabbit-safe leafy green instead.
- Meat, eggs and dairy: these are unsuitable foods for the usual pet-rabbit diet.
- Broad beans and kidney beans: leave these out of meals.
- Bread, pasta, cereal and sugary or salty snacks: do not share human snack foods with your rabbit.
- Lawnmower clippings: these are different from fresh grass that a rabbit grazes.
This is a practical avoid list, not a claim that all these foods cause the same type of poisoning. If an accidental exposure has happened, tell your vet exactly what was eaten rather than guessing from a general category.
Broccoli, Cauliflower and Lettuce: Important Distinctions
Healthy rabbits can have broccoli and cauliflower in moderation. The Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) includes them among suitable brassicas, while advising variety and caution with large portions. Some rabbits develop digestive discomfort, so begin with a little and monitor appetite and droppings.
Iceberg is a poor choice for the fresh-food allowance, but that does not mean all lettuce should be excluded. Romaine is a suitable alternative. Spinach is best offered occasionally as part of a varied rotation.
Likewise, do not turn “avoid broad beans and kidney beans” into a rule against every bean or pea. Fresh green beans and mangetout appear in established safe-food guidance. Offer suitable fresh foods in modest portions; none should replace hay.
Fruit Flesh, Seeds and Pits
Do not label an entire apple as poisonous. PDSA’s feeding advice allows a small occasional apple treat, with the pips removed. It also lists strawberries among suitable occasional treats.
Keep apple pips and stone-fruit pits out of the food bowl. Remove these parts before offering any suitable flesh, and keep whole fruit where your rabbit cannot help themselves. Do not apply the same seed warning to the tiny seeds naturally present in a strawberry.
The everyday reason to limit suitable fruit is its sugar content. Use a small occasional portion rather than a daily fruit bowl. Acidity alone is not a useful rule for declaring all fruit poisonous. Choose a familiar, supported option instead of experimenting with fruit juice, sweetened fruit or unfamiliar plant parts.
Processed Foods, Nuts and Commercial Treats
A “rabbit treat” label is not enough to decide whether a product suits your rabbit. Check its ingredients and consider how it fits into the normal food allowance.
RWAF’s guidance on commercial food and treats warns against milk-based yoghurt drops and sweetened cereal sticks. It recommends familiar fresh greens as rewards. A baked or hay-themed label alone does not establish that a treat is healthy.
Do not use nuts or seed-heavy muesli mixes as a staple or routine snack. Muesli allows rabbits to select preferred pieces and leave the rest, producing an unbalanced diet. This is a different issue from poisonous apple pips and fruit stones; avoid calling every seed “mildly poisonous.”
A simple reward can come from a little of your rabbit’s usual suitable greens or measured pellet allowance. Avoid adding lots of extra treats on top of the day’s food.
Poisonous Plants and Houseplants
A rabbit nibbling a plant does not prove it is safe. Keep ornamental houseplants and unidentified garden plants away from the enclosure and exercise area.
The RWAF’s poisonous-plant guide identifies familiar hazards such as ivy, foxgloves, yew and bulb-grown garden plants. Its list is not exhaustive. Check the exact species before offering forage, and skip anything you cannot identify reliably.
Remove fallen leaves and garden waste where rabbits can reach them. Do not assume drying makes a poisonous plant safe, or apply a poisoning mechanism from another animal species to rabbits.
What to Feed Instead
Keep plentiful good-quality grass hay and clean drinking water available. Suitable fresh greens add variety, while plain high-fibre rabbit pellets or nuggets should be a measured supplement. Continually refilling the pellet bowl can reduce hay intake.
Fresh-food and pellet portions should suit your rabbit’s weight, body condition, health and the product being used. A single cup allowance does not fit every adult rabbit. A growing, pregnant, underweight or unwell rabbit may need a different plan; ask a rabbit-experienced vet.
Introduce diet changes gradually. Check appetite and droppings daily. If a new food appears to disagree with your rabbit, stop offering it and get advice; reduced appetite or a rabbit that has stopped eating needs prompt veterinary attention.
Our guide to common rabbit health problems provides general context. It cannot diagnose an illness or replace urgent veterinary care.
If Your Rabbit Eats Something Unsafe
Contact your vet promptly about a suspected poisoning. Tell them the food or plant involved, roughly how much was eaten and when. Keep the packaging or a photograph of the plant to help identify it. Follow their instructions about the next step. See the RSPCA’s poisoning guidance for the veterinary-first response.
Do not rely on a rabbit looking normal immediately after eating a questionable plant. Seek help immediately if they stop eating or appear unwell.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can rabbits eat apples?
A small piece of suitable apple flesh can be an occasional treat. Remove the pips and limit the portion because fruit is sugary.
Are broccoli and cauliflower poisonous to rabbits?
They are suitable for healthy rabbits in moderation. Introduce small amounts gradually, rotate fresh foods and monitor your rabbit’s response.
Can I give my rabbit store-bought treats?
Check the ingredients. Avoid yoghurt drops and sweetened cereal products. A familiar green from the normal allowance is a simpler reward than an unfamiliar mixed treat.
Can rabbits drink milk?
Do not offer cow’s milk, cheese or yoghurt as snacks. An orphaned baby needing assisted feeding is a separate veterinary situation; do not improvise a milk recipe from an adult feeding guide.
What should I do if my rabbit stops eating?
Contact a rabbit-experienced vet immediately. Do not wait to see whether changing a food fixes the problem.
Sources and Review
Guidance checked on 4 October 2026. This is general feeding information, not a diagnosis or an emergency treatment plan.
