What can I feed my rabbit as a treat?

Rabbits have a sweet tooth and love treats. They would happily eat them all day instead of their hay so you must refuse their cute begging faces and make sure they get a balanced diet! Please do not give them any human food; rabbits should eat a natural, vegetarian diet high in fibre.

Treats that are suitable for rabbits are not the usual treats we as humans would immediately think of. We might think chocolate, and pet shops do sell 'rabbit-safe chocolate drops' or 'milk drops' purposefully made to appeal to humans and their wallets, but these are full of sugar and are VERY BAD for your rabbits. Treat your rabbits with natural sweet treats instead such as fruit eg. a bite of banana or apple, or small chunks of 'sweet' vegetables such as carrots and broccoli.

Dried pineapple (in small doses due to high sugar content) contains enzymes which are thought to be good to help break down ingested fur. This makes it a good treat for bunnies especially when moulting. 

Rabbits love the more natural treats they'd find in the wild, like leaves - including both fresh ones and dried ones. Lily and Billy love 'Nature's Salad' (left) which we mix in with hay for them to forage around in. It contains natural treats such as marigold, dandelion, nettle and peppermint. They also love the dried plantain herb (not the same thing as the banana plant).

You can buy 'living herbs' from supermarkets which are the herbs still growing in pots for you to keep on your windowsill. Your rabbits will love eating them fresh, straight from the plant!
Check both our Safe foods and Poisonous plants lists to make sure you get the right herbs as some are poisonous (eg. chives are bad).

Weeds such as dandelions always go down well, and a handful of fresh grass sprinkled in with their hay is delicious too.

If you call your rabbit's name then reward him with the treat when he approaches you, he will start to associate the two and will come to you when called! (but only if he feels like it of course!)

Check labels if you buy your rabbits treats to make sure they contain no added sugar or artificial flavours and colourings. Personally we recommend the Boredom Breakers Naturals range. Your rabbits will greatly benefit from a natural, healthy diet, and will enjoy the wide range of nature's flavours!

Some more examples of healthy treats for rabbits...

View a list of SAFE fruit, vegetables, plants and weeds for your rabbits.