If your rabbit has eaten something harmful, or stops eating or passing droppings, contact a veterinarian who treats rabbits right away, even if your rabbit seems fine. Rabbits cannot vomit, so do not try to make your rabbit throw up.
Why
Bread appears on the avoid lists of the leading rabbit care sources. Rabbit.org's diet guide calls processed human foods, including bread, pasta, cookies, crackers and breakfast cereals, especially dangerous for rabbits, the RSPCA lists bread, pasta, cereals and processed foods among foods to avoid, and Pasadena Humane lists cereal, crackers and pasta as unsafe.
Starch is the main problem with bread. Nutrition scientist Susan Smith, writing for Rabbit.org, explains that starch reaching a rabbit's cecum is fermented rapidly and can lead to bacterial overgrowth, bloat and gastrointestinal stasis. The Merck Veterinary Manual adds that excess starch can feed harmful bacteria such as Clostridium spiroforme, and that young rabbits digest starch less efficiently than adults.
Signs to watch for
- Bread, rolls, toast and crusts
- Crackers, biscuits, cookies and cakes
- Breakfast cereal and granola
- Pasta and noodles
- Bread fed to rabbits in parks or at petting areas
- Bloating, hunched posture or fewer droppings after eating starchy food
What to do if your rabbit eats it
- Take away any remaining bread.
- Offer plenty of hay and fresh water.
- Watch appetite and droppings closely for the next 24 hours.
- Call a vet promptly if your rabbit stops eating, seems bloated or stops passing droppings.
What starch does in a rabbit's gut
A rabbit relies on bacteria in the cecum, a large pouch of the gut, to ferment fiber. Susan Smith explains in her Rabbit.org article that fiber slows fermentation, while starch in the cecum is fermented rapidly and can lead to bacterial overgrowth, bloat and gastrointestinal stasis.
The Merck Veterinary Manual offers a more nuanced view: how sensitive adult rabbits are to starch is still debated, but young rabbits digest starch less efficiently, and excess starch can feed Clostridium spiroforme, a bacterium that produces a potent toxin. For a pet rabbit, bread brings risk and no benefit.
Crackers, cereal and pasta
Other grain-based foods carry the same concern. Rabbit.org's diet guide lists cookies, crackers, breakfast cereals, bread and pasta among processed human foods that are especially dangerous for rabbits, and the RSPCA lists cereals and pasta to avoid.
Commercial rabbit snacks made from cereal can be no better. Susan Smith notes that many seed and grain mixes sold as treats are rich in starch and fat and provide nothing a rabbit does not already get from hay, vegetables and a measured amount of pellets.
Better rewards than bread
Rabbits do not need people food to feel spoiled. The House Rabbit Society suggests hay-based treats, and Rabbit.org recommends herbs, vegetables, rolled oats in moderation, and dried forage such as dandelion, chamomile or calendula.
Edible toys last longer than any snack. Rabbit.org suggests apple sticks, woven grass mats, willow toys and cardboard boxes, which satisfy the urge to chew without adding starch.
Common questions
Is bread good for rabbits?
No. Bread appears on the avoid lists of the leading rabbit care sources.
Is bread bad for rabbits?
Yes. Signs of poisoning to watch for: bread, rolls, toast and crusts; crackers, biscuits, cookies and cakes; breakfast cereal and granola.
Are rabbits allowed to have bread?
No, keep it away from your rabbit. If your rabbit eats some anyway: take away any remaining bread.
My rabbit ate some bread. Is it an emergency?
A small bite of bread is not usually an emergency, but watch your rabbit's appetite and droppings for the next day. Call a vet straight away if your rabbit stops eating, seems bloated or stops passing droppings, since VCA Animal Hospitals warns that a rabbit that is not eating can become seriously ill within hours.
Can rabbits eat oats?
Plain rolled oats or oat groats can be an occasional treat in very small amounts, according to Rabbit.org. A Rabbit.org nutrition article notes that rabbits can digest small amounts of oats but that oats provide more calories than a rabbit needs, so oats should never become a regular food.
Sources
- Rabbit.org. Healthy Rabbit Diet Guide: Safe Foods & Treats (Paige K Parsons).
- RSPCA. What Do Rabbits Eat? Rabbit Diet Advice.
- Pasadena Humane. Rabbit Safe Vegetable and Fruit List.
- Rabbit.org. Treat Foods (Susan Smith, PhD).
- Rabbit.org. Treat Your Bunny Right (Amy Ramnaraine).
- Rabbit.org. Natural Nutrition Part II: Pellets and Veggies (Elizabeth TeSelle, in consultation with Cindy McBee, DVM). Originally published in House Rabbit Journal.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Nutrition of Rabbits (Joerg Mayer, DVM).
- House Rabbit Society. Healthy Rabbit Diet.
- VCA Animal Hospitals. Gastrointestinal Stasis in Rabbits (Gregory Rich, DVM; Laurie Hess, DVM; Rick Axelson, DVM).
- House Rabbit Society. Healthy Rabbit Diet.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Disorders and Diseases of Rabbits.