By Priya Nair (RVN) and Sienna Walsh · Last updated 17 May 2026
Rabbit diet is mostly about hay, hay, more hay, and a careful eye on what greens you add. Get the hay right and most other dietary mistakes are recoverable. Skimp on hay and even a perfect pellet brand won’t save you from GI stasis.
The 80/15/5 rule (sound familiar?)
- 80% hay — unlimited Timothy, orchard, meadow or oat hay. Alfalfa only for under-6-months.
- 15% leafy greens and fresh veg — about 1 cup per kg of body weight per day, split into morning + evening
- 5% pellets — small egg-cup portion daily, plain Timothy-based
- Treats: tiny — small fruit pieces, fresh herbs, never more than a tablespoon a day
Master food safety table
| Food | Safe? | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple (flesh) | ⚠️ | 1 small slice, 2x/week | No seeds (cyanide compounds) |
| Banana | ⚠️ | 1 small piece, 1x/week | Very high sugar |
| Basil | ✅ | Small handful, 2-3x/week | Most rabbits love |
| Bell pepper | ✅ | 1-2 strips, 3x/week | Good Vit C, low calcium |
| Bok choy | ✅ | 1-2 leaves, 3x/week | |
| Broccoli (florets) | ⚠️ | 1 small floret, 1-2x/week | Gas-causing in larger amounts |
| Brussels sprouts | ⚠️ | Half a sprout, 1x/week | Same as broccoli |
| Carrot | ⚠️ | Small piece, 1x/week | Sugar — the “rabbit eats carrots” cartoon overdid it. Tops are great daily. |
| Cauliflower | ⚠️ | 1 small floret, 1x/week | Gas in some rabbits |
| Celery | ✅ | 1 chopped piece, 2x/week | Chop strings — they wrap around the gut |
| Coriander / cilantro | ✅ | Small handful daily | Loved by most rabbits |
| Courgette / zucchini | ✅ | 1-2 slices, 2-3x/week | |
| Cucumber | ✅ | 2-3 slices, 2-3x/week | Hydrating |
| Dandelion (greens, flowers) | ✅ | Small handful daily | Excellent — wild dandelion is fine if no chemicals |
| Dill | ✅ | Small handful, 2-3x/week | |
| Endive | ✅ | 1-2 leaves daily | |
| Fennel | ✅ | Small piece, 2x/week | Tops better than bulb |
| Garlic / onion family | ❌ | None | Toxic |
| Grapes | ⚠️ | 1 grape, 1x/week max | High sugar |
| Iceberg lettuce | ❌ | None | Diarrhea |
| Kale (curly or cavolo nero) | ⚠️ | 1-2 leaves, 2x/week | High calcium — alternate with other greens |
| Lettuce (romaine, butter) | ✅ | 2-3 leaves daily | NOT iceberg |
| Mint | ✅ | Few sprigs, 2-3x/week | |
| Mushrooms | ❌ | None | Risk not worth the upside |
| Parsley (flat or curly) | ✅ | Small handful, 3x/week | High calcium and Vit C — moderate amounts |
| Pea pods (mangetout / sugar snap) | ✅ | 2-3 pods, 2-3x/week | |
| Pineapple | ⚠️ | 1 small piece, 1x/week | Bromelain enzymes help with hair-block; small amounts |
| Potato (raw or cooked) | ❌ | None | Solanine + starch |
| Pumpkin (cooked, plain) | ⚠️ | Small piece, 1x/week | |
| Radish (greens) | ✅ | Few leaves, 2x/week | Root in tiny amounts |
| Raspberries | ✅ | 1-2 berries, 2x/week | Leaves great daily |
| Rhubarb | ❌ | None | Toxic, especially leaves |
| Rocket / arugula | ✅ | Small handful, 2-3x/week | |
| Spinach | ⚠️ | 1 leaf, 1x/week | High oxalates |
| Strawberries (flesh) | ⚠️ | 1 small strawberry, 1x/week | Hulls and leaves great |
| Sweet potato (raw or cooked) | ❌ | None | Too starchy for rabbits |
| Swiss chard | ⚠️ | 1 small leaf, 1x/week | High oxalates |
| Tomato (red flesh) | ✅ | Small piece, 2x/week | No stems, leaves, or green tomato |
| Watercress | ✅ | Small handful, 2-3x/week | Peppery — some rabbits dislike |
Hard NO list
- Avocado — persin + fat
- Onion family — toxic
- Rhubarb (especially leaves) — oxalic acid
- Potato + potato leaves — solanine
- Iceberg lettuce — diarrhea
- Tomato leaves and stems — solanine
- Bread, pasta, cereal — gut imbalance
- Chocolate, dairy, meat — wrong species
- Sweet potato — too starchy
- Cooked, salted, sugared anything
- Most muesli-style commercial rabbit mixes — they self-select sugary bits and skip nutrients
- Houseplants in general — most ornamentals are toxic
- Citrus seeds (flesh OK in tiny amounts)
A real week of rabbit feeding
For a 2kg dwarf or 3kg medium rabbit (one bonded pair):
| Day | Morning | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Romaine + coriander + bell pepper | Cucumber + parsley |
| Tue | Butter lettuce + dill + small carrot piece | Basil + rocket + small apple slice |
| Wed | Bok choy + bell pepper + carrot tops | Mint + cucumber |
| Thu | Endive + coriander + raspberries | Romaine + parsley |
| Fri | Dandelion + basil + small piece of pumpkin | Cucumber + cilantro |
| Sat | Bok choy + small floret broccoli | Romaine + mint + 1 grape (split) |
| Sun | Mixed-herb morning + bell pepper | Hay-only evening + dig-box enrichment |
Hay varieties
- Timothy — gold standard, multiple cuts, varying softness
- Orchard grass — slightly sweeter
- Meadow hay — mixed grasses, common in UK and AU
- Oat hay — high fibre, with seed heads (extra enrichment)
- Ryegrass hay — sometimes too rich, watch for soft poops
- Alfalfa — pups under 6 months, pregnant/nursing does, recovery food only
When diet has gone wrong
- Soft, mushy poops — too many sugary or watery vegetables, often the muesli-mix problem
- No poops — emergency. GI stasis. Vet now.
- Small, dry poops — early stasis warning. Increase hay and call vet.
- Sticky bum (uneaten caecotrophs) — diet too rich. Cut pellets, increase hay.
- Weight gain — too many pellets or treats. Cut pellets to half, eliminate fruit.
Sources
- Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund — RWAF diet pages
- House Rabbit Society — Diet and nutrition library
- Our complete rabbit care guide
We get asked — pet rabbit food FAQ
What’s the basic split of a healthy rabbit diet?
80% hay (unlimited Timothy, orchard, or meadow), 15% fresh leafy greens (about 1 cup per kg of body weight, split morning and evening), and 5% pellets (a small egg-cup-sized daily portion). Fruit is a treat, not a daily food. Alfalfa is for under-6-months and pregnant/nursing only.
What’s GI stasis and why does it matter?
It’s the rabbit killer. When a rabbit’s gut motility slows or stops — usually because of low hay intake, dental pain, stress, or something else — they can spiral fast. A rabbit that hasn’t eaten or pooped in 8 hours is an emergency. Ring an exotic vet immediately, do not wait until morning.
Should I spay or neuter?
Yes, ideally before age 1. Female rabbits have a reported 50-80% uterine cancer rate by age 5-6 if unspayed. Neutered males stop spraying, calm down, and become better companions. Both surgeries are routine for an experienced exotic vet.
Related reading
- The complete pet rabbit care guide
- Master food safety table
- How to litter train a rabbit
- Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund — RWAF resources
Portion sizes & serving rules
Daily greens for an adult rabbit: roughly one cup of fresh veg per kilogram of body weight, split into morning and evening servings. A 2kg dwarf gets 2 cups daily total; a 4kg medium rabbit gets 4 cups. Pellets are about an egg-cup-sized daily serving regardless of size. Hay should be unlimited and available 24/7 — not topped up “when it runs out”, but always present.
Fruit is a treat, not a meal. We give one tablespoon-sized fruit treat once or twice a week, no more. Even “natural” sugars accumulate.
Greens rotation
The “three different greens daily” rule keeps mineral loads moderate. A working daily mix might be:
- 1 herb (basil, coriander, mint, dill, parsley — rotate)
- 1 leafy base (romaine, butter lettuce, endive)
- 1 stronger green (bok choy, rocket, radish tops, dandelion)
High-calcium greens (kale, parsley, spinach, swiss chard) are excellent rotations but not daily staples. Two days of kale followed by five days of milder greens keeps the calcium load moderate and the risk of urinary issues low.
Warning signs after a new food
- No or fewer poops within 12 hours
- Soft, mushy or smelly poops (caecotrophs being missed too)
- Sudden disinterest in hay
- Hunched posture, tooth-grinding while hunched (pain signal)
- Bloated belly
A rabbit that hasn’t pooped or eaten in 8 hours is an emergency. GI stasis progresses fast and silently. Vet now, not tomorrow. Full GI stasis primer in our complete rabbit care guide.
Page last updated 17 May 2026. We re-check our pet-care content regularly and update when something changes.
