Last Updated on February 21, 2023 by Marjon Ramos
Forsythia (Forsythia spp.) is safe to be eaten by rabbits in small amounts. Just make sure that your rabbit is eating enough hay because forsythia cannot meet the required fiber a rabbit would need per day.
While forsythia is safe for rabbits to eat, you should still avoid giving them or making them a part of your rabbit’s regular diet.
There’s better, more nutritious food out there that’s better for rabbits.
Now that I’ve given you the gist of the article, read on as I explain the topic in more detail:
Table of Contents
Would rabbits intentionally eat forsythia?
Yes, rabbits would intentionally and gladly eat your forsythia.
In fact, rabbits find it delicious.
There are also some rabbit owners who reported that their rabbits ate a bunch of forsythias that they used as a decoration for Easter.
We’ve interviewed several rabbit owners who have a lot of forsythia where they’re from.
Most of them reported giving their rabbits some amount of it.
Risk of overfeeding forsythia to rabbits.
While forsythia themselves are not poisonous to rabbits, overfeeding it to your rabbits, on the other hand, could lead to the following conditions:
- GI stasis: Gastrointestinal stasis is possible when your rabbit is eating forsythia in lieu of hay. Make sure that you’re not replacing your rabbit’s main diet (hay, veggies, and pellets) with forsythia.
- Diarrhea: Diarrhea is also possible when you feed your rabbits too much forsythia in one meal. Diarrhea in rabbits often happens when new food is introduced too fast and too much.
- Soft uneaten cecotropes: Feeding too much unnecessary food like forsythia to your rabbits could also lead to uneaten cecotropes due to the lack of fiber in your rabbit’s diet. This can be fixed by feeding large amounts of fiber (hay) for several weeks to a month.
Healthy alternative to forsythia.
Here are some alternatives to forsythia that are safe to give to rabbits:
- Chickweed
- Roses
- Marigolds
- Dandelion
- Nettles
- Daisies
- Clover
- Sunflowers
- Pot
- Nasturtiums
- Pansies
Conclusion
Giving forsythia to your rabbits is safe as long as they’re not eating it in lieu of hay.
Be careful about letting your rabbits near forsythia.
They will likely eat the whole plant if they can. They find it absolutely delicious.
Finally, if it’s the first time you’re feeding forsythia to your rabbits, take it slow and feed it in small amounts.
Introducing new food into your rabbit’s diet too fast could trigger diarrhea and other digestive distress.
Cite this article:
Sources
Image credit – Seha bs, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
