What to Grow in Your Garden to Feed Your Rabbits and Save Money

Rabbits thrive on a high-fiber, low-sugar diet rich in leafy greens and forage. Here are top choices to grow in your garden.

🥬 Leafy Greens (Daily Staples)

Leafy greens are the cornerstone of a fresh rabbit diet. They’re rich in essential vitamins (like A, C, and K), hydration, and fiber while being low in sugar and starch—perfect for keeping your rabbit’s digestive system healthy and balanced. Rabbits require a diet that supports constant gut movement, and the fiber from leafy greens complements their hay intake beautifully.

Popular leafy greens such as romaine lettuce, kale, mustard greens, and arugula provide antioxidants, support hydration, and offer a rotating variety of tastes and textures that prevent boredom and promote healthy eating habits. When choosing greens for rabbits, avoid iceberg lettuce, which has little nutritional value and can cause diarrhea.

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🪴 Herbs (Medicinal and Digestive Aids)

Herbs not only enhance the variety in your rabbit’s diet but also offer natural health benefits that support the immune and digestive systems. Herbs like parsley, basil, mint, and oregano contain essential oils, phytonutrients, and antioxidants that help rabbits manage inflammation, stimulate appetite, and combat minor digestive issues.

Herbs should be introduced gradually and rotated throughout the week to avoid overexposure to any single compound. Many herbs also have natural pest-repellent properties, making them dual-purpose in your garden and beneficial for homestead pest control.

🥕 Root Vegetables (Limited Use)

While root vegetables are more calorie-dense and sugar-rich than leafy greens, they can still play a small but meaningful role in a rabbit’s diet—especially the leafy tops. Carrot tops, beet greens, and radish leaves are often overlooked but are actually packed with nutrients like calcium, vitamin K, and folate.

The root portions of these vegetables (e.g., carrots and beets) should be given sparingly—as treats or training rewards—due to their high carbohydrate content. Feeding too many sugary roots can lead to weight gain and digestive issues in rabbits. However, their nutritional value makes them a smart inclusion in moderation for energy, enrichment, and bonding time.

Consider using succession planting—planting in intervals every 2–3 weeks—for continuous harvesting.

🍎 Fruits Rabbits Can Eat (Treats in Moderation)

Fruits can be a delicious, nutritious supplement to a rabbit's diet—but they should always be fed in small quantities due to their high sugar content. While rabbits enjoy the sweet taste of fruit, too much can upset their digestive balance, lead to weight gain, or cause dental issues.

Safe Fruits for Rabbits

Here’s a list of rabbit-safe fruits you can grow or buy, and how often to feed them:

👉 Tip: When introducing fruit for the first time, monitor your rabbit for soft stools or behavioral changes. If digestive issues occur, stop immediately.

Fruits to Avoid

Some fruits are unsafe or potentially toxic for rabbits and should never be offered:

• Avocado: Contains persin, which is toxic to rabbits.
• Rhubarb: Contains oxalic acid and is highly toxic.
• Fruit seeds and pits: Apple seeds, peach pits, and cherry pits contain cyanide compounds. Always remove before feeding.

How to Feed Fruits Safely

• Wash all fruits thoroughly to remove pesticides and chemicals.
• Cut fruit into small, bite-sized pieces to avoid choking.
• Feed fruit as a reward or enrichment item, not a meal replacement.
• Stick to 1–2 tablespoons per 5 lbs of body weight, no more than a few times a week.

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🌿 Wild Plants & Forage for Rabbits: Free, Nutritious, and Abundant

In addition to vegetables and herbs from your garden, there’s a wealth of natural forage and wild plants that can supplement your rabbit’s diet. Foraging is not only cost-effective but also provides behavioral enrichment, variety, and a deeper connection to seasonal cycles. However, it's crucial to ensure that any wild plant you feed your rabbits is 100% pesticide-free and correctly identified—some wild species are toxic to rabbits.

Rabbit-Safe Wild Plants and Their Benefits

• Dandelion Greens:
  One of the most recognizable wild edibles, dandelion leaves are packed with vitamins A, C, and calcium. While they support digestion and are highly nutritious, they’re also high in calcium, so moderation is key—especially for rabbits prone to urinary sludge.
• Plantain (Broadleaf or Narrowleaf):
  Not to be confused with the banana-like fruit, plantain weeds are incredibly valuable for rabbits. They are high in fiber and soothing to the digestive system, often used as a natural remedy for mild gut inflammation. Great for daily forage.
• Chickweed:
  A tender, mild weed that thrives in spring and early summer, chickweed is rich in vitamins and gentle on sensitive stomachs. It makes an excellent starter forage for young or picky rabbits.
• Clover (White or Red):
  A high-protein forage that rabbits tend to love. Clover is nutritious but should be offered in limited quantities due to its calcium and protein content, which can lead to bloating or urinary issues if overfed.
• Comfrey:
  Known for its deep nutrient profile (vitamins A, C, B12, and minerals like potassium), comfrey also supports bone and connective tissue health. However, it contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can be toxic in large amounts or with long-term use. Limit comfrey to small amounts once or twice per week.

Foraging Safety Tips

• Always identify wild plants with a reputable field guide or plant ID app .
• Avoid roadsides, sprayed lawns, or industrial areas—these often contain chemical residue.
• Pick only from areas free of pesticides, herbicides, and animal waste.
• Start slowly when introducing wild forage—try one plant at a time and observe for reactions.

Bonus Wild Forage Options

• Shepherd’s Purse (mild and mineral-rich)
• Yarrow (natural anti-inflammatory—use in small amounts)
• Wild Strawberry Leaves (digestive support)
• Mallow (Cheeseweed) (great for gut health)

Foraging can become a seasonal ritual and a smart way to cut feed costs while enhancing your rabbit’s health. It also helps mimic their natural behavior of grazing a diverse landscape.

Creating a Balanced Diet: Garden Veggies, Pellets, and Hay

While fresh greens are important, rabbits need unlimited access to hay (preferably timothy hay) for dental health and digestive fiber.

Suggested Daily Balance For Reduced Feed Cost:

• 80–85% Hay (Timothy, orchard grass, meadow hay)
• 10–15% Fresh Garden Veggies
• 5% Pellets (Optional—choose a plain, alfalfa-free, high-fiber variety)

Avoid over-reliance on fruit, sugary roots, or alfalfa-based pellets for adult rabbits. If you’re growing your own feed, pellets can often be reduced or skipped entirely with proper balance. Please do more research, and speak to a vet or an experienced farmer before making the switch.

🪱 How to Prevent Parasites in Garden-Fed Rabbits

Introducing fresh greens increases exposure to parasites if you're not careful. Here’s how to reduce risk:

Sanitation Tips

• Wash all greens thoroughly before feeding.
• Rotate garden plots to avoid parasite buildup.
• Keep rabbit enclosures and feeders clean.
• Use elevated feeding racks to avoid greens touching the ground.

Natural Parasite Prevention

• Offer herbs like oregano, thyme, and dill, which have anti-parasitic properties.
• Consider diatomaceous earth in garden beds to control slugs and insects.
• Use apple cider vinegar in water (a few drops) 1x/week as an immune boost.

Consult with a vet if you suspect internal parasites—fecal testing is the gold standard.

Budget-Friendly Tips for a Rabbit Garden

• Save seeds from herbs and greens each season.
• Compost rabbit manure—it’s cold and doesn’t need aging before use.
• Join local seed swaps or co-ops for free planting material.
• Use vertical gardening (stacked planters, trellises) to save space.

With thoughtful planning and a bit of garden space, you can grow a variety of safe, nutrient-rich plants to feed your rabbits, lower feed costs, and improve overall health. Fresh veggies, herbs, and forage make a great addition to a hay-based diet—and it’s deeply satisfying to nourish your animals from the land you care for.

📱How FarmKeep Can Help You Manage Your Rabbitry More Efficiently

Whether you're raising a few rabbits in your backyard or managing a larger-scale homestead operation, staying organized is key to keeping your animals healthy and your costs under control. That’s where FarmKeep, our all-in-one farm management app, comes in.

Track Rabbit Health Records with Ease

Rabbits may be small, but they require regular care and monitoring. With FarmKeep, you can:

• Log individual health records for each rabbit, including vaccination history, deworming, weight checks, injuries, illnesses, and vet visits.
• Track breeding cycles with gestation calculators, kindling dates, and litter notes.
• Set up reminders for routine care like nail trims, parasite prevention, or feed changes.
• Attach photos or documents to an animal’s profile for easy reference during vet visits or breeding decisions.

This ensures you're always one step ahead on health and husbandry.

Keep Detailed Notes on Behavior and Nutrition

With FarmKeep’s customizable note system, you can record:

• Dietary preferences or sensitivities
• Forage intake from your rabbit-safe garden
• Notes on temperament, bonding, or social dynamics
• Breeding performance or maternal behavior

These insights build a long-term picture of each animal’s well-being and help you spot issues early.

Monitor Feed and Rabbitry Expenses

Raising rabbits can be surprisingly expensive. FarmKeep helps you:

• Track feed costs for pellets, hay, and garden inputs like compost or seeds
• Log purchases of rabbit equipment (cages, feeders, water bottles)
• Record vet bills, supplements, and grooming tools
• Visualize how much you're spending vs. producing, especially if you're selling rabbit kits, meat, manure, or fiber (for angoras)

With FarmKeep’s intuitive dashboards, you can better manage your budget, reduce waste, and plan ahead.