I always look forward to buying grapes when they’re in season. They’re luscious, sweet fruits, and they’re great for your health. Grapes are loaded with nutrients, including Vitamins C and K. In addition, they contain large quantities of antioxidants, improve your heart health, help regulate blood pressure, improve eye health and decrease blood sugar levels. But wait, there’s more! Grapes have also been found to help with allergies, constipation, and cancer. Needless to say, we’re all for them. The best thing about grapes is that their peels aren’t thick or textured, so even kids will eat them happily. However, can rabbits eat eat grapes too? Good news! You can safely share some of your delicious grapes with your pet rabbit as well, and any color is safe to eat
Grapes are safe for rabbits to eat, but in small amounts
Okay, so you can give your bunny grapes, but not a whole lot of it. Grapes are sugary fruits, like bananas and apples, so they aren’t super good for your little fluffball. If your pet is overweight, grapes are a no go, not because they’re unsafe or toxic, but because they’re likely to worsen the problem. Grapes are high in natural sugars, which for rabbits is basically like junk food. If your bunny hasn’t eaten grapes before, give them a very small amount, maybe half a grape. Wait a couple days to see if their stomach seems okay, and if it does, you can slowly increase the quantity. Mind, though, that rabbits can’t be given too many treats, especially of one kind. So limit it to a few grapes per week for adult rabbits, baby rabbits shouldn’t be given grapes or any other fruits at all
How to feed your rabbit grapes
Always make sure the grapes are properly washed before giving them to your pet. Letting them soak in water for a while is also a good idea, and then rinse off with fresh water. I often advise feeding your pet home grown fruits and veggies if possible, so you’re sure of their quality, and that they’re chemical free. After all, humans have grown used to preservatives and pesticides, but have rabbits? That is a question we don’t want to challenge, and unfortually the rabbits can tell us. Therefore all fruits and berries should allways be thoroughly washed before you serve it, as an precaution, because the rabbits health is our number one priority
Rabbits can also eat the rest of the grape plant, like the stem and leaves. If your grapes contains seeds, they should be removed first to avoid any choking hazard, usually store bought grapes are seedless these days, so you won’t have to perform surgery on them to get them out. This goes for all fruits that contains seeds that are big enough to get stuck in the throat, like apples and oranges for example. Even thou they might swallow them without any complications, it’s allways better to be safe than sorry
While we’re on the subject of grape parts, some sites suggest removing grape peels well. Grape peels can cause kidney failure and/or kidney stones if given in large amounts. That may just make grapes not worth it. In case of bunnies with sensitive tummies, we’d definitely suggest utmost caution. You can give them unpeeled grapes without seeds as an experiment, but watch them carefully for signs of problems. My rabbit digests them fine. If yours seems to have tummy trouble because of it, peel the grapes and remove the seeds the next time. Or just find another safe treat to give instead of grapes, for example raspberries or celery
Conclusion to the question: Can rabbits eat grapes?
You can safely give your rabbits grapes as treats. However, they should only be given in moderation, if their stomach can handle it. Rabbit kittens and rabbits with sensitive tummies should not be given grapes. If you’ve tried it and they’ve digested them without problems, remove the peels next time anyway, just to be on the safe side. If your rabbit have a sensitive tummy you should consult your veterinarian and ask what kind of treats you safely can feed it, and what kind of foods that will keep the stomach in balance. If you have fed your rabbit to much treats lately, and the stool have become wet, keep it strictly on a hay and pellet diet until the stool returns to normal. After that you can give your rabbit treats again, but in smaller amounts and less frequent
Remember to contact your local veterinarian or rabbit breeder if you have questions or concerns regarding your rabbits diet or general health. There are also online veterinarians that you can ask questions about your pets for free, like for example on the mainpage of the site PetCoach. You can also find others by Googling search terms like online veterinarian and ask a veterinarian
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