Can Rabbits Eat Blackberries, their Leaves, and Twigs?

Considered as superfoods, blackberries have nutrients that can help protect you against diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases. They also have phytochemicals that help protect cells from free radical damages. Note that deeper their purple color is, the more antioxidant power they have.

They contain potassium, carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fibers, proteins calcium, vitamin A, C, iron among other nutrients.

Can rabbits eat blackberries?

Like strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, rabbits can eat blackberries as a treat in small amounts. You do not have to struggle to remove pits since they are small, and your bunnies will hardly notice them. Feed them with ripen (purple colored) ones only avoiding the reddish-pink ones since they have not fully ripened. Also, avoid wilted ones.

Like other fruit treats, you should give them a few times a week. Do not give them more than a teaspoon per two pounds of their body weight. Also, keep varying the treats you give your bunnies to include other safe fruits that rabbits eat as well as non-leafy vegetable treats.

Owing to their high sugar content, expect a bacterial imbalance in your bunny’s gut, diarrhea, stomach upsets, and weight gain or obesity in your rabbits if they eat a lot of these berries. Being sweet, your bunnies may also refuse to eat the recommended diets.

Ensure they are thoroughly washed to remove any remnant chemicals and begin with small amounts as you monitor how their tummies react to them after a day.

Since they are treats, you hide them in rabbit logic or puzzle toys to keep them alert and intelligent, use them to grow a bond or use them while training your bunnies such as to use their littering trays.

Finally, if you want to feed rabbits with dried blackberries or any other dried fruit, you need to know that they are higher in sugars. We recommend you avoid them. If you must, then reduce the recommended amount by more than a half.

Do bunnies eat the blackberry plant?

Yes. Rabbits can eat the plant too. As squeaksandnibbles.com notes, “wild rabbits often show a preference for eating berry plants, including leaves and bark.”  Therefore, in winter, expect them to eat the buds, twigs, bark, leaves and even and even blackberry fruits.

Do not worry about the thorns that this fruit tree has. Bunnies can manage them very well. Stick to stalks and fresh leaves and avoid wilted ones.

If you want to stop this damage, you should consider repellents or fencing the area where you have your blackberry plant. Try a brand like Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent Concentrate since it is totally safe. 

Conclusion

Berries are some of the healthiest fruits you can give your rabbits. However, they should not replace recommended bunny diets which have to have high-quality hay account for over 80% of their daily dietary requirements.

The remainder should be about 5% high-quality pellets such as Small Pet Select Rabbit Food Pellets and about 10-15% fresh foods. Fresh foods include mainly leafy greens and treats such as non-leafy vegetables and fruits.