Can Rabbits Eat Cherries?

Can Rabbits Eat Cherries? YES. Rabbits can have a small number of cherries only as an occasional treat. Cherries are a good nutritious food treat for rabbits. Rabbits always like to eat sweet juicy fruits and vegetables. Being a good rabbit owner are you willing to know whether cherries are good or bad for your rabbits. YES, rabbits can have Cherries as a treat but there is a lot more to talk about cherries.

In general, the main food source is high-quality hay. Hay mainly contains fiber that helps their digestive system. The problem is when rabbits like sweet foods, they will end up overeating those. Cherries contain high sugar amount. Overfeeding them can cause serious health issues. As long as we provide cherries to rabbits, by following a proper guide, cherries can be a good occasional treat for your rabbit.

Before feeding cherries, you need to know what are the good type of cherries, the proper guide to serve them, how often we should feed cherries for rabbits, the good & bad sides of cherries, and many other things. Don’t worry. This article will cover all the things you need to know before feeding Cherries to your rabbits.

Without further delay, let us get started!!!!

Video credit for Eleni Georgiou YouTube Channel

Extra Information About Cherries

Generally, cherries are related to the rose family. Cherries are delicious, sweet & juicy. Cherries grow on trees & they are more likely as flowers of Cherry trees. We can commonly see cherries around June to July season in the UK. They are red color, round and small fruit. There are many varieties of cherries. They have different types of red skin color. Some of them are red, dark red, or black skin color.

The most common varieties are a sweet and sour types of cherries. Sweet cherries are generally called wild cherries. Sweet varieties can eat in raw. Japanese people have more traditional events with these cherry trees. They celebrate the cherry flower blossom & they called this function as “Hanami”

Cherries contain good nutrition and unique antioxidants. Cherries are rated as very low-calorie fruit around the world. Therefore, cherries are a really good fruit for humans and animals. This fruit contains vitamin C, vitamin A, dietary fibers, etc. These cherries are used in many recipes nowadays. Cherry wine is the most common. Jam, jellies, ice-cream, juices, etc. are popular industries running with cherries. Cherries can provide good health benefits like reducing inflammation, reducing blood pressure, speed up recovery, improve sleep, and many other good health benefits.

Nutrients of Cherries:

Cherries are full of nutrients. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 100g of sweet cherries have 

Energy	263 kJ (63 kcal)
Carbohydrates	16 g
Sugars	12.8 g
Dietary fiber	2.1 g
Fat	0.2 g
Protein	1.1 g
Water	82 g

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamin A	3 μg
beta-Carotene	38 μg
lutein zeaxanthin	85 μg
Thiamine (B1)	0.027 mg
Vitamin B6	0.049 mg
Vitamin C	7 mg
Vitamin K	2.1 μg
Calcium	13 mg
Iron	0.36 mg
Magnesium	11 mg
Manganese	0.07 mg
Potassium	222 mg

Types Of Cherries Good For Rabbits

Cherries are mainly categorized as sweet cherries and sour cherries. All of them are rich in nutritional values. But sweet cherries are high in sugar content than sour cherries. It is best to give a smaller number of sugary foods to rabbits. But we can give both of these cherry types. It’s up to us to limit the amount that we are going to serve them. These are the most common varieties we can see in the market.

Bing Cherries: This is the most common variety of cherries in the world. It’s a dark red & sweet cherry. You can easily find it in the market

Rainier Cherries: This variety can be easily recognized from its yellow and red color skin. They are sweeter than Bing cherries. They are sold in high prices because there is less amount of cultivation during a year.

Chelan Cherries: They are known as black cherries. Chelan cherries are more like Bing cherries. Chelan cherries are ripened early in the season.

Montmorency Cherries: These are more popular cherries in the United States. They are fresh, frozen, and canned. Cherry pies are made from this variety.

Maraschino Cherries: These are sweet cherries. These cherries are used for the decoration of cakes and ice creams

Sweet And Sour, Both Cherries Are A Good Treat For Your Rabbit. Keep In Mind, Only To Feed Cherries As An Occasional Treat. Sour Cherries Are Much Better For Rabbits Because They Have Low Sugar Content. Generally, Bing Cherries, Black Cherries, Montmorency Cherries Are Recommend For Rabbits.

Do Rabbits Like To Eat Cherries

Definitely, Rabbits like to eat cherries. They like the sugar flavor of the cherries. Most rabbits like cherries as they like carrots. If you feed cherries for the first time for rabbits, give them small portions & check whether they like them.

Most of the time they will love to eat cherries. Don’t ever try to overfeed them. It can cause health problems for rabbits. If we give them sweet foods like cherries, they will be addicted to those. Sometimes they will try to reduce eating healthy food in their diet. So, keep in mind to give only small portions to rabbits. Moderation is the key to rabbit’s health.

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Are Cherries Safer To Be Eaten By Rabbits?

Cherries are a safe & good healthy nutritious fruit for rabbits. As long as we provide cherries as an occasional treat, we don’t have to worry about rabbit’s health. But Cherry pits and plants have toxic compounds for rabbits. Take precautions before feeding the rabbit. Don’t serve them another sugary treat with cherries on the same day. Check the guide on how to prepare cherries for rabbits in this article.

Rabbits’ main source should be hay. We should prioritize hay in the regular diet plan. Overall nutrition can be covered by hay. Unlike humans, fiber is essential for rabbits. It can prevent bad bacteria from forming in the intestines. Some of the bacteria can lead to critical health issues in rabbits. This is why we should give priority to hay. But rabbits can’t live eating hay all day long. We must add veggies and fruits to their daily diet. Cherries are a good source of food treat for rabbits. At the end of this article, I provide you the general diet plan for rabbits. It will help you to understand.

Cherries contain anthocyanins, the red pigment inherently found within berries. Anthocyanins are potent antioxidants that are heavily being researched for their potential health benefits, including anti-inflammation and pain reduction. Cherries are also a good source of vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron.

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Benefits From Cherries To Rabbits?

Raw Cherries contain 80% of water. This will help your rabbit to stay healthy and active. Cherries are also rich in carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, &, etc.

Reduce Inflammation: Cherries are rich in anthocyanins and cyanidin antioxidants. These antioxidants help your rabbit to reduce inflammation. Because they have an anti-inflammatory effect. These Antioxidants also help to prevent cell damage.

Cherries also help to reduce blood pressure. This is due to its high polyphenol content. Cherries have the ability to enhance the sleep cycle. Melatonin is the compound in the cherries that helps to improve sleep.

Vitamin C helps muscle development in rabbits & it helps to maintain a healthy blood system. Vitamin C act as an antioxidant that helps the bones, skin, and connective tissues. Vitamin C is essential for rabbits, due to lack of vitamin C rabbis can have scurvy disease. This is a common illness among rabbits. 

Cherries are a fine source of Vitamin K. It will help to maintain good healthy bones. Fiber helps to increase the efficiency of the digestive systems of rabbits.

How Often Should We Serve Cherries To Rabbits?

Cherries are not one of the foods we can provide daily to rabbits. It contains high sugar. We must limit the cherry treats for a better healthy life of rabbits. Don’t serve other sugary treats with cherries at the same time. It could be leading to critical health issues in your rabbits.

We recommend giving one or two cherries twice per week. If you want to add another fruit or vegetable at the same time, reduce the treating amount and serve the rabbits. Best way to provide the treat is according to the body weight. You can provide a mix of fruits, 1 teaspoon of fruits per 2 pounds of your rabbit’s body weight.

How To Feed Cherries For Rabbits?

As we know now Cherries are good, natural food for rabbits. But there is a guide you must follow before feeding Cherries. Let us check it out.

Before introducing new food to rabbits for the first time, you need to start up with small portions. Don’t try to introduce many kinds of food at the same time & try to give the same food until they are fully adapted to eat. Keep in mind to introduce a small portion of the new food with other regular foods (daily diet). Follow up the rules for better rabbit health. This must be done for Cherries if you introduce those to rabbits for the first time.

Steps for feeding Cherries for rabbits

1. Buy high-quality ripen cherries for your rabbits. You can taste one of the cherries to know whether cherries are in ripening.
2. Carefully wash it to clean the dirt and pesticides that can be harmful to your rabbit’s health
3. Remove the pit and the little stalk. They are poisonous for rabbits.
4. Give only a limited amount of Cherries 
5. Always supply clean water for rabbits.

My recommendation is to give Cherries to grown rabbits. Avoid feeding Cherries for bunnies & juvenile rabbits. Cherries are hard to digest for bunnies. For grown-up Rabbits, it’s good nutritious food. I recommend giving one or two cherries twice per week.

Risk Of Cherries To Consider

Cherries contain high sugar amount. Rabbits like to eat sweet things. They don’t know the limit of foods. Overfeeding them can increase the sugar level and it may lead to an increase of bacteria in the belly of rabbits. Rabbits’ digestive systems can’t huddle a large number of cherries. It may lead to critical health issues.

Cherries stems, pits, and leaves have poisonous compounds like cyanide. We must take all precautions to remove them before feeding to rabbits.

Can Rabbits Eat Cherry Leaves & Stem?

We can only provide cherry fruit for rabbits. All other parts of the plant such as leaves, stems are poisonous for rabbits. These plant leaves and stems contain cyanide.

Don’t take any risk by feeding leaves or stems for rabbits.

Can Rabbits Eat Dried Cherries?

NO. Never serve dried cherries for rabbits. They are filled with high sugar content. Dried cherries are much sweeter than normal cherries. If we feed dried cherries it can lead to an increase in the sugar level and it may lead to an increase of bacteria in the belly of rabbits.

Can Rabbits Eat Canned Cherries?

Canned means that foods are cooked and added sugar is another thing that can be harmful to rabbits. Rabbits don’t like to eat cooked foods and they are hard to digest. Don’t try to feed canned cherries for rabbits. Just serve them with raw cherries. They like to eat in that way.

Can Bunnies Have Cherries?

Bunnies should not eat cherries. Bunnies have a sensitive gastrointestinal system more than adult rabbits. We definitely take some precautions before feeding them. Generally, we don’t provide Vegetables or Fruits until they are 3-4 months old. When we changing the foods it can be affected to Bunny’s digestive system. Diarrhea can be a serious health issue for baby rabbits. After they are eligible to eat, first try to feed juicy vegetables for them. Avoid feeding Cherries for bunnies & juvenile rabbits. Cherries are hard to digest for bunnies.

Can Rabbits Eat Cherry Pie?

Don’t ever try to equalize the raw Cherries and Cherry pie. Cherry pie is very bad for rabbits. Cherry pie contains all the things that are bad for rabbits. Such as sugar, oil, eggs, and other flavors. Please, keep your rabbits away from Cherry pies.

Alternatives For Cherries?

Rabbit diet should mainly be covered with quality hay and grass. In addition, we can provide a small portion of vegetables and fruits. We Recommend giving two cups of fresh vegetables to adult rabbits daily.

• Bell peppers
• Bok choy
• Brussels sprouts
• Basil
• Cilantro
• Endive
• Green leaf
• Red leaf
• Parsley
• Fennel

Fresh fruits should be served one or two times per week as a treat.

• Grapes
• Banna
• Berries
• Melon
• Peach
• Pear
• Plum
• Watermelon
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Orange

Best Common Healthy Diet To Feed Your Rabbit

We need to make a good meal plan for rabbits. We need to provide them with good quality foods. Before feeding rabbits with new food, check whether it’s good for rabbits. As a good Rabbit owner, check whether you cover all the guidelines mentioned below. It’s a general food guide for rabbits.

• Good Quality Grass Hay – I recommend Timothy hay as the most popular/good, all-around unlimited offer to your rabbits. Orchard grass, meadow fescues are also good for rabbits. Hay is the main food supply. Hay will help your rabbits to stay healthy and strong and maintain a healthy digestive system.
• Fresh Water – Ensure rabbits can have clean, freshwater 24/7. Water bows are most commonly used to supply water for rabbits.
• Provide Good Quality Leafy Greens – Provide them with 5-6 varieties of safe washed green vegetables, weeds, herbs daily (arugula, basil, kale, cabbage, etc.). Try to introduce new greens with small portions.
• Treats & Fresh Fruits – For the safety of rabbits, only provide 1 -2 tablespoons per day. Feed carrots, apples, blueberries, etc.
• Provide Good Quality Pellets – It is good to have a small number of healthy pellets daily. There are too many products out there, keep it in your mind to supply quality and healthy foods for rabbits.

(source -.https://www.rspca.org.uk/)

Summery

Cherries are a safe & good healthy nutritious fruit for rabbits, as long as we provide cherries as an occasional treat. Cherries are also rich in carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, &, etc.

Cherries stems, pits, and leaves have poisonous compounds like cyanide. We must take all precautions to remove those before feeding the rabbits. We recommend giving one or two cherries twice per week. Cherries contain high sugar. Keep it in mind to serve them only a limited amount. I think this article covers all the things you should know about Cherries before feeding your Rabbits.

Thank You !!!