Can Rabbits Eat Sage?

Can Rabbits Eat Sage? YES!!. Sage is one of the safest herbal plants for rabbits. Sage contains good nutrients for rabbit’s healthy growth. Due to the aromatic scent, some rabbits may not like to eat it. If you are wondering whether sage is good for rabbits, the answer is we can provide sage to rabbits without any problem if they like to eat those, and we must feed only a limited amount of sage in moderation. It’s totally safe to provide a small portion of Sage to your rabbits if they like those.

Rabbits are herbivores. But we can’t provide a full diet with herbs, vegetables, and fruits. Rabbits’ major food source must be fresh quality hay and grass. They take almost all the nutrition from hay supplies. We can serve a small number of leafy green herbs in their daily diet as other nutritious foods. Sage can provide extra nutrition to your rabbits as a part of a balanced diet. Sage can provide many health benefits to rabbits and also there is a potential health risk to rabbits if we overfeed them. This article covers all the health benefits, nutrition facts, overfeeding health issues & many more things that you should know before feeding Sage to your rabbits.

Let’s start without any delay!!!

Extra Information About Sage

Sage is categorized as a Mint plant. Sage is also popular as Garden Sage. Sage has good medical properties. In ancient Egypt, they use sage for many medical purposes. These Sage leaves have long stems and narrow lance-shaped leaves. Sage leaves have a fuzzy texture and taste like a piney flavor. Sage is native to the Mediterranean region and fresh dried sage is used for flavoring many foods.

Sage is an excellent source of vitamin K and fiber. Sage also contains vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B complex, calcium, iron, folate, beta carotene and etc. Sage can even be used in cooking applications.

According to the US Department of Agriculture(USDA), 100g of dried Sage contains these nutrients.

Energy	315 Kcal
Carbohydrates	60.73 g
Protein	10.63 g
Total Fat	12.75 g
Dietary Fiber	40.3 g

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamin A	5900 mg
Vitamin C	32.4 mg
Vitamin E	7.48 mg
Vitamin K	1714.5 µg
Calcium	1652 mg
Magnesium	428 mg
Sodium	11 mg
Potassium	1070 mg

Do Rabbits Like To Eat Sage?

It depends on the rabbit’s taste. Most of the time rabbits do not like the strong taste and smell. Some rabbits like to eat sage and like to nibble them. We cannot categorize this sage as one of their favorite foods. Even wild rabbits avoid these plants most of the time due to the strong smell.

Is Sage Good For Rabbits?

Sage is a good herbal plant for rabbits. Rabbits can eat Sage plants including flowers and leaves. Sage contains essential vitamins, fiber, minerals & antioxidants for rabbits. But you should offer only a small amount of Sage in your rabbit’s daily diet. There are no toxic parts in the Sage plant for rabbits. But because of the strong taste and smell rabbits may not like to eat it.

These Sages are related to the Mint plant. Sage is a good herbal plant like Rosemary, Mint, Dill, cilantro, etc. We do not have to be worry about the safety of the sage plant. But we should always provide them with suitable amounts. Overfeeding herbal plants can cause diarrhea, gas, bloating, and other health issues.

Rabbits’ main food 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. At the end of this article, we provide you the general diet plan for rabbits. It will help you to understand.

How Often Should We Feed Sage?

Sage is a good leafy herb for your rabbit only if we feed them according to a proper guide. A small amount of Sage can provide good health benefits for them. Overfeeding can cause bloating, increase gas inside your pet, and too much calcium, phosphorus levels can be harmful to your rabbit’s health.

Always provide Sage in moderation. It’s better if you can provide Sage mixing with other leafy greens and vegetables. You can provide 1 cup of mixed vegetables for a rabbit of 2-pound body weight. You can add Sage to your rabbit’s diet a few times per week. 

Benefits Of Sage For Rabbits

Sage has many essential nutrients and health benefits for rabbits. It contains, dietary fibers, proteins, vitamins B6, K, and E, magnesium, potassium, iron, manganese, and calcium, etc. Sage can add extra fiber amount to your rabbit’s diet. Because of the high dietary fiber, it avoids gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea, gases, and bloating.

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

Sage is a fine source of vitamin K. It will help to maintain healthy bones. It increases the efficiency of the immune systems in rabbits. Sage provides vitamin E. Vitamin E also acts as an antioxidant in the rabbit’s body. Fiber helps to increase the efficiency of the digestive systems in rabbits. Vitamin A improves your pet’s vision and develops bones. Sage is a good supplier of beta-carotene that helps to prevent age-related blindness. 

Sage is rich in potassium and magnesium. According to researches, these nutrients can reduce the risk of death from heart diseases. Potassium can protect from muscle mass loss and reduce the risk of developing kidney stones. 

Proper Way To Introduce Sage For Rabbits

As we know now, Sage is a good, natural herb for rabbits. Mix Sage with other vegetables to get the maximum nutrients on a daily basis.  But there is a guide you must follow before feeding Sage and let us check it out.

If you buy Sage from the market, wash it carefully and gently remove waxes and pesticides. Before introducing Sage to rabbits for the first time, you need to start up with small portions. Keep inspecting them carefully. If they show some illness, stop feeding Sage and only feed the rabbit’s daily diet (Diarrhea, lethargy, constipation, and loss of appetite are some of the illnesses)

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. 

Don’t try to overfeed them. Do not feed Sage for baby rabbits less than 12 weeks of age. 

Always provide occasionally a small amount of Sage as a part of your rabbit’s daily diet. Moderation is the key to rabbits’ health.

Alternatives to Sage

There is a lot more other good stuff we can feed rabbits. Just feed them good things and care for them always.

Vegetables	Fruits
Basil	Apple (Fruit only! Remove stem and seeds)
Beet Greens (tops)	Blueberries
Bok Choy	Bananas (Fruit only, no skin. Bananas should only be given as a special treat)
Brussels Sprouts	Grapes (Fruit only. Grapes should only be given as a special treat)
Carrots and Carrot Tops	Orange (remove peel and seeds)
Celery (MUST be cut up into very small pieces)	Papaya (Remove skin and seeds)
Cilantro	Pear (Fruit only! Remove stem and seeds)
Collard Greens	Pineapple (Remove skin and leaves)
Dill	Strawberries (Fruit only! Remove leaves)
Endive
Escarole
Green Peppers
Mint
Mustard Greens
Parsley
Peppermint Leaves
Radish Tops
Radicchio

Source: https://home.adelphi.edu/~tw17718/Diet.html

Summary

Sage is one of the goods herbal plants we can provide to rabbits. It’s almost like mint, rosemary plants that have a strong taste and smell. Most of the time rabbits try to avoid this plant due to the smell. If your rabbits like to eat sage it will provide good nutritional benefits for rabbit’s healthy growth.

We can provide 1 cup of 5-6 leafy green by mixing with sage and it will be enough for 2 pounds of rabbit’s weight. Always try to maintain a suitable feeding amount for your rabbits. Moderation is the key to rabbit’s health. I think this article covers all the things you need to know about Sage.

Thanks for Reading Today!!!!