Can Pet Rabbits Eat Flowers?

Can your pet rabbit eat flowers?

I had this question a few weeks ago…

My uncle and cousins came to visit me and they brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers they bought from a farm stand just outside of McMinnville, Oregon. It was sweet and thoughtful-just like my uncle and cousins.

The bouquet lit up the family room and in it were my favorite flowers: peonies. Little did I realize that my flowers were also Dasher’s favorite flowers. Who knew he would like peonies so much? I guess he has a good taste like his mama. However, that’s really being a little too generous to my sweet naughty boy. It would be one thing if he just enjoyed burrowing next to them. But MY little sweet naughty boy liked eating them!

“Dasher! No chew!”

Literally, he has good taste…

He also really enjoyed biting off some of the green leaves.

Even though it was very naughty…it was very cute!  And even though it was very cute, it did cause me to wonder if these flowers were safe for him to eat. Can he eat flowers? He can safely eat vegetables and fruits, but I wasn’t so sure about my bouquet!

I decided to do a little research and here is what I discovered:

Rabbits can eat certain flowers, just like they can eat certain vegetables.  However, most stores grow their flowers for decoration purposes only and, therefore, grow their flowers with harmful chemicals. I’m not certain how my bouquet was grown. But they came from an organic farm stand, so I assumed they were somewhat safe. However, I decided I’d keep an eye on my little guy. Thankfully he hasn’t had any bad reactions since he munched on my peonies. Phew!

Here is a list of edible flowers that are safe for your little bun bun to munch and crunch on:

Remember: Some flowers are poisonous and harmful for rabbits. This is not an all-consuming list. And since rabbits tend to eat anything, please research the types of flowers your rabbit can or can’t consume if you are unsure. 

-Common Daisy

-Lilly

-Yarrow

-Common Hollyhock

-Pot Marigold, Common Marigold

-Cornflower

-Dahlia

-Sunflower

-Dill

-Pansy

-Rose

-Hibiscus

-Dandelion

-Primrose

-Coneflower

-Coriander

-Lavender

-Wood Violet

-Chamomile

-Meadow Sage

You might notice that peonies are not on the list. Technically they are safe, but according to thespruce.com rabbits won’t eat peonies. Wild rabbits may snack on tree peonies but leave hybrid peonies alone.  Of course, this information made me laugh since the only flower in the whole bouquet that Dasher would not leave alone was a hybrid peony! Only Dasher! Of course he wants the flower that all the other bunnies do not like!

That’s my naughty boy!

Oh, Dash Man!

Sources: rabbitslife.com, bunnyapproved.com, thespruce.com