Can Rabbits Eat Bagels? Nutrition Facts & FAQ

As herbivores, rabbits have very specific dietary needs. But with these pets, you can experiment with new foods, especially when looking for a quick snack to keep them going.

Since rabbits have complex digestive systems, you must be careful about what you feed them. For example, introducing new foods too quickly or feeding inappropriate food choices can disturb your rabbit’s normal digestive flora.

If you’ve ever tried to feed your rabbit a bagel, it may be time to reconsider your decision. It’s unsafe to give bagels to these adorable creatures without your veterinarian’s guidance. Here’s everything you need to know about feeding your rabbit bagels.

Can Rabbits Eat Bagels?

Most vets recommend your rabbits not eat bagels, as it’s difficult for their digestive systems to process certain types of bread. Feeding your rabbit a bagel or any other kind of bread can lead to an upset stomach or other digestive issues. All types of bread, including bagels, have the wrong balance of starch, fiber, and other nutrients for their guts.

But of course, since bagels aren’t toxic or poisonous for rabbits, you can feed them a few bites of a bagel. However, a more considerable amount will cause the above-mentioned issues. Too much of a bagel can also lead to diarrhea for your rabbit. In the worst-case scenario, your rabbit may suffer from fatal gut problems like GI stasis.

It’s best to exclude bagels from your rabbit’s diet and don’t leave them unattended with any bread.

Are There Any Health Benefits of Bagels for Rabbits?

Bagels have little to no health benefits for rabbits as they are not necessary for their diets. A healthy diet for a rabbit includes grain, fruits, and vegetables, which is why starch has no place in their diet.

Since bagels don’t provide any nutritional value for rabbits, there’s no reason to feed them starchy foods and upset their stomach. You can easily replace any possible health benefits from bagels with other foods. After all, it isn’t worth it to risk fatal stomach issues like GI stasis.

Vegetables and fruits are the best alternatives to give your rabbit some extra vitamins and minerals. These include watermelon, broccoli, apples, strawberries, and similar other veggies and fruits.

Bagel Nutritional Facts for Rabbits

When you assess the nutritional facts of a rabbit, it’s instantly clear that this starchy food is not suitable for a rabbit’s dietary requirements. Every aspect of a bagel, from its carbohydrates to its protein levels, is not beneficial for herbivores like rabbits.

Here’s a bagel’s nutritional chart compared to a rabbit’s dietary requirements:

As the table details, every 100 grams of a bagel has 258 kcals of energy, which is too high in calories for one serving of rabbit food. Therefore, one serving of rabbit food should have no more than 154 calories.

Besides, bagels have 9.68 grams of protein per 100 grams, which is too low in protein according to a rabbit’s dietary requirements. Rabbits must consume at least 12 grams of protein for every food serving.

Contrastingly, bagels have too much fat in one serving compared to a rabbit’s diet, which only requires a maximum of 5 grams. In addition, bagels are mainly harmful to rabbits due to the high amount of carbohydrates, like starch, which is more than double the amount a rabbit should consume for every food serving.

Unfortunately, bagels don’t have enough fiber to benefit a rabbit nutritionally. One bagel serving only contains 6.5 grams of fiber, while rabbits must consume at least 14 grams of fiber per food serving.

The only way a bagel can benefit a rabbit is its iron serving, which is sufficient according to the animal’s dietary requirement. However, since bagels have many other health risks for a rabbit, it’s best not to use them as a source of iron for your pet. Instead, you can feed them endives, the ideal source of iron, beta carotene, vitamin E, riboflavin, folate, and potassium for a rabbit.

Why Can’t Rabbits Eat Bagels?

While bagels provide various forms of nutrition for humans, the same cannot be said about rabbits. Since rabbits have sensitive digestive systems, you cannot feed them bagels for multiple reasons.

Not Part of Their Natural Diet

While bagels are a good source of iron, they have very high amounts of carbohydrates and fat, according to a rabbit’s dietary requirements. As a result, bagels aren’t considered beneficial enough to be part of a rabbit’s diet. That leaves no reason for you to feed your pet rabbit a bagel.

To fulfill a rabbit’s daily dietary requirements, you’ll need to feed them foods with high amounts of protein and fiber, which you won’t find in a bagel.

Hard to Digest

One bagel serving has many more calories than a rabbit should consume in one food serving, causing them to become obese and have even more digestive issues. Also, the high amount of carbohydrates in bagels makes it hard for rabbits to digest them, as they already have weak digestive systems.

The high amount of carbs, combined with the low fiber levels, leads to gastrointestinal stasis. In this condition, the food stops moving in the gut, which can cause the rabbit’s death in the worst-case scenario. It can also cause bacteria to start growing and creating gasses, resulting in stomach pain for the rabbit.

Bagels can also cause a condition known as enterotoxaemia. This condition grows too much anaerobic bacteria in the rabbit’s caecum and releases enterotoxins. As a result, the rabbit suffers from diarrhea and other stomach issues.

Not Enough Nutrients

A rabbit’s diet requires low-calorie food with high protein, low fat, low carbs, high fiber, and low iron levels. Unfortunately, these requirements do not match the nutritional facts of a bagel per 100 grams, which is why bagels don’t have enough nutrients for a rabbit.

What Should I Feed My Rabbit?

The perfect diet for a rabbit includes a combination of fresh vegetables, hay, and pellets. Since hay has the right amount of fiber, high-quality grass hay like brome or orchard should make up most of your rabbit’s diet. This helps maintain the pet’s digestive tract health.

Fortunately, young rabbits can eat any hay, but we wouldn’t recommend alfalfa hay for adult rabbits due to the extremely high levels of protein and calcium.

Besides hay, your rabbit’s diet must also include a limited number of pellets. Approximately a quarter cup of pellets per 5 pounds of body weight is ideal for rabbits. However, it’s essential to be careful while feeding your rabbits pellets, as its overconsumption can lead to obesity and stomach issues similar to those caused by bagels.

Conclusion

Rabbits have incredibly sensitive stomachs and digestive systems, so you must be careful about what you feed them. Bagels are too high in calories, carbs, and fiber to be beneficial for a rabbit’s diet, as they lead to gas or digestion-related issues that can even be fatal. Keep these tips in mind while feeding your rabbit to maintain its digestive tract health.