We eat potatoes in many ways in daily life, boiled, with various curries, as chips, or baked. But here we will talk about raw potatoes, is it safe to eat raw potatoes, especially, can they be fed to rabbits?
Let us inform you that raw potatoes contain solanine which is a naturally occurring toxic compound. Raw potatoes are also high in starch, which can cause digestive problems. Although raw potatoes naturally occurred toxic compounds, rabbits eat them.
But before serving raw potatoes, you need to make sure that you are serving the right amount of potatoes. Because too much raw potatoes are not safe for rabbits’ health, if possible then avoid serving raw potatoes to your rabbits.
Today, for the first time, we gave raw potatoes to our rabbits Cleo and Dot for an experimental purpose. And the result was shocking, they ate the whole raw potatoes that we served to them.
But to maintain a healthy diet and avoid digestive problems we served a certain amount of raw potatoes. We gave raw potatoes during the morning, and after eating they are still okay, and eating their regular other foods like grasses, pellets, and hays.
Do Rabbits Eat Raw Potatoes?
Yes, rabbits eat raw potatoes, but you should give them a certain amount of raw potatoes. Because eating too much raw potatoes can be harmful to rabbits.
Even, if you have raw sweet potatoes and think can rabbits eat raw sweet potatoes, then listen, eating much raw sweet potatoes is as harmful as eating much raw potatoes.
Potatoes are a familiar food all over the world, but they are never raw potatoes. Even if some animals, especially cows, and goats, eat raw potato and potato skins, eating too much is not good for their health.
Anyway, speaking of potato peels, we will feed our rabbits potato peels in the next experiment to see if the rabbits actually eat potato peels, stay tuned for the results of the experiment.
But there are some qualities of raw potatoes such as vitamin C and antioxidants are available in raw potatoes, or boiled potatoes are much less. So a small amount of raw potatoes once or twice a week can be a source of vitamin C and antioxidants for your rabbit.
How Much Raw Potatoes Should Be Given To The Rabbit?
We gave 14 grams of raw potatoes to our rabbits to see if they actually eat or not. As well as observing their reaction we also maintained a healthy diet for our rabbits, that’s why we only gave 14 grams of raw potatoes.
And you should also follow a balanced diet, and to ensure the balanced diet give less than 20 grams of raw potatoes for two rabbits. Remember, you should serve raw potatoes to your rabbits not more than twice a week.
So, before giving potatoes to the rabbits, first of all, wash and clean them. Because you can see dirt or dust on the skins of potatoes. So clean them and peel off the potato.
Then slice using a sharp and clean knife, making sure that every slice is thin and small. Rabbits can comfortably chew thin and small slices. And after cutting wash again to reduce the toxic compound from the potatoes.
Can Rabbits Love To Eat Raw Potatoes?
No, actually rabbits don’t love to eat raw potatoes, since raw potatoes can cause digestive problems. But rabbits can eat raw potatoes whether the raw potatoes are red or sweet. By the way, rabbits can also eat red potatoes.
But our experiment proved that rabbits eat raw potatoes comfortably in you provide a small number of potatoes. First, we clean and wash a potato and then sliced it. And again washed to reduce toxic compounds.
Then we took 2 slices and wiped them and then served them in front of rabbits. After serving, within a few minutes, they started eating. They didn’t waste their time by smelling.
Additionally, we noticed that during eating, their movement was normal but they are taking slightly more time for chewing.
But here is a reason also, since raw potatoes are tough, rabbits take more time for chewing compared to other foods.
And as we mentioned before we took only 14 grams for both of our rabbits, and they took only 2:30 seconds to finish the whole amount of potatoes.
They left nothing on the plate and both of them ate almost the same amount of potatoes. If you want to serve raw potatoes to your rabbits you can follow the same process.
Well, for your convenience, here we shared the video of the experiment where you can see how comfortably our rabbits are raw potatoes.
Hope this video makes it clear to you, and below we provide a table to give you a clear idea about the amount of food that we provided.
| Rabbits Names | Food Items & Weight | Eat Or Not (Yes Or No) | Percentage Of Eating | Percentage Of Residual |
| Cleo & Dot | Raw Potatoes (14 Grams) | Yes | 100% | 0% |
Are Raw Potatoes Healthy? Is it Good or Bad?
Not at all, raw potatoes are not healthy, even raw potatoes can cause digestive problems, especially for those animals who have sensitive digestive systems like rabbits.
On the other hand, raw potatoes contain a toxic compound that is also harmful to bodies. Although, compared to boiled potatoes raw potatoes contain more vitamin C and antioxidants.
But your rabbits can find these types of vitamins in many other fruits and vegetables. Even, you can serve mangoes to your rabbits to fulfill the needs of vitamin C.
And in our previous experiment, we proved that rabbits eat mangoes even if it is frozen. So, overall, raw potatoes are not healthy, but if you want to give them then give a certain amount of potatoes to your rabbits.
Are Potatoes Safe For Rabbits?
Yes, potatoes can be safe for rabbits if you give them boiled potatoes or bake potatoes. But if you ask me are raw potatoes safe for rabbits, then the answer will be tricky.
Yes, it’s not a question to answer in one word. But we can say that eating a little amount of raw potatoes can be good for your rabbit’s health.
On the other hand, if you provide too much raw potatoes then it won’t be a good deal for your rabbits.
So, our recommendation is, don’t give raw potatoes to your rabbits. But if you really want then give them a certain amount of potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can wild rabbits eat raw potatoes?
A: Wild rabbits mostly eat those types of food which are readily available in their environment. Especially, wild rabbits love to eat fresh grasses, leafy greens, herbs, and twigs. They don’t eat raw potatoes.
Q: Can rabbits eat onions and potatoes?
A: Although, rabbits eat these types of foods, onions, and potatoes are not healthy and safe for rabbits, especially a big amount of onions and potatoes. So keep these foods away from your rabbits.
Q: Are potatoes good for rabbits?
A: No, raw potatoes are not good for rabbits, especially raw potatoes are harmful to rabbit’s digestive health.
Q: Are raw potatoes poisonous?
A: Although raw potatoes are not highly poisonous, they naturally occurring toxic compound called solanine.
Q: Can rabbits eat potatoes, their peels, leaves, or plant?
A: No, rabbits can’t eat potatoes, their peels, and leaves because toxic solanine is found in the leaves, stems, and skin of potatoes. And solanine works like a natural defense system against pests and predators.
Hope it’s clear to you whether rabbits eat raw potatoes or not. If you have other questions like this then feel free to ask us in the comment box. You can also share your opinion by sending us an email.
And, we often do these kinds of experiments with our pet rabbits. So to see these experiments and to know more about rabbit rearing stay connected with us. Also, make sure that you subscribed to our blogs.
Useful Links: Raw Potatoes, Benefits & Side Effects of Raw Potatoes.