Sweet potato skins are the outer layer of sweet potatoes, which cover the edible part of potatoes and save potatoes from disease. Sweet potato skins contain multiple vitamins, multiple phytochemicals, minerals, and fibers.
That’s why herbivores such as goats, cows, or sheep are very fond of eating potato skins. But can rabbits eat sweet potato peels or skins? Or if they eat, are sweet potato skins safe for them?
Yes, rabbits eat sweet potato skins, but some individuals may don’t like to eat them. But most rabbits can consume potato skins. And a little amount of sweet potato skins are safe for rabbits.
Today, in the morning before the breakfast meal of our pet rabbits Cleo and Dot we gave sweet potato skins in front of them as a treat. We gave sweet potato skins to see can rabbits eat sweet potatoes or not.
And we saw that our rabbits ate the whole amount of sweet potato skins that we served to them. And after seeing the result, now we are here to tell you A to Z about the experiment in-depth.
Are Sweet Potato Skins Safe for Rabbits?
Sweet potato skins or peels are safe for rabbits if they are in a small quantity. And a little amount of sweet potato skin considers safe for rabbits, while normal potato skin considers unsafe for rabbits.
Yes, potato skins consider unsafe, and in our previous article, we described can rabbits eat potato peels or skins. You can read this article if you are also interested in normal potatoes.
Anyway, jump back to our sweet potatoes and rabbits. Sweet potato skins are not only safe for rabbits, but they also contain multiple essential health benefits for rabbits.
Sweet potato skins or peels whatever you say are a great source of vitamins. Your rabbits will get vitamins B, C, and E from potato skins. As well as vitamins, sweet potato skins also hold minerals, fibers, antioxidants, and multiple phytochemicals.
So, you can introduce your adult rabbits to sweet potato skins, and give them potato skins as a treat often. Since sweet potato skins are not suitable for rabbits’ digestive systems, you shouldn’t give too many sweet potato skins to them.
How Much Sweet Potato Skins We Gave To Our Rabbits?
Here we are going to tell you about the amount that you should give during introduce and later. Today was the first time when our rabbits see sweet potato skins.
Yes, before today we never gave sweet potato skins to them, but we gave them regular potato skins for once to see whether that can rabbits eat potato skins or not. And the result was disappointing because our rabbits didn’t eat normal potato skins.
Anyway, since we gave sweet potato skins to our rabbits for the first time, we took a small amount. Also, we want to make sure of a balanced diet for our rabbits.
We took only 4 grams of sweet potato skins for our rabbits, which means 2 grams for each. And when you will also introduce your rabbits with sweet potato peels you should give more than 6 grams at a time.
And you can increase the amount slowly, but for 2 rabbits it shouldn’t be more than 8 grams at a time. To collect sweet potato peels or skins, first, we took a fresh sweet potato.
Not just for potatoes, before choosing every fruit and vegetable you need to make sure that the food item is safe, fresh, and chemical free. Since rabbit’s digestive systems are sensitive, you have to take a good look at the food item’s freshness.
Otherwise, your rabbits may suffer from health risks. So, after making sure of the freshness we washed the sweet potato and took a sharp knife, and start to peel off the sweet potato. Then we measure the skins and took only 4 grams for our rabbits.
Can Rabbits Eat Raw Sweet Potato Skins?
Here we are going to describe the eating period from first to last. Here we will tell you how our rabbits behave during eating, and are there any abnormal movements while rabbits eat?
When we served sweet potato skins to our rabbits we saw that Cleo and Dot just smelled for 2 to 3 seconds and start to eat. Yes, maybe they were ready for the sweet potato peels. But the opposite thing happen when we gave sweet potatoes to them.
In our previous experiment, we gave sweet potatoes to our rabbis. But can rabbits eat sweet potatoes? Yes, they can eat, but some individuals do not, like our rabbits. You can check this article to get more information about rabbits and sweet potatoes.
They start to eat within 5 seconds, and we saw they are eating slightly slowly. And their body movements were normal and they didn’t move too much during eating.
During eating, for once they shared a single peel with each other which look great. And they took more than 2 minutes to eat only 4 grams of peels and left nothing.
To show you the live experiment of rabbits and sweet potatoes we capture a video with our phone. And here is the video where you can see everything clearly including their eating speed, movement, and behavior.
You can skip the video if you are in a hurry, here is the summary of sweet potato skins and rabbits, you can simply take a look from here.
| Rabbits Names | Food Items & Weight | Eat Or Not (Yes Or No) | Percentage Of Eating | Percentage Of Residual |
| Cleo & Dot | Sweet Potato Skins (4 Grams) | Yes | 100% | 0% |
Risks Of Feeding Sweet Potato Skins To Rabbits
As we mentioned before, eating too many sweet potato skins is not safe for rabbits. Not only sweet potato skins, but all types of vegetables, leafy greens, and fruits that are safe for rabbits should also give a certain amount to your rabbits.
Otherwise, your rabbits may suffer from potential health risks. Here in this part of this article, we will tell you some of the potential risks of feeding sweet potato skins to rabbits. Remember, this can happen if your rabbits eat too many sweet potato skins at a time.
Also, these can happen if you serve sweet potato skins regularly to your rabbits. Another thing to remember is your rabbit’s age.
To feed sweet potato skins to rabbits make sure that your rabbits are adults, complex foods like sweet potato, potato skins, and potato chips are not for bunnies.
So it’s also clear to us that sweet potato skins are not safe for bunnies. Anyway, here are 5 potential risks for rabbits that can happen if your rabbits eat too much sweet potato skins at a time.
- Eating too much sweet potato skins can cause rabbit digestive issues
- Sweet potatoes may have some pesticide residue on their skins
- If skins are not washed well, they can contain contaminants
- It’s rare, but some rabbits may suffer from allergic reactions to sweet potato skins
- Sweet potato skins contain high carbohydrates, while rabbits are familiar with high-fibrous foods
So now it’s clear to you that can rabbits have sweet potato skins or not. If you find this article beneficial for you then share it with your rabbit-love friends and share in the rabbit community.
Also, stay connected with us by subscribing to our blogs, you can comment below to ask any types of questions. To reach us, and get some individual advice you can send us an email.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can bunnies eat potato skin?
A: No bunnies don’t eat potato skins, some adult rabbits can eat potato skins. But potato skins are not safe for rabbits and rabbits may feel health problems because of potato skins. When we experimented with our rabbits and potato skins, we saw our rabbits are not interested in potato skins.
Q: Can rabbits eat sweet potatoes raw?
A: Yes, rabbits can eat raw sweet potatoes, and sweet raw potatoes consider safe foods for rabbits. So if you want you can fee raw sweet amount to your rabbits as a treat.
Q: What to feed a rabbit with a sweet potato?
A: You should give sweet potatoes to your rabbits as a treat. And that’s why you can give a maximum of 5 grams of sweet potatoes to your rabbits, which can be a small piece.
Never give a whole sweet potato to your single rabbits and you shouldn’t give other foods with sweet potatoes. After eating sweet raw potato, you can give them regular meals or other food to them.
Q: What is the danger of sweet potato skin?
A: There are some potential risks of feeding sweet potato skins to rabbits, here are some:
- Digestive issue
- Contain contaminants
- Pesticide residue
- Allergic reactions
Q: Can sweet potatoes help rabbits gain weight?
A: First of all, you can’t give sweet potatoes to your rabbits as their main meal, you can give them as a treat. And this treat can help to ensure a balanced diet for rabbits since sweet potato contains multiple vitamins, minerals, and fibers.
Q: What nutritional value do sweet potato skins offer to rabbits?
A: There are several nutritional values that sweet potato skins offer to rabbits. Let’s take a look at them. Sweet potato skins contain:
- Multiple vitamins
- Antioxidants
- Multiple phytochemicals
- Fibers
- Minerals
Q: How much sweet potato skin should I give my rabbit?
A: For a single rabbit maximum of 5 grams of potato skins are perfect. And when you will introduce sweet potato skins to your rabbits for the first time give them less than 4 grams.
Q: Should I consult a veterinarian before feeding sweet potato skins to my rabbit?
A: It’s a good idea, but it’s not necessary. But a veterinarian can provide you with some valuable guides and information about sweet potatoes and sweet potato skins.