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| Safe? | No |
| How much | None as a food or treat |
| How often | Never |
| Best served | Not at all; remove pips and stones from fruit |
| Watch out for | Apple pips, fruit stones, bird seed, muesli-style mixes |
Why are seeds bad for rabbits?
A seed is a plant's packed lunch: dense fat, starch and protein. A rabbit is built for the opposite, mountains of grass and hay that are high in fibre and low in everything else. The House Rabbit Society puts seeds on its short do-not-feed list, beside nuts, bread, crackers and popcorn, and warns against "gourmet" pellets with nuts, seeds or grains. PDSA says its vets don't recommend muesli-style mixes, because rabbits pick out the rich pieces, which can lead to weight gain, overgrown teeth and gut problems. Our rabbit diet guide explains the fibre-first diet in full.
Which seeds are dangerous, and which are fine?
| Seed | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Apple and pear pips | No, PDSA calls apple pips poisonous |
| Cherry, plum, peach and apricot stones | No, the RSPCA says avoid fruit seeds and pits |
| Sunflower, pumpkin and melon seeds | No, fatty |
| Bird seed, millet, seed sticks | No |
| Chia, flax, sesame | No |
| Soft seeds inside cucumber, courgette, ripe tomato | Fine, part of RWAF-listed foods |
My rabbit ate seeds: what should I do?
- Find out what it was. A few sunflower or bird seeds are different from an apple core or a fruit stone.
- Ring the vet for pips or stones. If your rabbit swallowed a fruit stone or a core full of pips, call your vet for advice.
- Offer hay and water. Keep the gut moving with a fresh pile of hay.
- Watch for 24 hours. PDSA says to contact your vet straight away if a rabbit eats less than normal.
How to keep seeds out of your rabbit's diet
- Core apples and pears and stone all fruit before sharing
- Choose plain nuggets, not muesli mixes with seeds and coloured bits
- Read the label on treats and skip any with seeds, nuts or honey
- Keep bird seed sealed and rabbits away from bird feeders
What to offer instead
For a forage-and-crunch treat, scatter a few of the day's nuggets in hay or use a dried herb. See our pages on sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and how to core apples safely, plus the safe food list for rabbits and rabbit care guide.
Seeds and rabbits: questions
Can rabbits eat bird seed?
No. Bird seed mixes are mostly sunflower, millet and other seeds and grains, all fatty or starchy and none of them food for a rabbit. Store bird seed in a sealed tub, and keep rabbits away from the ground under bird feeders, where spilled seed collects in the grass.
Can rabbits eat chia, flax or sesame seeds?
No. These are sold as healthy for people, but they are small, oily seeds that add fat a rabbit doesn't need. The House Rabbit Society lists seeds among foods not to feed. Skip seeded crackers and bread too, which are already on the avoid list for their flour.
Is it OK that cucumber and tomato have seeds inside?
Yes. The Rabbit Welfare Association lists cucumber, courgette and ripe tomato flesh as safe, and the soft seeds inside are part of that flesh. The seeds to remove are the hard ones: apple pips, the stones in cherries, plums and peaches, and pumpkin and melon seeds.
My rabbit ate a cherry or plum stone. What should I do?
Ring your vet for advice. Stones are hard, can contain harmful compounds and can be too big to pass easily, and the RSPCA lists fruit seeds and pits among foods to avoid. Watch for eating less, fewer or no droppings, or a hunched, quiet rabbit, which PDSA treats as an emergency.
