99% of wood is dangerous to rabbits
Rabbits do not need wood in their diet. They are not beavers. Any wood they do get must be safe, and that is quite difficult to locate.
I have rated each wood in 🔴 level.
- 🔴 – tolerable
- 🔴🔴 – minor medical problems
- 🔴🔴🔴 – severe medical problems
- 🔴🔴🔴🔴 – death
Woods that are toxic to rabbits
| Wood Type | Information | Danger Level |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar | Do not put near your bunny, can cause liver problems. | 🔴🔴🔴 |
| Pine | Slightly less toxic than cedar, can cause liver problems. Do not use pine shavings for litter. Don’t give bunnies pine cones, even though they love playing with them. | 🔴🔴🔴 |
| Stone fruit (peach, cherry, apricot, avocado, nectarine etc) | Contains high amounts of cyanide which will kill basically instantly. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Redwood, oak, nut trees (walnut, almond, cashew etc) | Contains cyanide. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Citrus | Liver problems. | 🔴🔴🔴 |
| Cyprus | Liver problems. | 🔴🔴🔴 |
| Yew | Becomes more toxic when dried. Berries and foliage is also toxic. Can cause sudden death. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Fir, maple, olive, birch | Liver problems causing slow/prolonged death. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Rosewood | Any wood that has a strong scent is toxic. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Holly, miseltoe and ivy | Sudden death. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Bamboo | Even though there are mixed opinions about it, I’d steer clear of it. Even if there is a slight doubt about it, what’s the point of finding out the hard way when it can be avoided in the first place? | 🔴🔴 |
| Elder trees | should be avoided at all costs. Sudden death. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Willow | People swear that willow is good, it’s not. It has cyanide in it. | 🔴🔴🔴 |
| Blackwood, boxwood, beech | Mixed opinions about these three woods. I’d steer clear of them because I wouldn’t want to find out the hard way that the internet was giving false information again. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Eucalyptus | Rabbits will eat eucalyptus when they have a parasite in their system that they want to get rid of. Too much eucalyptus will become toxic to rabbits. | 🔴🔴 |
| Fig | Cyanide. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Magnolia | Toxic. Strong, pungent smell. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Cork | Will not break down in gut. Cause blockages. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Plywood | Made from layers of pine. Pine causes liver damage. The glue that binds the layers of wood together is also toxic. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Teak | Toxic. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| Painted, stained or treated wood | All chemical based applications on wood are accumulative in nature. Which means the more often the rabbit is near it, the more the chemical increases in their system. When an overdose occurs, the rabbit can get liver and digestion issues. Death can also occur. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
| MDF boards | Contains formaldehyde and is toxic. | 🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
Woods that rabbits can chew
Never give raw woods to bunnies.
Rabbits can eat most fruit tree sticks, if they have been dried for a minimum of 30 days prior (60 days is best). Berry sticks and leaves are safe to give straight off the plant, but it’s probably a good idea to dry them for 30 days first.
The hawthorn is safe, rabbits love chewing on the leaves and twigs, the berries are not as yummy. Although Indian Hawthorn is toxic to rabbits, so you will need to know the difference between them. Or just steer clear of both of them.
Balsa wood is a soft wood that is safe for rabbits to chew on.
Kiln dried pine is safe for rabbits. You can use kiln dried pine chips as litter.
Danger
It is vital that you don’t mistake woods. It’s not worth it.
It also doesn’t matter what anyone says, if the wood has a strong scent or taste, don’t give it to your bunny. Simple.