Rabbits Do Not Eat Only Carrots

I had the opportunity of listening in on a lesson in a pre-school recently. It was a fantastic lesson! The teacher had worked along the Easter theme and planned a craft activity for her students. She had everything organized and mapped out properly. She showed them a rabbit made out of Styrofoam plates and cotton balls and then began to teach her lesson. She asked a few questions to get the eager four year olds thinking and ready for work. Then she asked one question that none of the students were able to answer. I looked on with amazement! The question was,

"What do rabbits eat?"

They all answered in unison, "Carrots!" 

"Carrots?" I thought. The teacher tried and tried very hard to get more ideas about what they know about rabbits yet no one offered any other food. Then it dawned on me, these children can only say what they have been shown. They don't know about rabbits eating anything else. They look at Bugs Bunny, Wabbit, Marsha and the Bear and many other cartoon series eating carrots. Wow! That was an eye-opener for me!

So What Do Rabbits Really Eat?

On my side of the globe rabbits eat grass and vegetables and pellets.  Rabbits do not only eat carrots like those cartoons taught us. This is a common misconception that many children are now being led to believe. I never thought about it before until that day.

Rabbits Eat Grass!

As someone who has always enjoyed creating things, I had a grand opportunity to drive the message across that rabbits eat grass. I was asked to create an Easter bonnet hat for a 3 year old boy to wear for his Easter bonnet parade. I toyed with an idea and later, through the visual help of Pinterest I got an inspired thought. This is what I came up with.

See the grass? (Don't worry about the eggs too much. This rabbit just happened to see some while eating his grass, lol). There are no carrots anywhere! So now I want you teachers and parents out there to let the little ones know that rabbits do not only eat carrots. Stop the misinformation.

 Articles by Experts

Here are a few helpful articles that will shed light on my musing:

The Myth of the Carrot-Chomping Rabbit 

Rabbit diet myths 

What Foods Do Rabbits Eat?

Can Rabbits Eat Carrots? 

Can I Give My Rabbit Carrots?

Here's the portrayal for the Easter Bonnet Parade.

Thanks for reading!