Safe & Poisonous Woods for your Bun Bun

[MommaBearAmanda]

I noticed on a couple of forums here some wrong information about what sorts of woods are safe to give your bun to chew or what sort of woods could you build a hutch with. Here is a correct list of woods for your Bun Bun, there may be more buyt these listed here are for sure a win win 

Rabbits shouldn’t chew on cedar (or even use it in their litter box) because the phenols (the chemicals that make it smell so good) can lead to liver disease. The same is true of fresh pine (pine that hasn’t been heat-treated – some experts say all pine should be avoided).



Rabbits also shouldn’t chew on any woods that grow stone fruit (like cherries, apricot – any fruit with a stone/pit/large inedible seed inside)

I would all together stay away from Cedar and Pine even the untreated kinds.

The safe woods are:

• Apple
• Ash
• Berry brambles
• Birch
• Hawthorn
• Hazel
• Juniper
• Maple
• Pear
• Poplar
• Spruce
• Willow

Hugs, Mother of 3 bun buns  

[JackRabbit]

From what I’ve read, aspen and oak (NOT red oak though) are fine as well.

[LittleBunnyPaws]

I thought untreated pine was safe for say, the base of the cage? I might’ve read some wrong information. Thanks for making this list

[LongEaredLions]

I have done a ton of research, and from everything I have found, I am able to draw a pretty firm condition that solid untreated pine wood is safe for building bunny cages with and for chewing. My understanding is…..

Despite popular belief, the oils in pine and cedar woods are not what make them dangerous for rabbits. Instead, these type of woods contain Phenols, (carbolic acid) which are solid aromatic organic compounds. Phenols are dangerous to bunnies and can lead to URI’s, liver damage, and other health problems. However, because Phenols are solids, they are contained in solid wood and are not released until the wood is processed in certain ways. Hence why pine and cedar shavings are not safe to use. Solid wood, however, is safe to use as it doesn’t release the Phenols.

MommaBearAmanda-I was just curious…. What forums suggested unsafe woods, how long ago were they posted, and what was the wood in question? Because I don’t believe I have seen any threads recommending unsafe woods and would like to know if I missed something?

[Author]

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