Is it ok to feed carrots to wild cottontail rabbits?

Question

just to spread out on the grass for them to find, not to actually hand them to them

Answer 1

We have a hoard of wild cottontails around here, and hundreds of quail, several chipmunks, and even a few roadrunners. A couple of hawks and a few buzzards nest in the area. Add a few wild cats, and the occasional coyote, and that about covers the wildlife around here. We throw out all our "edible" leftovers and such near the house, where we can see them feed, but not so near that they would be leery of approaching. The birds of prey don't come in, of course, but the quail, the chipmunks, and the rabbits get a supplementary diet of stale crackers, broken chips, old cereal or bread, slightly over the hill fruit, left over salad greens (and popcorn) and the like. Because the quail, rabbits and chipmunks come around looking for food, the road runners and hawks come around quite a bit. Though the occasional quail gets caught, most often they end up eating our bugs and mice. So far, though we have been doing it since we moved in several years ago, none of the animals are any less skittish about humans, and none are dependant on what we leave out.
As long as you don't leave out so much that they come to you for all their food (which could be a problem if you need to stop feeding for any reason) I see no problem with that. Also, keep your distance and try to make sure they never get so used to you that they stop running away when you walk out. it's good for them to be afraid of humans, and that should not change.

Answer 2

It's best not to feed anything to a wild animal, since the rabbit might start to associate humans with food, and might bite a human that does not give them food. This is particularly important to keep in mind, when the animal in question is carnivorous, as their bites tend to be more vicious.

Answer 3

Yes, as long as they are not captive. A wild rabbit will supplement carrots with other foraged food. A wild rabbit held captive and fed only carrots will not be getting a balanced vegetarian diet and will eventually suffer from poor nutrition.

Answer 4

No, it is not okay to feed wild animals. It's illegal. The rabbits may become imprinted and used to you feeding them! Then they will forget how to feed themselves which then causes them to starve! Don't feed them.

Answer 5

No you're meddling with nature. Let it be. It may become dependent on you and become invasive and we really don't want 8 tons of bunnies hopping around... again... long story short, human interference is no good.

Answer 6

Best if you dont feed it anything, especially if you have a garden or flower around it will start eating everything else.

Answer 7

feed the bunnies ..its not going to effect the environment in anyway

Answer 8

I never heard one complain