What Do Wild Rabbits in Illinois Eat?

Rabbits are native to North America and are often found in fields relatively close to human habitation. Obviously wild rabbits are well adapted to eating foods found in their native habitat. In colder climates like Illinois, a rabbit's natural food will be different in winter when there is heavy snow on the ground than when it is sunny and green sprouts are appearing.

  1. Vegetarians

    • Rabbits eat in grassy fields and live in heavy brush.

      Rabbits are herbivores as their entire diet consists of plants and they never eat meat. Wild rabbits, found throughout Illinois, are browsers, eating small amounts here and there. However, they have been found to prefer specific types of foods during certain seasons of the year. They generally live in areas that are well drained but with dense cover so they can build nests that are safe from predators. So their food must be plants that are growing nearby.

    Summer and Spring Foods

    • Rabbits in the wild often stop eating and perk up their ears when they sense danger.

      As spring arrives in Illinois and the snow melts, rabbit's diets shift to greener things. In the spring, wild rabbits often eat an annual grass called cheat. During the summer rabbits prefer other grasses and clover. One of their favorite types of grass during this time of year is crabgrass. They also like grass that is often grown as a feed crop by farmers called Lespedeza. Usually wild rabbits come out from under cover in the evening and can be seen browsing in grassy areas along roads and at the edges of fields where they can quickly retreat under cover should they sense danger.

    Fall and Winter Foods

    • During the fall and cold Illinois winters when succulent green grasses and clover aren't readily available rabbits eat wheat, corn, Milo grains and small fruits. When snow is covering their preferred foods they resort to eating green shoots of bushes. They can also burrow under the snow and eat plants that they find there. At this time of year they may also eat roots of plants that they discover while burrowing. In residential areas they even eat decorative plants like Hosta and rose bushes when they get desperate.

    Baby Rabbits

    • Rabbits are mammals and so like other mammals they drink milk from their mothers during the early stages of their life. They open their eyes at about a week old and are weaned from their mother's milk at the age of 4 to 5 weeks old. Prior to that time they need the nutrition and digestive enzymes provided by their mother's milk in order to develop healthy digestive systems.