Rabbit

Rabbit can be offered once baby is ready for solids, around 6 months.

Rabbits are found across much of the globe. Domestic rabbits are thought to come from the Mediterranean region. Like chicken it is a white meat. Today's domestic rabbits come in countless types. Eating rabbit is still most common in the Mediterranean, but it is growing in the Americas and Asia.

Nutrition

Rabbit is a good protein source and gives iron for healthy blood. It has plenty of B6 and B12 for nervous system health. Farmed and wild rabbit differ in nutrition depending on what they ate. Rabbit is fairly lean, yet growing babies need plenty of fat. Cook it in olive or avocado oil and serve it with rich sauces.

Cook rabbit until it reaches at least 71 °C (160 °F) inside. To cook it through without drying it out, braise it in liquid or stew it. Then cut it to suit the age.

Avoid rabbit sausage and cured, dried, smoked or glazed rabbit until after the first birthday. Sodium and nitrate are high. An occasional small taste of a honey-free dish is fine. Honey is never given before 12 months.

Wild rabbit

Wild rabbit suits babies and toddlers when cooked until at least 71 °C inside. If you hunted it or got it from someone else, make sure hunting, processing, inspection and cooking were done with great care. Whenever the quality of the meat is in doubt even slightly, leave it off baby's plate.

Rabbit starvation

"Rabbit starvation" or "protein poisoning" is an illness in a person who eats only lean rabbit or hare and lacks fat and other nutrients. Cases are almost unheard of and none are known from modern times. A balanced diet that includes rabbit meat does not cause it.

Rabbit does not help constipation. It is rich in protein and has no fiber, which slows digestion.

Rabbit is very lean, so it can turn tough and chewy, based on the cooking method. That raises choking risk.

Cook the meat slowly or braise it in liquid. Make sure it is cooked through but not dried out, and then cut it for your child's age. Remove skin, bones and cartilage. Do not give chunks or cubes. Stay beside baby during meals.

Allergy to rabbit meat is not common. Alpha-gal allergy is linked to some tick bites, in the United States the main culprit is the Lone Star tick, and other tick species cause it elsewhere. Alpha-gal is a sugar found in the meat of all non-primate mammals. A delayed allergic reaction appears 3 to 8 hours after eating red meat such as rabbit. A few people also react to traces of that sugar in dairy, gelatin and mammal organs such as liver.

Give a small amount at the first servings. If there is no reaction, raise it slowly.