Do parsnips need to be peeled before eating?

I actually read the categories under which your question was listed. Before I did that, I would have noted that I had a rather dreadful previous spouse who wouldn't eat a parsnip to save his life (not that this was one of his more wretched qualities, it was just silly). Then I would have said: You can eat them raw, but they taste like wood. When you cook them, you bring out a very subtle flavor well worth knowing (and in complete contradiction to the parsnipian theory of my ex). But we are talking rabbits here. You are lucky that I am too tired to reach for the multiple ex/rabbit jokes I could be making. As for the wild or the domestic pet varieties: There seems to be great debate on this issue. One of the main factors, I found, involves the difference between the wild and domestic parsnip, believe it or not. Wild parsnip seems to have many toxic properties, the most known and perhaps the worst of which is that it causes phytophotodermatitis. You don't want this, neither does your rabbit. Store bought parsnip does not contain the same chemicals as does wild. Rabbits probably like it, much that they are notoriously fond of its relative in the root, the carrot. Some people prefer not to offer it, raw or cooked, due to its high sugar content. Other than avoiding wild parsnip and its brother in problems vegetable, wild celery, as for store bought parsnip, the choice remains yours.