Bunny treats for baby bunnies?

[Chickadee289]

So, I was told not to give my bunny anything other than his regular pellet food until he is 6 months old... but I'de like to train him some (name, ect.) and he's not exactly motiviated by his regular food. He likes hay, but I'm allergic to it. My boyfriend gives him hay when he needs it, but I can't even touch it. Is there anything I can give him to motivate him for training? Or am I just gonna have to wait till he is older.



P.S. I havn't been on in a long time, I was going to get a bunny earlier this year but that was postponed for $$ reasons. I finally got one, a lionhead! He binkies more than any bun Iv'e ever seen. I'll post pics sometime soon.

 

[Sox]

Hi Chikadee, welcome back to the forum. I am not the best person to advise you but since no one has responded to your thread yet, I thought I would start.

Sox was 7 weeks when I got her and despite me reading all the various different documents on the web and books etc, I started feeding her vegies and she loves it. My vet is also a rabbit breeder and all the rabbits there eat veggies no matter what age (actually I was totally shocked by the amount of carrots they're fed). I started it very slowly, small similar amount for the first day or so, check the bowels for sudden changes, if there isn't then I increase the amount. Sox loves Chinese vegies (Pak Choy & Kai Lan) but never likes the stems, carrots, baby carrots and the green leaves. She can't seem to decide if she likes bananas and apples as sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn't.

Hope this helps in some ways.

As for an allergy to hay, I have heard of mites etc possibly being in hay so I always wear disposable gloves when I touch them which is also handy when picking up the little poos around.

Cheers, Carol

 

[elrohwen]

Is your bunny getting unlimited pellets? They should be until 6 months, but I find this makes them very uninterested in pellets as a training tool. Once I reduced my bun's food around 6 months of age, he became *very* interested in his pellets and now I use those as my primary training treat. So it will just take time for him to get interested in pellets I think. Not much you can do at his young age in this regard.

I also agree with Sox that you might want to start veggies a bit earlier than 6 months. I was feeding them at 4 months (slowly, one at a time) with no issues. However, my particular bun is picky with veggies, so they do not make a good training reward for him. But they might work for your bun! I've heard of people training with small bits of parsley or mint as a reward.

I guess what I'm saying is that it might be really hard to train him until you start restricting his food a bit and he has more motivation. It only makes sense that a free fed bunny won't be too interested in food for training (plus young buns have an attention span of 3 seconds anyway ) Maybe see if he likes a particular toy or if praise will be a good enough reward for now.

 

[Chickadee289]

I've been giving him tiny bits of dried apricot... no changes in poo and he'll attack you for it lol.

 

[elrohwen]

Try some dried papaya too! It's supposed to be good for breaking up hair in their tummies and my bun loves it as a treat. I found some at a pet store that had no sugar added, but I'm sure they have it in grocery stores too.

 

[Chickadee289]

cool! Do you think dried fruits would be better poo-wise? I think I'll get him some raisens too... he didnt like the dried strawberries... i thought that was weird cause all the bunnies outside my house rob me of my strawberries!

 

[Hazel-Mom]

If you're not even feeding veggies yet, I would definitely not feed fruit. Greens are easyer on the stomach than high carb and sugar fruits.

According to the House Rabbit Society guidelines (http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html) vegetables can be started at 12 weeks old (3 months), but fruit should not be given untill at least 7 months old.

So I think giving small pieces of greens or herbs would be better than giving peaches, raisins or strawberries.

 

[Chickadee289]

ok, ill get some yummy herbs tomorrow from earthfare, any suggestions?

 

[Hazel-Mom]

I've heard the ones easyest on the stomach are parsley and dandelion. Mint too, I believe. If you can get it, also try basil. Never met a bunny yet that doesn't like that one

 

[Chickadee289]

Parsley and mint will be easiest I think. Plus his breath will smell lovely when he licks my nose! haha

 

[elrohwen]

I do agree with Hazel about not giving fruits before veggies. I didn't introduce the dried papaya until my bun was eating over a cup of veggies per day.

I have a picky bun who won't eat any herbs, but I've had success with lettuces like romaine, leaf, and chicory. If your bun doesn't like the herbs you pick up I would try one of those next.