Treats?

[Happy Bunno]

Hello!
So I have a question about bunny treats... when I just got my bunny I started using yogurt drops for treats. I know that I shouldn't do that but I really don't know what to use. I've tried carrots and apples and all different kinds of veggies and fruits. NOTHING HAS WORKED!
I thought about making my own treats because there's probably nothing in the pet store that would be considered "good". Are there any recipes that you would recommend?

 

[Blue eyes]

If the rabbits are not yet on a diet that includes generous daily greens, then they should not be getting any treats -- especially not sugary stuff. You can use their daily pellets as "treats." By hand-feeding the pellets, they 'become' treats.

What age(s) are the rabbit(s) that you are trying to offer treats? Regardless of age, stop the yougurt drops. No good for them!

Once (or if) they are on a daily diet that includes their variety of greens, then any of those favored greens can be used as treats as well. I would not offer sugary fruits, carrots, or raisins, craisins until bunny is already used to having daily greens. Anything offered by hand 'becomes' a treat just by offering it by hand.

 

[Happy Bunno]

If the rabbits are not yet on a diet that includes generous daily greens, then they should not be getting any treats -- especially not sugary stuff. You can use their daily pellets as "treats." By hand-feeding the pellets, they 'become' treats.

What age(s) are the rabbit(s) that you are trying to offer treats? Regardless of age, stop the yougurt drops. No good for them!

Once (or if) they are on a daily diet that includes their variety of greens, then any of those favored greens can be used as treats as well. I would not offer sugary fruits, carrots, or raisins, craisins until bunny is already used to having daily greens. Anything offered by hand 'becomes' a treat just by offering it by hand.

The only reason I want treats is because I'm currently teaching my rabbit tricks. I have taught him tricks before and he needs a little reward after he completes a trick. I understand that it might not be that important but I'm sure there needs to be a healthy alternative for the yogurt drops...

 

[samoth]

Are there any recipes that you would recommend?

The latest issue of the House Rabbit Journal had a recipe for oven-baked treats, but I haven't tried it yet. (I don't have a scanner... maybe someone else can upload the article?)

Much like humans, rabbits love the treats which are the least healthy for them. I do give the junk treats from the grocery store on occasion (the alfalfa-based rings with 50 different ingredients), but they need to be treated like giving a kid a full-size candy bar. I broke the treat rings into 5-6 pieces when I was working on training exercises.

Small Pet Select has a lot of healthier treats available, including plain dried fruit.

Like Blue Eyes said, you can also use pellets as treats. This never worked with my rabbits until I stopped feeding them pellets daily... now they're much more enticing!

 

[Happy Bunno]

The latest issue of the House Rabbit Journal had a recipe for oven-baked treats, but I haven't tried it yet. (I don't have a scanner... maybe someone else can upload the article?)

Much like humans, rabbits love the treats which are the least healthy for them. I do give the junk treats from the grocery store on occasion (the alfalfa-based rings with 50 different ingredients), but they need to be treated like giving a kid a full-size candy bar. I broke the treat rings into 5-6 pieces when I was working on training exercises.

Small Pet Select has a lot of healthier treats available, including plain dried fruit.

Like Blue Eyes said, you can also use pellets as treats. This never worked with my rabbits until I stopped feeding them pellets daily... now they're much more enticing!

Thank you, the current treats that I'm using look like this:
I know that they're probably not healthy...

 

[Happy Bunno]

If the rabbits are not yet on a diet that includes generous daily greens, then they should not be getting any treats -- especially not sugary stuff. You can use their daily pellets as "treats." By hand-feeding the pellets, they 'become' treats.

What age(s) are the rabbit(s) that you are trying to offer treats? Regardless of age, stop the yougurt drops. No good for them!

Once (or if) they are on a daily diet that includes their variety of greens, then any of those favored greens can be used as treats as well. I would not offer sugary fruits, carrots, or raisins, craisins until bunny is already used to having daily greens. Anything offered by hand 'becomes' a treat just by offering it by hand.

My rabbit is 2 years old.

 

[Björnmor]

It think the best u can do is to go as natural as possible, and its so easy

Plain risins are a big favorite
Or pices of any sweet fruit really.
But with everything sweet, don't give them too much as it off course can be very unhealthy.
Get crazy energy from it too

If u want to you can dry pieces of carrot or apple in the oven and save in a jar.

Once I used the pelletspowder from the bottom of the pelletsbag, mixed with a bit of hay. And then with some water and mashed banana and other fruits. Shape it on baking paper and dry on low heat for a long time in the oven. Tried a few different types rabbit power bars.
Some was very popular and some was uneatable.

 

[Blue eyes]

Dairy is indigestible to adult rabbits. That is why the yogurt drops should not be fed at all.

The following is from MediRabbit:

Yogurt or dairy products should never be fed to rabbits, for the following reasons:

- Lactobacillus/Acidobacillus are not a natural host of the adult rabbit intestinal and, if surviving the passage through the acid stomach, it will not survive the anaerobic conditions of the cecum. The lack of adhesive capability may further prevent Lactobacilli from colonizing in the intestinal tract.

- Adult rabbits naturally do not have the right bacteria to digest milk derivates in the cecum and intestine.

- In the absence of those Lactobacteria, milk derivates accelerate the onset of stasis in adult rabbits.

Studies have furthermore shown that rabbits that were given cow’s milk on a daily basis during several months evidenced the development of rheumatoid like lesions. These rabbits showed increased numbers of nucleated cells and raised percentages of T lymphocytes in their synovial fluids, compared to control rabbits, and their elevation corresponded with the severity of the histological lesions. No glomerulonephritis was observed.

Yogurt diluted in water can nevertheless help rabbit suffering from intestinal bacterial disturbances et diarrhea, by protecting the endemic bacterial flora and allowing it to grow.

Yogurt drops as treats ? Those should never be given to rabbits. They contain too much sugars, and can lead to tooth decay (observed in rabbits too).

 

[Happy Bunno]

Dairy is indigestible to adult rabbits. That is why the yogurt drops should not be fed at all.

The following is from MediRabbit:

Yogurt or dairy products should never be fed to rabbits, for the following reasons:

- Lactobacillus/Acidobacillus are not a natural host of the adult rabbit intestinal and, if surviving the passage through the acid stomach, it will not survive the anaerobic conditions of the cecum. The lack of adhesive capability may further prevent Lactobacilli from colonizing in the intestinal tract.

- Adult rabbits naturally do not have the right bacteria to digest milk derivates in the cecum and intestine.

- In the absence of those Lactobacteria, milk derivates accelerate the onset of stasis in adult rabbits.

Studies have furthermore shown that rabbits that were given cow’s milk on a daily basis during several months evidenced the development of rheumatoid like lesions. These rabbits showed increased numbers of nucleated cells and raised percentages of T lymphocytes in their synovial fluids, compared to control rabbits, and their elevation corresponded with the severity of the histological lesions. No glomerulonephritis was observed.

Yogurt diluted in water can nevertheless help rabbit suffering from intestinal bacterial disturbances et diarrhea, by protecting the endemic bacterial flora and allowing it to grow.

Yogurt drops as treats ? Those should never be given to rabbits. They contain too much sugars, and can lead to tooth decay (observed in rabbits too).

Thank you! I will find a good alternative.

 

[Happy Bunno]

It think the best u can do is to go as natural as possible, and its so easy

Plain risins are a big favorite
Or pices of any sweet fruit really.
But with everything sweet, don't give them too much as it off course can be very unhealthy.
Get crazy energy from it too

If u want to you can dry pieces of carrot or apple in the oven and save in a jar.

Once I used the pelletspowder from the bottom of the pelletsbag, mixed with a bit of hay. And then with some water and mashed banana and other fruits. Shape it on baking paper and dry on low heat for a long time in the oven. Tried a few different types rabbit power bars.
Some was very popular and some was uneatable.

Thank you! I've also thought about dried rose heads (from Lennon the bunny) and of course as you mentioned dried apple slices.

 

[Blue eyes]

Just bear in mind that any dehydrated fruits (raisins, craisins, dried apple, dried banana) are much more concentrated. So rather than 1-2 tablespoons max of fresh fruit per day, that quantity for dehydrated fruit should be less than half of that.

That won't allow for much training since 5 or 6 raisins (for ex.) is the max quota for the day.

 

[Happy Bunno]

I've actually made some arrangements in my bunnies diet. I'm giving pellets daily but in a very small amount. I haven't tried raisins but I could predict that they were very sweet. Not that related to this topic but how much pellets should I give to my two year old bun?

 

[Blue eyes]

Not just raisins, but any dehydrated fruit is super concentrated with natural sugars. So that amount would apply to any dried fruit. One dried apple slice is as much sugar as one fresh apple slice even though the dried slice is way smaller.

An average adult rabbit (5-7lbs) that is on a diet that includes daily greens should only need 1/4 cup of plain pellets. Greens, though, need to be introduced the right way to avoid tummy upset. Click here to read more on how to introduce greens.

 

[Happy Bunno]

Not just raisins, but any dehydrated fruit is super concentrated with natural sugars. So that amount would apply to any dried fruit. One dried apple slice is as much sugar as one fresh apple slice even though the dried slice is way smaller.

An average adult rabbit (5-7lbs) that is on a diet that includes daily greens should only need 1/4 cup of plain pellets. Greens, though, need to be introduced the right way to avoid tummy upset. Click here to read more on how to introduce greens.

Thank you! So I have given him the right amount of pellets. I actually feed him fresh greens every day.

 

[SableSteel]

Black oil sunflower seeds are what I use for treats
They have a thin oily shell that the rabbit can easily digest (unlike normal sunflower seeds - don't feed your rabbit normal sunflower seeds) and the oils help keep a nice coat. You can buy them in bulk almost anywhere for wild bird feeding.

 

[Imbrium]

You can also hold back some of your rabbit's daily ration of pellets and hand-feed them as treats - I've done this countless times when I needed some sort of food reward for training or just as a way of bonding more with my rabbits. Trust me, they think they're getting 'extra' and they get as excited about the pellets as they would about fruit or something. Pellets = bunny crack.

 

[Happy Bunno]

You can also hold back some of your rabbit's daily ration of pellets and hand-feed them as treats - I've done this countless times when I needed some sort of food reward for training or just as a way of bonding more with my rabbits. Trust me, they think they're getting 'extra' and they get as excited about the pellets as they would about fruit or something. Pellets = bunny crack.

Thank you! I actually did think of that.

 

[somebunnylovesme]

You can give your bunny fresh or dried flowers and herbs as treat. Here is a list from a website. Some people give rose petal to their rabbits and they love them. My bunny isn't to crazy about them.

https://www.saveafluff.co.uk/rabbit-info/safe-foods-for-rabbits

On pin interest there pins of making rabbit treats you can check out. https://www.pinterest.ca/search/pin...ntsearch|0&term_meta[]=cookies|recentsearch|0

You can search on youtube for recipes.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pet+rabbit+cookies.

Holding back on pellets and feeding them as treat works like a charm. My bunny loves his pellets and the attention he is getting.