What are good treats?

[Amy27]

Everyone here has replied to my posts helping me make my buns healthier and helping me learn what I should be suppling then and what is better for them. One thing I have not looked much into is treats. What I have read is not to buy treats from the pet store. Which I currently do. My rabbits don't like fruit so I don't know what I could give them as a treat that I would know what was in it. I looked on the back of the pet store treats and it doesn't say.

This is them being spoiled and it being easier for me but they don't like to be picked up. So when it is time for bed I get in the closet that holds their treats and they run to bed. That is how I get them to bed every night. This has been their routine for years and I would hate to change it as it will probably mean me chasing buns around. Is there something else I can give them beside store bought treats? Are store bought treats ok? I tried the yogurt treats and they did not like them. Also greens won't work because that is what they get for dinner at the same time. They just won't come to bed for greens.

Thanks for your help. You all have been so helpful in helping me make healthier choices for my buns. So far because of your help hay is being changed, water changed, litter changed, and type of greens I feed changed. This is the last thing I have to tackle.

Thanks Amy

 

[tonyshuman]

My guys get a piece of dried fruit, 1 baby carrot, a bit of apple, and/or Oxbow Papaya Tablets almost every day. For dried fruit they like dried papaya, craisins, raisins. Sometimes I give a slice or mango or papaya if I have it instead. Most pet store treats are too sugary to be given every day. Treats that are given rarely include oatmeal and cereal in my house. The high carb content of these treats, like most pet store treats, can lead to slowdown of the GI tract. Oxbow papaya tabs are the best. However, they are reformulating right now, so 1)they are hard to find and 2) the new formulation may be different once it comes out early next year. Almost everybunny loves carrots, so that would be a good place to start. My guys usually won't eat something new until I've walked away. They first sniff it, then turn it down, and eat it when i'm gone. The next time they see it, they're usually going nuts for it. weirdos.

 

[slavetoabunny]

My buns know that at bedtime they get either a papaya tab or a Vitakraft nibble ring. They usually run for the pen when I say "bedtime!", but occasionally I have to shake the box to motivate them.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Your greens are always good, but craisens are ok and also raisens!:biggrin2: You can put a few in with their salads!

 

[Flashy]

Mine get a tiny bit of fruit and they go NUTS for a fresh handful of hay (they get fresh hay in the morning, and then a handful in the evening). Hay cubes are good too, healthy, and yet the bunnies just seem to love them. Expensive though.

 

[Luv-bunniz]

CJ goes mad for some oats at bed time ! You can get the big 15kg bags of rolled oats for horses pretty cheap and just give them a teaspoon or two a day, or a couple of black sunflower seeds.

 

[Raspberry82]

I keep the treats/sugar low for my bunnies in their daily diet. I feed mine a couple sunflower seeds and a mixed salad and veggies as their daily treats. And maybe a hay chew cube.. mine go nuts over their hay also. About 2-3 times a week they will get 1 sweet treat such as: 1 slice of apple, 1 chunk of banana, 1 chunk of carrot, or a few small pieces of dried papaya or a few raisins.

I don't feed mine papaya tablets from the store because they all contain pure sugar which makes me nervous... the last time I fed Max a treat that contained a little pure sugar, he nearly chomped my hand off to get it and seemed to go "sugar crazy". So back to the healtier treats .

I forgot! Sometimes I'll splurge on special veggies as a treat such as fresh herbs: rosemary, basil, mint, oregano. They are nuts for these.

 

[kherrmann3]

I give Toby SunSeed's "Pet-Zel" sticks. He really loves them, and I don't have the heart to not give him 1-2 a day. They are about 2-inch long sticks, but I break them into 4 pieces. He only gets 1-2 bits per day about. He is only now starting to like veggies (almost 4 years old!)

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

You can mix different greens with a fruit or two (safe list of course)as well as a few oats, num, nums!

 

[kherrmann3]

Oh! I forgot canned pumpkin! Berry-Boo is ashamed of me now. How could I forget the canned pumpkin!?

 

[BethM]

Mine know it's bedtime because they will each get a raisin. I click my tongue, say "bedtime" a couple times, and they come running. I get them the organic Flame raisins, those are usually large and plump. Amelia isn't a fan of fresh fruit (except banana, which they only get at breakfast), so that wouldn't work for me. Nick and Tobi also get an Oxbow papaya tablet; Amelia also won't eat those.

Usually, Nick and Amelia scoot right into their pen after raisins, they have learned what it means. I also usually give them a big scoop of hay at the same time, so they get excited about that. (Amelia will sometimes run to hide after eating the raisin, if she's not ready for bed yet. Stinker!)