Bunny Treats

[Ros]

Hi there!  Are the Oxbow treats (Heart-shaped) healthy for bunnies.  My one bunny is a male Lion Head and it seems that there’s too much richness in his diet.  Both of them have unlimited hay all the time.  They have their allowed amounts of pellets per day too.
is there something I can do to have my LionHead eat more hay??  He’s had some fair amount of Cecotropes lately and some insight on help and advise would be very welcomed please!

Thank you!

[Adrian Grant]

Hello, I’ve bought the same treats for my Lionhead bunnies in the past. They where definitely into them and I like that they are organic. I think the ingredients are better than the treats you would typically find in most pet supply stores. The only concerning ingredients in there would be the cane molasses and the canola/sunflower oil as they add unnecessary sugar and fats. Anyway, I would say as long as your bunny doesn’t have any digestive issues, one or two a day would be fine. The better long term options would probably be Selective Naturals Garden Sticks or Meadow Loops. My bunnies like the meadow loops in particular. While they’re not organic, they don’t contain any concerning ingredients that I remember. As far as hay consumption, make sure he’s getting the right hay for his age. I’m not sure what age he is but Alfalfa hay would be ideal up until 6 months of age, and a gradual transition to timothy and orchard hay as he begins to mature. If he’s still growing, I wouldn’t worry too much about cecotropes. Growing bunnies tend to produce allot of them since they’re digestive system is still developing. If it’s excessive consider how much fruits and veggies he’s consuming. He should get about 2 cups of leafy greens per day, and no more than 3 if he’s an adult. As long he’s not given veggies, snacks, or pellets in excess and the right type of hay, he should be fine. If your still concerned, adding hay to his litter box, (they like to eat while they go), and placing a few different hay feeders around his living space will definitely encourage him. Another thing worth trying would be to mix in some meadow or orchard hay into his regular timothy hay. I’ve also had success sprinkling a little bit of herbs such as oregano or thyme into their hay. Most bunnies find the fragrance very appealing. Hope this answers your questions! 🐇❤️🐇

[Bam]

<p>Well, treats are treats, so they shouldnt make up any significant part of a buns diet. Oxbow’s bunny treats are good quality treats though. Pet stores often sell plenty of other horrible bun treats like yoghurt drops and seed bars with honey or other sugar, those are best completely avoided.</p><p>As Adrian says, putting hay in the litterbox and adding  several “hay stations” around the bunny area can help up hay consumption. Rabbits seem to like “found” hay better than served hay. Just putting small piles of hay here and there on the floor can help. One of my buns eats a lot of hay if he can sneak into the hay source, aka the big hay bag. Its important though to make sure that the bun doesnt sit right in the hay bag, because you dont want poop and pee in the hay.</p><p>Adrian also mentions that excess cecotropes is v common in young growing buns, and that’s not considered a problem unless the cecotropes are unformed and stick to the buns butt.</p><p>If your buns are adults you can safely cut back on pellets a bit to make the buns more interested in hay. And it is good to mix hays (there are many types of grass hay that are excellent for buns, not just timothy) and/or use hay toppers. I dry herbs and various leaves in the summer and use as treats and hay toppers during winter.</p></p>

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