Treat for baby bun?

[Allie2620]

Hi,

So dear old Daphne, 8 weeks old, has been gnawing down on hay and pellets (and her cage, at the moment) and I know I have another month before introducing any vegetables.  Does this also mean any treats too?  I ask because sometimes it’s a total pain in the neck to get her into her cage at night, and I know a lot of you suggest on other threads to use treats, but seeing as she’s so young, I wasn’t sure if that was really the route to go quite yet.  At what point are treats okay, and what are some good ones to start off with?

Thanks!

 

[BinkyBunny]

Oxbow Timothy Hay cakes might be a good option if she likes those.

Being so young, her system is still developing the bacteria she needs to digest properly and so that is why some foods, especially anything really “treatish” like fruits or bunny cookies/treats should still be avoided at 8 weeks.. I know right now she is on unlimited pellets, but would she be lured in at all with pellets?

[RabbitPam]

That was my suggestion – to take pellets in your fingers and lure her. Call them treats, so she will associate the word treat with something yummy in your hand that she gets if she does what you want.

BB, wouldn’t the Oxbow Veggie Smacks treats be OK too? They are made of ground up timothy hay. You could get one bag of those.

[peppypoo]

Agreed on the pellets – my buns will eat almost anything out of my hands as if it’s a treat.

To elaborate on BB, I’ve read that the reason why it’s good to hold off on fruits/veggies until the buns are a little bit older is because they gradually develop the ability to digest fructose. Even as adults, the digestability of fructose is far greater than all other types of sugar. Undigested sugars pass through the system and just end up as fuel for the natural anaerobic bacterial population in the cecum, which can overpopulate ahd toxify the rabbit’s entire system.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By RabbitPam on 04/22/2011 04:54 AM
That was my suggestion – to take pellets in your fingers and lure her. Call them treats, so she will associate the word treat with something yummy in your hand that she gets if she does what you want.

BB, wouldn’t the Oxbow Veggie Smacks treats be OK too? They are made of ground up timothy hay. You could get one bag of those.

I would wait on those too because though yes, they are made of ground up Timothy, they have other ingredients (some of which may be for binding, but also for taste —  like: 

Pearled Barley (Rolled), Oat Groats, Linseed (Flax) Meal, Canola Meal, Wheat Gluten, Millet, Ground Flax Seed.    So thogh the Canola Meal may be the sugary stuff and the rest isn’t horrible or anything, I really don’t know about the whether I would recommend it for young bunnies.  I have, however, emailed the company (and they are great about getting back to me) about what their thoughts are about this product  for young bunnies.  They are not about just selling a product, so i know they will tell me No, if they believe it is nto good.  I’ll keep everyone updated 

[Allie2620]

I have, however, emailed the company (and they are great about getting back to me) about what their thoughts are about this product for young bunnies. They are not about just selling a product, so i know they will tell me No, if they believe it is nto good. I’ll keep everyone updated

thanks for doing this! I really appreciate everyone’s advice. So far, just sticking to pellets and hay for another month I did try the pellets in the hand technique with some modest success, too.

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