Treat questions.

[luna]

Hi,

I just have a couple of questions about some new treats for my bunnies. Iv heard they love raisins and was wondering if sultanas are the same. i gave afew to Poppy yesterday as i am trying to handle (pick her up) more. She is struggling more and more these days so i want to introduce a bit of positive re-inforcement to make it a more pleasurable experience. Anyway she nearly ate my hand off trying to get the sultanas … lol. Poor little Henry didnt get a look in as he is a real nibbler. he ate about a milimetre off his..he he and she jumped in and gobbled it down. anyway this kept happening so i had to give some to Henry while she was off  being bold later on and it took the poor little guy about 5mins to eat a whole sultana. how many of these is it okay to give them?

 

Also i was wondering are whole wheat cereals like weetabix or shredded wheat okay to give maybe once a week or fortnight. (just a tiny amount) as i let Henry sniff my cereal this morning and he stole some and ran off. he made a right mess all over the floor. Poppy didnt seem at all interested in these so they must have completely different tastes in food! xx

[Sarita]

Yes, sultanas are raisins.

I probably would avoid any kind of cereals.

[luna]

thanks Sarita…how many raisins would you recommend i give them and how often?

[Beka27]

Raisins should be limited as they are a treat food. Some folks give one or two a day, some give up to five a day. I guess it will depend on how her tummy can handle them. I’ve had to cut them out of my girl’s diet (and therefore my boy’s diet, he can’t have it if she can’t!) due to her tummy upset.

Something you can do is carefully cut each raisin into halves or thirds. That way you’re not feeding any MORE, but you are feeding more often smaller amounts. I’ve also done this with matchstick carrots (carrot slivers), I’ve cut them into 4 or 5 bite-size pieces. If she likes her pellets, you can handfeed them as a treat. I’ve also done individual parsley leaves. A “treat” is really anything you can feed by hand, it doesn’t have to be sugary or bad for them.

[luna]

thats great thanks … i gave about 4 to her the other day and i was abit worried i had overdone it. The reason i was asking about the wheat cereals is that Henry doesnt eat anything from my hand and that was the first thing he showed interest in so i got kind of excited about it! He sticks his nose up at everything whereas i can see Poppy is quite open to bribery which is great we were eating pistachio nuts the other week and a shell must have fell down the side of the couch because i caught Henry licking it the other day. he was trying to bite the skin remains off the inside. I quickly swiped it off him. He is a pup…. i can never predict what he is gonna do next. Last halloween he got to our sweet bowl and stole a lollipop and ran behind the couch with it. It was like a game of cat and mouse. I was chasing him around the living room trying to get it back and he was running around with the stick part in his mouth. I got it back and there were gnaw marks on the paper and lolly part. i just dont get him. he doesnt eat any veg except kale and carrot but he goes around looking for out left over junk food

[Balefulregards]

Coco loves mint and will snatch it out of my hand is I don’t get it into her feeding spot. And I re-introduced Dill today which went over a storm.

I don’t give too many raisins, as Coco would eat a bag full if left to her own devices- and then have poopybutt all over my bed. I’ve found that anything which is overly “sugary” seems to start the dreaded poopybutt cycle.

I do give One papaya tablet a day..but I second the small pieces thing. That way, she can keep coming back for more.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL

she nearly ate my hand off trying to get the sultanas

My buns love raisins, craisins, dried banana chips (they are all cheap to buy a big bag of and I keep them mixed up in a tin) and papaya tablets.
Other great treats are peices of fruit (suggested fruits http://www.rabbit.org/care/fruits.html) and herbs-like basil, oregano and mint! They can also have some flowers-like marigolds and roses.

Try only giving small amounts until you know how their tummies handle them. Fruits should be lmited to a few teaspoons a day so they don’t end up too chunky!

Treats to stay away from (no matter what the package says!) -> Yogurt drops, seed treats and bread products (Cereal, pasta, bread, granola)-they are high in calories, can cause impaction and can cause imblances in the natural GI flora-their are so many healthy alternatives the risk is unnecessary.
Plus fruit is cheaper then buying the junk food they market for rabbits!

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