What treats can rabbits have, and how often?

[River]

I was giving my mice their daily treat today,and it got me thinking. My mice can a treat daily; usually a pinch of oats and a cheerio or a Gerber graduate puff, so I wonder…

What can rabbits have, and how often?

Can they have cheerios, gerber graduate puffs? I know carrots make good treats, as well as hulled sunflower seeds and raw oats – which can be given daily to pickier rabbits, I believe.

What other treats can I give them? How often should I give these treats? 

[tobyluv]

Don’t feed rabbits any cereal. I don’t know what the Gerber puffs are, but they probably aren’t the best thing for a rabbit. Most diet articles also say no seeds or nuts. For treats, you can feed small pieces of carrot or fruit. Some good fruits are apples, pears, mango, pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, papaya. Only give a small amount each day. The sugar in fruits is what can cause gas and GI problems.

You can also use prepared treats, such as Oxbow Simple Rewards Treats, which come in a few different flavors. There are also Oxbow Simple Reward Baked Treats and Oxbow BeneTerra Organic Barley Biscuits.

[River]

Posted By tobyluv on 7/16/2016 5:18 PM

Don’t feed rabbits any cereal. I don’t know what the Gerber puffs are, but they probably aren’t the best thing for a rabbit. Most diet articles also say no seeds or nuts. For treats, you can feed small pieces of carrot or fruit. Some good fruits are apples, pears, mango, pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, papaya. Only give a small amount each day. The sugar in fruits is what can cause gas and GI problems.

You can also use prepared treats, such as Oxbow Simple Rewards Treats, which come in a few different flavors. There are also Oxbow Simple Reward Baked Treats and Oxbow BeneTerra Organic Barley Biscuits.

I see! I’ve read often that hulled sunflower seeds are safe, as it’s only the shell that can’t be digested, but since they’re very fatty, they should be limited, so I thought I’d double-check. I’m kind of inexperienced when it comes to this sort of thing, as you can tell. Gerber puffs are a sort of cereal meant for toddlers/babies.

Wouldn’t you want to avoid pineapples? I thought it was very acidic.

I won’t – and haven’t – give treats often. I’ll look into some prepackaged treats next time I’m at the pet store. I only give a baby carrot twice a week. I give roughly a tablespoon of oats more often though. Is this okay? Not daily – sometimes every other day, sometimes less. They love them!

Oh, and another thing about prepackaged treats; I occasionally see sugar free Yogurt drops around. I have always avoided yogurt drops since I know them to be made up of mostly sugar. How do you guys feel about the sugar free variations of these?  I think the brand was Vitakraft.

[RabbitEducation]

Could you possibly link where you read that hulled sunflower seeds are safe? No type of seeds should ever be fed to rabbits, they’re unable to digest it since their gastrointestinal tract can only handle a few different foods. Gerber puffs and yogurt drops shouldn’t be fed regardless of portion, rabbits cannot have dairy and these are factory foods meant for humans. 

Rabbits can have pineapple, but you do need a portion size for it. It should be included in a rabbit’s diet not so occasionally, maybe once every couple of weeks or once a month.

I have a treat I definitely would recommend are the Oxbow Natural Science Support pellets. There are a few different kinds you can purchase. Like the digestive support, (most recommended) immune support, joint support, etc. They are probably the healthiest treats on the market, the portion size is on the back of the supplement box. 

If you have any more questions, just let me know. 

[tobyluv]

Regarding sunflower seeds, even though most sources will tell you to not give any kinds of nuts or seeds, sometimes it has been recommended to give sunflower seeds as a way to get more fat and calories into a rabbit’s diet, if that is needed. If you look at Lucile Moore’s book on rabbit nutrition, she has a chart showing the calorie and fat content of various seeds and nuts. She has written several rabbit health books and is considered very knowledgeable. But as a rule, seeds and nuts should be avoided.

I agree that yogurt drops should not be given. Since Gerber Puffs are cereal, they should also not be given. The Oxbow Natural Science Support tablets would be good treats. I didn’t mention them before, since they are marketed as health aids instead of treats. Since their health benefits have not been proven to any great degree, many do consider them treats, but hopefully they do have health benefits as well. I give the digestive tablets to my bunnies. I gave the joint support tablets to some of my elderly past bunnies.

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