Treats :^)

My holland lop bunny, Doggy, is now around 3 and a half months old. I want to train her to learn her name and other stuff so I wanted to get treats.
But I heard that you weren't allowed to give treats to bunnies that are 6 months and younger.. So what can I get for her? Any suggestions?
Also, can I starts giving her fruits/vegetables or no?
Thanks

What do you feed?

What do you consider "treats"?

Small amounts of anything (that is rabbit food) schould be no problem, and I've never heard about that 6 months. With 3 1/2 months she isn't very young anymore.

I feed greens, so pellets are a treat. They get some pieces for returning to their hutch, starting with 4 weeks. The sound of stirring the pellets in the plastic bowl sets them running for home after a few days.
Oatmeal is also fine. Or little, dried cubes of bread. Also pieces of apple, carrots, raisines, cherries, plums, dandelion etc. can be used as treats, depends on the preferences.

Just don't change their diet qickly, when introducing something new start very slowly, just morsels the first days, and increase the amount over 1-2 weeks so that the rabbit can grow the right bacteria to digest it.

You sure can buy expensive treats with lots of sugar, colours, artificial this and that in pet shops, but imho they are nothing better than bread or zwieback.

And don't overfeed the bun, they can get fat pretty quick, so be careful with treats rich in calories - they don't need that. Occasional a piece, but not handsfull distributed over the day, it sums up. Not just calories, but what they really need is lots of fiber in their food, grass, hay, etc. to keep their guts working and avoid serious problems.

You can feed her "treats" just ....

- keep the amounts SMALL - pea sized is best and leafy ones should be no bigger than a dime
- not too much, so no more than a teaspoon of treats a day while Doggy is getting use to digesting them
- not too many sweets (fruits) or too much starch (root veggies, cereals, grains)

My rabbits love quarters of dehydrated cranberries and bits of willow leaves

Ours love regular old-fashioned oatmeal (uncooked)!

I have to admit, though, the one thing I have actually been GROWLED AT because I wasn't quick enough getting it to the tiny Lionhead doing the growling was... (drum roll please) some sort of multi-grain flax cereal flakes. One of those super-health-food cereals. :lol:

You can also give a couple of raisins. Very high in sugar, so just a couple. A small box will last a long time. Also, black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS)... very high in fat, so again, just a few. You can find BOSS with the bird seed in the store.

Not treats, but a really good place to learn about rabbit communication: http://language.rabbitspeak.com/

If you have access to any plantains (Plantago major, and Plantago lanceolata being the most common) or leaves from strawberries, blackberry, raspberry, or roses, consider using those as treats too. Only unsprayed plants, since you wouldn't want to feed pesticides to Doggy.

Always feed in moderation to start, but, I feel those plants are more likely to cure diarrhea or digestive imbalances than cause them, and are some of the best "first greens" for a bunny.

Preitler":2nydtsfd said:

lots of fiber in their food, grass, hay, etc. to keep their guts working and avoid serious problems.

Click to expand...

Did you mean "grass hay"? Fresh grass can actually cause digestive problems in rabbits, and should be started slowly like other fresh greens.

It should also be fed right after it is cut, so it has no opportunity to begin to mold.