Have Fun with Food! There are lots of nutritious treat foods available for pet rabbits for no or very little cost
If you are on a budget, it can be the little things that matter most. If you own a pet rabbit, using items and methods that encourage natural bunny behaviour can keep your pet’s mind active whilst keeping the budget low. This series of articles looking at behavioural enrichment in pet rabbits gives lots of helpful suggestions on how to do this. The article below focuses on budget friendly food for your rabbit. ‘Wildfoods’
Dandelion flowers and leaves can be picked and washed to give to your rabbit – just make sure that they have not been treated with weedkiller
Unless you are an educated botanist, stick to the things you know, as some wildfoods can be dangerous.
Wildfoods which are safe and readily available include:
Plantain
Long hedgerow grasses
Hawthorn leaves
Chickweed
Dandelion leaves and flowers
Clover
Sticky weed (with sticky balls)
Bramble
There are many healthy and delicious wildfoods free for picking
Free foods If you have a local farm shop, greengrocers, market or are lucky enough to know someone who works in a supermarket or kitchen, see if they will give you their ‘waste products’. Often the items that turn up on the reduced shelving are in perfect condition – they just have to tick the food sales law boxes by reducing stock on the date instructed. Most local market traders will be happy for you to take their ‘waste’ cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli leaves and carrot tops etc away as it saves them from having to take it back with them. There is often absolutely nothing wrong with them, but traders find they can sell the vegetables easier if they look a little neater! Why not take a reusable shopping bag so the traders don’t even have to give you a carrier bag!
Grow your own For a couple of pounds on the internet marketplace, and particularly on sites aimed at tortoise owners, you can buy grass and hedgerow seeds of different varieties, and also chickweed and dandelion and of course windowsill herbs. These are a great idea to save money – rabbits love the different flavours that herbs offer and you can also dry these if you grow an excess. Why not have a root around to see what you can plant seeds in – maybe Chinese takeaway tubs that stock up in our cupboards, or old pots and pans. For house rabbits and those whose owners don’t have gardens, try normal grass seed as well as specialist varieties so that your pet doesn’t miss out on the good stuff – plain old simple grass! A well potted grass tray will re-grow time after time if cut at the base with enough left on, so provided your pet can be patient for re-growth, it is definitely recommended!
Offering food
Wild rabbits spend most of their waking time foraging. It’s a good idea to split up the daily food ration for your pet rabbit to increase the amount of times you offer food
So we can already see that a bowl at bedtime is not adequate ‘brain food’. Why not split up their daily ration around your own routine and increase the amount of times you offer food, for example; first thing in the morning, home-from-work time and your bed time. Rabbits are a ‘crepuscular’ animal, which means they are neither nocturnal or diurnal (daylight dwellers). They are most active at dawn and dusk, as in the wild they adapted to avoid predators during these times. You could say they like to burn the candle at both ends, partying late and rising early!
Foraging including digging is one of the main behavioural traits your bunny is born with, and we can have a lot of fun with this:
Layered forage trays – use baskets, litter trays, plastic cat beds, cardboard boxes, washing baskets etc from discount stores, charity shops or car boot sales; as forage trays. Place a layer of pellets or veggies in the box and cover with a layer of hay then a layer of shredded paper, then another layer of hay so that bunny has to work to find the reward. It’s fun to watch them digging and snuffling around!
Try the same with egg boxes, paper carrier bags (particular fast food chain or discount clothes shop ones are very good), tissue boxes, beer boxes, cereal cartons and shoe boxes.
Digging trays – local rescue centres often have the plastic dog and cat beds for sale in their fundraising shops, and many owners know someone with a child who has outgrown their sturdy paddling pool or sand pit, or someone with a greenhouse full of large redundant seedling or potting trays. Any of these can be filled with compost and during dry times can be placed in runs or gardens for digging in, either on its own or with treats thrown in. You will also find that in the summer, many bunnies like to flop over and lie in the compost as it keeps them cool.
Brown parcel paper – why not wrap up a handful of readigrass or dried leaves, or veg, or a mixture – into a parcel of brown paper for bunny to unwrap.
Hay dispensers: Hanging baskets, magazine racks, wooden or wicker wine racks, waste paper bins and similar, make great hay dispensers and keep the hay off the ground so it doesn’t get soiled before being eaten. Again, get to the car boot sales!
In the
final part in this series, we look at top tips on how you can enrich your rabbit’s enclosure with budget-friendly toys.
About Laura Akers
Laura has been nursing for 15 years. She has worked in zoos, referral practices, new start ventures, leading charity hospitals and as a head nurse. Her primary interest within the veterinary world is the nursing care of rabbits and education of rabbit owners. Laura has recently completed a Rabbit Nursing course at the Royal Veterinary College, and is currently studying the BVNA Certificate in Rabbit Nursing. Laura currently works as a night nurse in a busy referral hospital in the West Country and runs Bunnylicious Rabbit Boarding and Bonding from home in the Midlands.
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