Don’t forget to share a little pumpkin with your rabbits this fall!

Natures Benefits Petal and Pumpkin treat is the perfect holiday fun for your rabbits.

Who knew that Rabbits could enjoy pumpkin this time of the year as much as we enjoy our pumpkin pie.

All natural blend of hay, pumpkin seeds, green tea leaves, rose petals, and lavender buds. All natural ingredients contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.  And your rabbits will love the tasty crunch and aromatic ingredients.

For rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, mice, rats and chinchillas.

Loose hay is more natural and therefore healthier for rabbits compared to compressed cubes of hay.  The only problem with loose hay is that it can cause a mess in your rabbit’s cage.  You can easily give your rabbit hay without the mess if you have hay racks.  Since hay is such an important aspect of your rabbit’s diet, it is VERY important that you have these hay racks.  Hay racks keep loose hay contained.  Another benefit to hay racks is that they keep hay clean because it prevents hay from being contaminated by waste that may be on your rabbit’s cage floor.

If you are looking for a classic metal hay rack, check out the Hay Manger with Salt Hanger for Small Animals.  It is designed to hook onto the side of your rabbit’s cage, which ensures the hay will always stay clean.  Also, the Hay Manger with Salt Hanger for Small Animals will keep the hay together and prevent it from making your rabbit’s cage messy.  If your rabbit likes salt, this hay rack has a hook for salt.

A cute hay dispenser that my rabbit loves is the Rollin the Hay Dispenser for Small Animals, pictured above.  The ball is 5.5 inches in diameter.  It spins as your rabbit eats the hay, making hay eating a fun treat!  You can use this hay rack for more than just rabbits.  If you have chinchillas or guinea pigs, the Rollin the Hay Dispenser for Small Animals would be perfect for them.

Training your rabbit to recognize his name has many benefits.  Not only could this help you find your rabbit when he or she is hiding, but it can also strengthen the bond between you and your rabbit.

The key to training a rabbit is simple: reward your rabbit with a treat they love, and they will do what you ask!  So you will first need need to find a treat they love.  Rabbits may differ on their personal preference for their favorite treats.  A system of trial and error should work well in finding out which treats your rabbit loves the most!

Among the variety of rabbit treats, certain treats reign supreme.  A hot-seller are the Honey Sticks For Rabbits.  Not only is it sweet tasting, but it contains healthy vitamins and minerals!  The treats that I use for training are the Yogurt Drops For Small Animals, shown above.   These treats are the perfect size to use for training treats!  They also contain beneficial Vitamin C.

Here are the steps to take to train your rabbit to come when called:

1.  Kneel on the floor close to your bunny

2.  Show your rabbit the treat

3.  Say your rabbit’s name clearly, followed by the word “Come.” Your bunny will come to you naturally to get the treat, and you should give it to him.  After practicing this for a while, your rabbit will form an association between hearing his name and recieving the treat.

4. After a few days (or weeks, if your rabbit has a harder time catching on) of your bunny coming to you at a close distance, you can create a greater gap and continue Step 3.

As your bunny gets used to greater and greater distances, you should ultimately be able to get your bunny to come to you from another room!

A great source of crude long fiber is grass hay. This the most important food to give your rabbit.  Adults and baby rabbits can eat unlimited qualities of it.  Grass hay is especially important for the intestinal tract as it will help hair and other food travel through the digestive tract.  Examples of grass hay are timothy, oat, wheat, coastal, and brome.

You should try to feed your rabbit manly “first cut” hay.  “First cut” hay is particularly high in fiber, and gets its name because it is harvested early in the growing season.  Your rabbit may refuse to eat the thick “first cut” hay, in which case you can feed them “second cut” hay.  “Second cut” is often sweeter and more tender, which can be  more appealing to rabbits.  Keep in mind that alfalfa and clover hays should be fed in limited quantities, as these have too much protein and calcium, which can cause urinary tract problems.   A good quality first cut hay is Rabbit Timothy Hay, shown above.  It has high levels of fiber, and low levels of calcium, perfect for your rabbit.

Pellets can be a tasty treat for rabbits, but you should be sure limit their consumption, especially in adult rabbits.  If you offer your rabbit unlimited pellets they can ignore their hay.  This will be extremely detrimental to their health because they will not be consuming enough fiber.   While pellets do not contain the crude long fiber of grass hay, they do contain vitamins and minerals that are not found in hay.  Baby rabbits can eat unlimited pellets because the protein and calcium is great for their growing bones and muscles.  Sunthing Special Rabbit Pellets are a particularly good pellet brand because it is alfalfa based for added fiber.

In addition to hay and pellets, you should feed your rabbit plenty of green vegetables.  Besides broccoli, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes, rabbits love fresh herb vegetables like dill, basil, and parsley.  Give adult rabbits at least three different types of cleaned vegetables a day.  Baby rabbits should be gradually fed small amounts of vegetables to make sure it does not upset their stomach.  Give rabbits fruit in very small  amounts, if at all, as the sugars can be hard on their digestive tracts.

Experts think that rabbits will drink more water if it is given to them out of a bowl rather than a sipper bottle.  Try the Hang-N-Lock Corner Crock for small pets, as this will allow your rabbit to drink an adequate amount of water.  If you think your rabbit prefers a sipper bottle, do not hesitate to let them use one!  What is most important is that your rabbit consumes plenty of water.

A standard measuring cup holds 8 oz.  In liquid measure: 4 oz equals 1/2 cup.  In dry measure: 4 oz (e.g. pellets) equals 1 cup.  So which cup is it?

Most pet owners try to be careful about how much they feed their pet – but due to this confusion – they could be overfeeding.  Did you know that there is about 12 oz in a standard coffee cup? 

Many of us will just scoop a coffee cup full of food and place it in our rabbits bowl. This is more than a cup!

Many of us will follow the feeding suggestion on the pet food bag or what has been recommended by their veterinarian – which is admirable – just make sure you know how much a cup really holds.

Take the time now to check how much your pet food “cup” really holds.

40% of the rabbit’s digestive tract consists of the cecum, a large vat where all fibrous food is processed into useable energy. The rabbit’s digestive system is evolved to eat only grass and vegetable matter- the farther you stray from this diet, the more trouble the bunny gets into. Plenty of good quality hay for roughage should be the major portion of your rabbit’s diet, and many rabbits can live well with just hay to eat.

These are great hay-based snacks for Rabbits:

Falfa Cravin Herb N Hay Tunnel - Fun hideaway and great tasty natural snack.

Timothy Hay Side Salads for Rabbits

Herbs-n-Hay Rolls for Rabbits Stuffed with parsley and sweet potato.

Ideally, you should weigh your rabbit every month or so, and note any weight changes. Steady weight gain points to a needed diet change, while unexpected weight loss can be an indicator of illness.

The key to diet change and weight loss is to do it GRADUALLY. Any fast weight loss will risk doing major damage to the liver as it becomes clogged with fat. Slowly wean your rabbit off the bad stuff, reduce starchy vegetables like carrots but always make sure your bunny has plenty of hay. Provide your bunny with lots of exercise time and toys.

How do you know if your bunny is fat? Rabbits store fat inside their abdomen, which makes just eyeballing them for love handles ineffective. Run your hands along your rabbit’s side, feeling the rib cage. When you reach the end of the ribs, your should be able to feel a slight inward slope, the waist. Fat bunnies will balloon out instead.

• Supreme is fortified to ensure a well balance blend,
• Supreme utilizes natural seeds, grains and pellets to provide your rabbit with a simple yet healthy diet.

Rabbits have special nutritional needs. Kaytee Supreme Rabbit Foods offer quality, nutritious ingredients in a mix that small animals love. Best of all, the clean, wholesome ingredients offer proteins, fiber, and other nutrients to help rabbits stay strong and healthy.

If you look at the ingredients of supreme, you will see that Sun-cured Alfalfa Meal is first on the list.  Suncured alfalfa pellets are produced from alfalfa hay, which has been ground and pelleted.

Ingredients:

Sun-cured Alfalfa Meal, Wheat Middlings, Ground Grain Products, Plant Protein Products, Cane Molasses, Salt, Lignin Sulfonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, DL-Methionine, Vitamin A Supplement, Choline Chloride, Mixed Tocopherols (a preservative), Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Niacin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Rosemary Extract, Citric Acid, Cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Iodate, Biotin, Folic Acid, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite. Allergen information: Manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts and other tree nuts. 

Kaytee makes a great line of fortified rabbit food that is formulated with vitamins and minerals and is in an easy-to-chew pellet form.  To start your rabbit off right, give your rabbit the Forti-diet Prohealth Juvenile Rabbit food by Kaytee.  This fortified rabbit food contains a variety of nutrients that help support brain, heart and eye development.  It should be given to rabbits that are under 12 months of age or rabbits that are breeding.  The pellets are smaller to be easy for your young rabbit to eat.

When your rabbit is older than 12 months of age, the Forti-Diet Prohealth Adult Rabbit Food  is a great source of nutrients that adult rabbits need on a daily basis.  It also helps to maintain brain, heart and eye function and is a great source of antioxidants.  It is also made with probiotics to help maintain proper digestion and the pellet shape is easy for your rabbit to consume.

To add some crunch into your rabbit’s diet, give your rabbit Rabbit Forti-diet Crunch by Kaytee.  This fortified rabbit food has a great crunchy texture that rabbits love to nibble on.  This fortified rabbit food is also ideal for helping to keep teeth healthier.

To keep your rabbit feeling and looking healthy, here are some hay products that will help to keep your rabbit’s digestion running smoothly:

• For rabbits that are over 6 months old, first-cut Timothy hay is the best kind of hay for your rabbit.  Timothy hay is high in fiber and ideal for keeping your rabbit healthy.  First-cut hay is courser than second-cut hay, but if your rabbit is picky, he may not eat first-cut hay.  Regardless of the type of Timothy hay, it is very important that your rabbit eat hay everyday. 
• Give your rabbit loose hay if possible for your rabbit to munch on.  If you give your rabbit loose hay, it is a good idea put loose in a hay rack for your rabbit to nibble on as he pleases.
• You can also offer your rabbit Timothy hay cubes, but they don’t offer as much fiber for your rabbit’s daily diet.  If your rabbit prefers hay cubes, give your rabbit a pellet food that is high in fiber to help supplement his diet.