Toys and enrichment

 I know what buns like...

I know what buns want!

Sorry.  I am a huge Waitresses fan.

Anyway, toys are a great way to give your buns enrichment but they can be expensive.  With five buns in the rabbitry at the moment the expense of toys is not crazy but it can add up fast with kits and adding new rabbits to our line.  

I don't want to spend a ton to enrich my animals but I do care for them and want to make their lives worthwhile.  I have found that the urge to buy the cute toys is there even if you are making your own.  Mostly I try to limit the spending to toys and enrichment I can not make or acquire myself.  These include:

Apple branches or any branch/wood that is rabbit safe.  It should be cleaned and dried to prevent bugs and 'cooties' from coming home with you.  While I live near a few very large apple and fruit orchards they have yet to sell or allow for the harvesting of wood for pet treats/toys.  I get my apple, pear and blueberry sticks from Farmer Dave Pet Supply on Etsy or their website.  I am a repeat customer and love how fast they ship and the quality of the sticks.

Pinecones that have been cleaned and dried.  My buns LOVE pinecones.  I do not have any evergreens near me to safely gather pinecones since we live in the high desert foothills.  I could drive up the hill towards the lake and pick them up at one of the campgrounds.  Seeing that would be on the side of the road I'd rather not deal with road salt and motor oil on my rabbit treats.  I have bought my pinecones from Petsmart in the past as well from My Familys Nutz on Etsy. (See a theme here...)

I don't buy all the treats and chews for my buns.  I make a few.  I save compostable toilet paper tubes and when I have enough I stuff them with hay or dried herbs folding the ends to make an enclosed container.  They chew on the cardboard to get to the herbs and make a huge mess in the process but I love seeing them enjoy themselves.

I do make hay braids once in a while out of oat hay or alfalfa.  Since I don't buy those hays in large 3 string bales I can cherry pick pieces to braid or twist into toys.  Sometimes I weave them to make wreaths.  The shapes are more for me than the rabbits.  😁

My little mini buck, Rusty, use to LOVE playing in boxes.  He thought they were better than fresh strawberries!  I would give them to him on their side so he could hop in and he always stood it back up to sit in it.  Ripping them apart was one of his all time favorite late night activities.

Rusty was my snuggle bunny and Netflix partner.  He loved sitting on the couch with me late at night watching movies or streaming shows.  He didn't get along with our cat so he had to got in his hutch at night for his own safety.  Minis are fun but when you have predators in the house the temptation to give in to their prey drive is high.  I will say he was the first buck I got litter box trained.

In short toys for your buns can be as colorful or as basic as you want as long as they are made of rabbit safe materials.  

Keep your feet dry.  Wear your rain boots!