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Funny Bunny Toy Company - Hoppy New Year 2020
Funny Bunny Toy Company - Hoppy New Year 2020
Hoppy New Year!!!
I hope your new year is going great so far.
Hopefully everyone is still keeping up with their New Year's resolutions on week 3 of the new year.
The most common New Year's resolutions for humans are exercising more, eating more healthily, saving more money, and losing weight.
Let's tackle your bunny's "exercise more" resolution first. Bunnies should have around 3 hours of exercise per day out of their enclosure. Besides just letting your bunny hop around and explore on their own, there are many games and activities you can set up for your bunny to enjoy or for you to play along with them.
Set up a pile of various sizes of boxes with cut holes for your bunny to have their own fort to hop and climb in. You can secure the boxes together with zip ties through small holes on the sides and bottoms or tops.
Set up a digging box for your bunny. Some bunnies love to dig and digging is great exercise. Use a Rubbermaid storage box with low sides, or an extra large litter box. Place several folded newspapers in the bottom of the box and then tear up some newspaper shreds to lie on top of the folded papers to give your bunny the idea of ripping the papers. You'll enjoy watching your bunny digging as much as she enjoys digging. Don't worry if she gets ink on her paws, it's bound to happen and the newsprint ink is soy so it's safe. If you prefer, you can get unprinted newspaper online. Don't use tissue paper. You can try brown Kraft paper or torn up brown bags and see which your bunny prefers.
You can also get a game of tag going with your bunny. If you run around, your bunny will chase you. My kitty and one bunny used to love playing tag together or with me. That same silly bunny would even climb the kitty tree following her kitty around. Then she'd bounce on the bed like it was a trampoline, which is also good exercise.
Try training your bunny to run a little agility course. Set up a cardboard tunnel, then something to jump over like a dowel sitting on some small boxes, then some paper towel rolls standing on end spaced a few feet apart to zig-zag between. Bunnies are very intelligent and quick learners, plus they love having fun and being silly. In no time your bunny will get the hang of their little agility course. You can also try clicker training. There are many YouTube videos on bunny agility and bunny clicker training.
Another fun game for your bunny is hunting for small brown lunch bags filled with a few pellets, or hay, or even some special herbal hay which you can hide around your home. If your bunny hasn't had any other treats for the day putting a few raisins in the bottom of the bag will attract them. Your bunny will smell the surprise through the bag and hop around looking for the bag. Don't put it right out in the open, but don't make it too hard to find either. Each time select a different hiding spot. Your bunny will be exercising while they search for their surprise bag, and when they're ripping into their bag.
Next there's the dreaded "weight resolution" to discuss. Those little bunny faces are so cute, and it's hard to resist your little fur baby when they stand up and beg, but when the vet says your bunny is over their ideal weight we need to take it seriously. Your bunny will eat as many treats as they can coerce you into giving them. And if you don't hide them out of reach they'll get into them and fill their tummies until they are sick.
Obesity is a serious condition in rabbits, and even a few extra ounces can create health issues. Overweight bunnies can develop heart disease, joint pain from arthritis, and even grooming problems since they can't clean themselves as well and may end up with a dirty bottom or even urine scald from not being able to position themselves properly in their litter box.
If you aren't sure how to reduce your bunny's weight, check with your vet for advice. If you know you've been doling out too many treats or too many pellets then simply cut back a little bit at a time. You don't want your bunny to lose weight too quickly or it could cause liver problems.
Feeding your bunny "more healthfully" is easy if you follow some simple guidelines. Check your bag of pellets for feeding directions and the chart of how much to feed per your bunny's weight. Be sure to use a measuring cup. What you may eye-ball to be ¼ cup or ½ cup may actually be closer to 50% more than your bunny should be eating.
Make sure the majority of your bunny's diet is made up of grass hay. Then add in greens along with plenty of fresh water. If your bunny has too many cecal pellets, they are ingesting too much fat in their diet. That means you need to cut back on high carbs and sugar. Bunnies should be eating carrot tops, and only a ½" slice of carrot for a treat, not an entire carrot. It's fun to share a pear or apple with your bunny, but remember that your bunny doesn't need fruit, it's only meant to be an occasional treat (like humans having pizza or ice cream). If you give treats daily make sure it is a very small amount and that your bunny has reached their ideal weight. Healthy eating is as important for bunnies as it is for us. Too many pellets and too many treats are the main cause of obesity in bunnies.
Most of our bunnies don't have a job so they don't have their own money, and don't need to work on the "saving more money" New Year's resolution. However, you can save some money on your bunny expenses by getting free carrot tops for them at farmers markets. You can also make some of your own bunny toys. Most importantly, by properly feeding your bunny, maintaining their proper weight, and making sure they get plenty of exercise you can cut down on some veterinary costs due to problems caused by obesity.
With Chinese New Years coming up on January 25, I thought that it would be nice to recognize the holiday with an Asian greens salad recipe for your bunnies to enjoy. Grab some extra Asian greens and make a stir-fry or extra salad for yourself.
Chinese New Year's Salad
(Serves 2 bunnies)
Ingredients
2 Bok Choy Leaves
½ bunch Gai Lan (Chinese broccoli greens)
1 cup Pea Shoots or Pea Leaves
Feel free to substitute any Asian greens, or buy a bag of Asian Salad Mix.
Instructions
Chop or tear all greens so they are similar in size. Include the Bok Choy stems.
Arrange Asian greens on a dish for your bunnies along with a side dish of grass hay and a bowl of water.
Bun Appétit
Don't forget to enter your bunny in Funny Bunny Toy Company's toy contest.
Our next drawing will be held on February 1, 2020. If you include a photo of your bunny and your bunny is selected as next month's winner, we'll show your bunny off on our contest webpage as well as send your bunny a free toy!!
https://www.funnybunnytoyco.com/page/page/1404104.htm
Wishing you and your bunnies all the best in the coming year,
Kerry
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