Snacks for rabbits: small extras with a purpose

For your rabbit, a snack is a moment of attention. You use it to build trust, to give your rabbit something to search for, or simply to make the enclosure a bit more interesting. At the same time, a rabbit has a sensitive digestive system that revolves around fibre from hay. So a snack always remains a small part of the menu, never a replacement for hay or pellets.

In this category you will find a wide range: from Zooply, our own premium brand, the Zooply Nibble Mix and the Zooply Fields for natural enrichment, plus gnawing rolls, hay rolls, edible tunnels, gnawing sticks and grain-free snacks from JR Farm, Esve, Trixie, Zolux and Flamingo. In this text you can read which snacks suit a rabbit best and how to give them sensibly.

In short

• ✓ Snacks are an extra: give small amounts, never instead of hay or pellets.
• ✓ For rabbits, preferably choose snacks based on hay, herbs, flowers and vegetables.
• ✓ Give snacks with fruit, grains, seeds or nuts sparingly; they are richer in sugar, starch or fat.
• ✓ Introduce something new calmly and keep an eye on the droppings over the following days.
• ✓ Use snacks to tame your rabbit and to encourage foraging and gnawing.

What will you find in the Snacks category?

Zooply Nibble Mix

The Zooply Nibble Mix is a varied snack mix containing seeds, grains and dried vegetables, among other things. You can give it on its own, mix it through the food or hide it in a sniffing toy. According to the packaging, you give it as a supplement alongside unlimited hay and a suitable main food, and a small amount is enough as a daily extra. Start small and see how your rabbit reacts. The mix comes in 200 grams and, for those with several animals, in 2.5 kg. The packaging has a ziplock closure.

Zooply Fields

The Zooply Fields are 85-gram bunches of green oats and millet sprays, each completed with its own flower or plume: Hare Field with bunny tails grass, Flower Field with a daisy, Heath Field with sea lavender, Meadow Field with strawflowers, Reed Field with amaranth and Dune Field with statice. They are edible and decorative at the same time. Tuck a bunch between the hay or into a corner of the enclosure and let your rabbit pull it apart by itself. That way you combine nibbling, shredding and foraging in one product. Give them now and then as enrichment, not as a daily meal, because they also contain millet and oats.

Hay rolls, hay blocks and edible tunnels

For rabbits, snacks with hay as their basis fit best with the natural diet. From Esve you will find the Timothy Hay rolls of 100 grams, with apple, marigold, cornflower, bell pepper, parsnip, beetroot, rosehip or carrot. From JR Farm there are, among others, the Hay Block with flowers (450 grams), the Hay Tunnel (950 grams), the Sniffing Bush and the Sniffing Box. Trixie has the Hay Bale with blossom mix, a Hideaway with carrot and a Hay Rack with corn and hay. These products keep your rabbit busy pulling and gnawing for a long time.

Gnawing rolls, willow balls and gnawing sticks

JR Farm has various gnawing products, such as the Wooden gnawing roll with carrot, the Willow ball with apple, the Snack hanger and the Play wheel with snacks. The Zolux Gnawing Sticks (2 pieces, 110 grams) come in flavours such as vegetables, carrot, beetroot, Jerusalem artichoke, oats, plum, orange and peanut. For a rabbit, preferably choose the varieties with vegetables or hay and keep the varieties with peanut, fruit or grains for very occasional use.

Grain-free snacks

JR Farm has an extensive grain-free line: gnawing rolls with nettle and carrot, with dandelion and sunflower or with marigold and banana, gnawing drops with dandelion or carrot, gnawing stick packs with vegetables or flowers, mini hearts, lucky carrots and the lucky quartet. Grain-free means less starch, which is good for rabbits. It is still a snack, though: here too, a little at a time is the rule.

Bouquets, crackers and treats

You will also find the Esve Pet Bouquets (including Meadow Crop with grasses and herbs, Gnawing Field and Oat Land), Trixie Crackers, Flamingo vegetable biscuits made from carrot, pumpkin and parsley, the Tubez gnawing tunnels and treats such as the JR Farm Party Cake, the Herb ice-cream cone and the Hay and flower cake. The Trixie grass growing kit is here too: with it you grow your own fresh grass, a welcome green addition. There are also JR Farm loam gnawing stones with flowers or herbs.

Which snacks suit a rabbit best?

A rabbit is built to eat fibre-rich, low-energy food all day long. The closer a snack is to that natural diet, the better it fits. A handy order:

• Often suitable: snacks based on hay, dried herbs, leaves and flowers, and fresh grass.
• In moderation: snacks with vegetables such as carrot, parsnip or beetroot, and grain-free gnawing snacks.
• Sparingly: snacks with fruit, grains, seeds, nuts or peanuts, and sweet treats such as drops and cakes.

If in doubt, look at the composition on the product page. If sugar, honey or molasses are near the top of the list, or a snack consists mainly of grains and seeds, only give it as a small reward. If you want to give something extra every day, the Zooply dried herbs are a more natural choice.

How many snacks can a rabbit have?

There is no fixed number, because snacks differ enormously in composition. A practical rule: after a snack, your rabbit should still eat just as much hay as before. If it eats less hay, leaves its pellets or its droppings become smaller or softer, it is getting too many extras. It is better to give a very small piece more often than one large portion. An edible tunnel or hay roll can stay in the enclosure for longer; a sweet treat is best given by hand in a few bites.

Also count what else you give. If your rabbit gets Zooply herbs every day, some fresh greens and muesli now and then, there is little room left for more sweet or grain-rich snacks.

Using snacks for taming

A rabbit is a prey animal and has to learn that your hand means something nice. Sit at eye level, let your rabbit come to you by itself and offer a small piece of snack on your flat hand. Do this every day for a few minutes at a quiet moment. Once that works well, place the snack a little closer to you, on your knee or in your lap. Don't pick your rabbit up during these moments. This way you build trust without force. Small, firm snacks such as a piece of hay roll or a grain-free drop are handy here, because they are easy to give in small portions.

Snacks as enrichment

Rabbits are natural foragers and gnawers. A snack only becomes truly valuable when your rabbit has to make an effort for it. Hide pieces in the hay, in a cardboard tube or in a sniffing toy. Hang a Zooply Field or an Esve Bouquet in the enclosure, or put down an edible tunnel that your rabbit can crawl through and gnaw on. Vary regularly so it stays new. For indoor rabbits that spend a lot of time in the same enclosure, this helps against boredom and unwanted gnawing behaviour.

What should you watch out for with sensitive rabbits?

Some rabbits react quickly to changes in their menu with soft droppings or a sticky bottom. Only give such a rabbit snacks based on hay and herbs, introduce something new only once the droppings are normal again, and stop immediately if things go wrong. Sweet and grain-rich snacks are also not a good idea for rabbits that are overweight or lead a less active life. If your rabbit has persistently soft droppings, eats less or produces fewer droppings, contact a vet with rabbit experience immediately.

Handy combinations

Snacks work best when the basics are right. These categories go with them:

• Hay: unlimited Zooply hay remains the main food, even when you give snacks.
• Dried herbs: Zooply herbs and flowers as a natural daily extra.
• Gnawing wood: Zooply Apple Branches and other gnawing material to chew on.
• Toys: sniffing toys and balls to hide snacks in.
• Rabbit food: a measured portion of Zooply pellets as a fixed basis alongside hay.

Frequently asked questions about snacks for rabbits

Can my rabbit have a snack every day?

Yes, a little every day is fine, as long as your rabbit keeps eating plenty of hay and producing normal droppings. For daily use, preferably choose snacks based on hay, herbs or vegetables. Sweet snacks and snacks with lots of grains or seeds are better given occasionally as a reward rather than every day.

Are snacks with fruit bad for rabbits?

Not bad, but fruit naturally contains sugar. A rabbit can cope with that well in small amounts, but too much can upset the gut flora and lead to obesity. So give snacks with fruit, such as a gnawing stick with plum or a snack with apple, as a small reward and not as a daily portion.

What does grain-free mean and is it better for my rabbit?

Grain-free snacks contain no wheat, oats or other grains. As a result they contain less starch, which suits a rabbit's digestion better. Grain-free says nothing about sugar, though: a grain-free snack with fruit can still be sweet. So always look at the full composition.

Can I use snacks to get my rabbit moving?

Definitely. Place small pieces in different spots in the run, hide them in a tunnel or use a rolling snack such as the JR Farm Roll n Fun. Your rabbit will then search, run and sniff around. Keep the total amount small so that the exercise doesn't come at the expense of hay intake.

My rabbit only eats snacks now and leaves its hay. What now?

Stop all snacks and extras for a few days, and give fresh hay in a clean rack, possibly with some Zooply herbs mixed through it. Most rabbits will then start eating hay again of their own accord. Afterwards, build up the snacks again slowly and in smaller amounts. If your rabbit isn't eating hay either or is producing fewer droppings, contact a vet immediately.

Are the Zooply Fields just decoration?

No. The Zooply Fields are edible: your rabbit can simply eat the green oats, the millet and the flowers. At the same time, they give the enclosure a natural look. You can alternate between the varieties, so your rabbit keeps discovering a different scent and texture.

Buying snacks at Knaagplaza

At Knaagplaza, the webshop of 't Knaagplein, you will find snacks for every purpose: rewarding, taming, gnawing and foraging. Zooply is our own premium brand, specialising in herbs and snacks, and we use it every day for our own rabbits in the shop and breeding facility. Combine a small, cleverly chosen extra with unlimited Zooply hay, and your rabbit gets to enjoy itself without the basics suffering.