With no added sugar or artificial colours or flavours, they’re naturally healthy too. There are also tasty forage mixes, which are great for sprinkling through your small pets’ hay to encourage their natural foraging behaviour. Many of the treats that are marketed for rabbits (eg milk-based yoghurt drops sticks of sweetened cereals) should be avoided.”īurgess Excel nutritious small pet treats are baked with love and perfect for hand feeding. For example, fresh coriander, a chunk of broccoli or a piece of mange tout will be greatly enjoyed by your rabbits. Stick to healthy treats, and keep them varied. Too many sweet and starchy treats can be very dangerous for the sensitive population of bacteria in the gut, leading to fatal digestive upsets. The same goes for rabbits – but they can also develop more serious problems that are quick to develop. It’s always nice to give our much-loved pets a treat – but it’s important to choose things that are good for them – and make sure we don’t give them too many! RWAF says: “If we eat too many treats such as crisps or cakes then we’re likely to suffer from heart problems, obesity and tooth decay. Burgess Excel Nuggets for rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas are high in fibre and rich in nutrients, providing your pets with the very best diet.įor rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas, fibre is the most important part of their diet and is essential for their gut and dental health – and there are some rather intriguing reasons behind this >Ĭhoosing the right treats for your rabbits This means they have all the important advantages of pellets but taste nicer, and the more advanced brands contain the long-strand fibre similar to hay. In extruded foods, the ingredients are mixed, cooked and ‘extruded’ (squeezed or forced out). ![]() To discourage selective feeding, the RWAF recommends a good quality pelleted or extruded feed rather than a muesli-type mix. Two years of research at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies linked muesli style foods to life-threatening dental and digestive problems in rabbits.” And if you keep two rabbits, it’s impossible to be sure they are not each eating different bits of the mix. This means they won’t be getting all the nutrition they need. If rabbits are given a large portion of muesli type food, they can select the bits they like the most and leave the rest – much like a child eating too many sweets and not wanting his dinner. RWAF also advises: “The primary reason we don’t recommend muesli-type ‘rabbit mix’, is because of the risk of selective feeding. They don’t look as nice as muesli, but they are much better for your rabbits.” Each mouthful is the same which helps ensure rabbits eat a balanced diet. However, they can encourage selective feeding, particularly if given in large quantities, and we don’t recommend them. RWAF – the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund – says that rabbit mixes that look like muesli are popular with owners “because they look more ‘interesting’ as they are brightly coloured. Research undertaken by The University of Edinburgh reveals that muesli-based diets encourage selective feeding, where small pets eat some (high starch/sugar) components of the muesli diet, while rejecting the more fibrous pellets. ![]() While pet owners may think they’re buying a heallthy mix of tasty nibbles, feeding a muesli mix to small pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas, can result in all sorts of health problems. Muesli has the reputation of being a healthy, nutritious food for humans and the same approach has been used when marketing muesli-type foods for small pets. One of the most important campaigns that Burgess Pet Care has been involved in is the Move Away from Muesli initiative, which featured in a previous Rabbit Awareness Week – the annual event which aims to educate rabbit owners on all aspects of their care. Find out why nuggets are the best option when it comes to feeding your small furries. ![]() Muesli-style foods may seem like a healthy option for small pets, but this is actually not the case. Share this Nutritious nuggets – why they’re the best choice for our small pets
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