Forage makes up about 80% of your small pet's diet, so it is important to understand how and what to feed.
‘Foraging’ means searching for food, something that small animals naturally do in the wild, and a great way of replicating this is by creating this environment within our homes. We should also encourage our fur-friends to forage in order for them to stay fit and healthy, whilst searching for food. Sounds like a win-win to us!
Why is foraging important for rabbits and other small animals?
In the wild, rabbits would spend 80% of their waking time foraging and finding its own food. According to the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund "when rabbits forage for food, they spend more time searching, eat more slowly, and eat more appropriate food, which reduces the chance that they will become overweight or ill".
Here are our top tips on how to encourage your small pet to eat forage:
- Always have clean, fresh forage available. Small animals feed constantly on forage to help with their teeth and digestive system so it is important to have forage on hand that they can always have access to.
- Make sure there is always a clean, fresh water supply - foraging for your hay is thirsty work you know!
- Soft hay makes comfy bedding too (our Moreish Meadow is a favourite for this!) but make sure to remove any spoiled hay.
- Any changes to your small pet’s forage/diet, make sure to do this gradually. This must be undertaken over a period of 7-14 days and always consult your nutritionist or vet if you are not completely sure.
- Your small pet not eating hay can be caused by; eating too many treats, not liking the type of hay they have or their living space set up. Please ensure you are feeding the recommended amount of dry food and not overfeeding so that your small animal is motivated enough to consume sufficient hay.
What foraging tricks can you use?
The Rabbit Welfare and Association Fund suggest these as enrichment options:
- Stuff paper bags with hay and herbs and your buns will wrestle their way in.
- Use a treat ball to feed them, they will nose it around to get the hay and/or pellets.
- Stuff the cardboard tube from inside a toilet roll with hay for your buns to pick out their favourite bits.
See the full list available on the RAWF website!
Obviously we would have to recommend our Tasty Timothy and Moreish Meadow as the perfect forage option - our reviews speak for themselves. Why not even look into having your HayDay as a hay subscription - to save you the time (and money...). Just let us do all the hard work for you!
Got any more questions about forage or foraging? We spoke to our nutritionist on Feeding Tips to Encourage Foraging, or you can find out more with our FAQs.
