There seems to be bright lights and sparkly things everywhere, anyone would think it was almost Christmas or something! If it’s snuck up on you and the idea of braving the shops for last minute presents sends you into a panic, this is for you…
Christmas Bunny Treats!
They are easy and inexpensive to make, healthier than most shop bought treats and make wonderfully tasty Christmas presents for your rabbit.
Just take these instructions for making homemade rabbit treats and adjust the flavour to your rabbits taste. This time Scamp tried out Carrot & Banana…
Take two handfuls of pellets (crushed), two handfuls of rolled oats, 1 banana, 2 medium carrots
Finely grate the carrot, chop up the banana, crush the pellets and mix it all together.
Roll out the mix with a rolling pin and then use your favourite cookie cutters, we had squares, stars and Christmas Trees. Then poke a hole in them – don’t forget this step if you want to hang them up!
Bake on a low heat for a couple of hours until they are completely dry. And tada, Christmas bunny treats:
Please remember to remove the ribbon, or swap it for something more bunny safe like sisal before letting your bun lose on them!
A Time for Giving
Our bunnies are a luckily lot, I’m sure they are treated and cuddled all year around. Sadly, there are many bunnies that don’t have a slave to spoil them this Christmas, so if you have spare treats, have time to make some bunny toys, or have odds and ends like bottles, bowls, bin bags, brushes, towels, unwanted toys, even a bag of spare bunny food then please pop them along to your local rescue and make their day with something for the not so luckily bunnies. There is a surprise parcel already winging its way to a rescue from me and my family.
When I was looking for a proofreader for my book, I wanted someone that knew about bunnies as well as grammar. I found Chandra Beal, a bunny owner and proofreader – the perfect combination. Chandra is also the author of The Relaxed Rabbit: Massage Techniques for Your Companion Rabbit, and she very kindly sent me a copy of her DVD a few weeks ago so I could give it a try with Scamp. She’s also offering you the chance to win a copy (scroll down for details).
I had a couple of questions for Chandra first…
What gave you the idea to perform massage on rabbits?
I actually started by learning energy work. I used to sit near or touching my first bunny, Maia, and over time I noticed a palpable energy exchange between us that left us both feeling happy and relaxed. This intrigued me and I began learning many healing arts, starting with Reiki, which I practiced with Maia and with foster and shelter rabbits. I enrolled in human massage school and learned the fundamentals of Swedish massage, and later Thai massage and a host of different techniques. I practiced these, too, on Maia, and began to adapt bodywork for her anatomy. I saw a real difference in her body over time, and compared to rabbits in other situations (for example, a shelter). I thought that if I approached it with the same responsibilities as human massage, such as avoiding contraindications and working safely with a rabbit’s body, that bunnies could enjoy massage, too! I set out to formalize my techniques and instruction in a book and DVD so I could share it with others.
Do rabbits really enjoy massage?
Oh, yes! Although we all know that rabbits can be quite fierce when they want to, they are generally “yin” animals who are receptive to energy and touch. Rabbits regularly touch each other through grooming, and just imagine the close quarters of a warren. They are sensitive creatures who appreciate the sensual side of life. My guys get a massage just about every day, and they are the ones who ask for it by appearing on our “massage” rug. I know they’re enjoying it because they chatter their teeth, fall asleep in my hands, and totally surrender themselves. Plus I usually get a ‘thank you’ kiss. And from a massage therapist’s point of view, I can feel their muscle fibers actually lengthening and letting go, and observe signs of relaxation.
How about owners?
Absolutely! All those sensations I experienced with Maia now have scientific support. There are many documented studies now showing that touching a pet, or even just being around a pet, can lower blood pressure, increase self-esteem, lower anxiety… In massage we talk about entrainment, the synchronization of two life forces, which can happen through the rhythm of strokes or through music. When that happens, it’s just bliss. You can also increase the human-animal bond by interacting with your rabbit in a trusting and supportive way. It’s win-win, really.
Sounds good, I admit, I was a little hesitant about the odds of Scamp sitting still long enough for a massage but we were up for having a go. My first impression of the DVD was that there is actually a lot more on it than just massage techniques. There is excellent explanation of rabbit’s physiology – how their bones and muscles fit together – did you know there are 16 bones in a bunnies tail? Chandra also talks about rabbit behaviour, the benefits of the contact that massage encourages and reading feedback signals from your bunny.
Scamp learning rabbit massage techniques
The massage techniques were just as interesting. Some parts I was nodding along to thinking “well, that explains why bunnies like being stroked there so much” and others were completely new things to try out. Scamp’s idea of ‘relaxing’ is dropping (flopping) to the floor for five minutes in between binkies but he did let me try out a few new things and I’ll continue to introduce them slowly. One of the things I was surprised at was how much he seemed to enjoy the rocking, he blissed out for ten minutes or so on the back of the sofa as I gently swayed him side to side – for him that’s a long time to stay in one place!
The production of the DVD itself is brilliant, it’s really professional. Sorry Chandra, but I think you were completely upstaged by Gilligan. He’s a beautiful dutch bunny/assistant that demonstrated how to be massaged, and he looks completely relaxed throughout the whole DVD.
If you want more information or to get your hands on a copy, visit Chandra’s website or it’s available at Amazon.
Win a Copy of The Relaxed Rabbit DVD
For a chance to win your very own copy, just leave a comment answering the question: how many bones in a rabbit’s tail? before December 10th. Chandra will draw a winner and I’ll announce it here on the 11th.
UPDATE: Chandra drew Diana Moll, from the QI Papers as the lucky winner – congratulations Diana, I hope your bunnies enjoy the massage!
My mum and I did some baking yesterday, but not cakes… we made bunny treats! My mum was tidying up her herbs & spices draw awhile back and found a packet of fenugreek, and I said ‘rabbits like that’ (everyone’s heard of fenugreek crunchies, right?), so she said lets make him some. After thoroughly researching online recipes we decided to go for the make it up as you go along approach.
Quite a few recipes called for honey, to stick it together, but we weren’t really convinced that’s a great option for bunnies. Instead we went for banana, and crossed our fingers it wouldn’t turn into crumble.
Ingredients
2 small bananas
1 tbl spoon fenugreek
2 handfuls rolled porridge oats
1 handful dry rabbit food (pellets)
a splash of water
Instructions
1. Add fenugreek, porridge oats and banana to a mixing bowl.
2. Collect dust from bottom of rabbit food bag/tub, decide there isn’t quite enough and smush some pellets up to make more.
3. Mix together, adding a splash of water if necessary until it binds together.
4. Put some grease proof paper on a baking tray (the dabs of oil at the corners are underneath to stop the paper rolling up).
(You don’t need a pic of that do you?)
5. Break off sections of the mix and roll it between your palms to make a ball.
6. Place the balls on the baking tray and flatten.
7. Place the baking tray in the oven, we tried using the left over heat after cooking a meal but it needed a little longer to dry out completely, so a low heat e.g. 150 oC for 30-60 minutes and just keep an eye should do it.
8. Artfully arrange them on a plate with a sprig of basil.
Testing
Of course, no baking is complete without testing. These smelt so good I was almost tempted myself, but I thought it best to let Scamp have that honour.
Scamp gave them a resounding paws up – very tasty!
Obviously, these are treats, so will be portioned out gradually to avoid porkyness. Easy and cheap to make though and much less of the processed odds and ends that you get in many store brought treats.
I’m already wondering about flavour variations… I wonder how well apple n grass would stick together…
Awhile back the RSPCA released a ‘Happy Bunnies‘ video to demonstrate how space and freedom make bunnies happy. I think it’s a great way to show people that rabbits need so much more than a small hutch/cage.
They are now gathering videos for a Christmas special:
This time we’d like to see video clips of happy bunnies playing and interacting with toys, their rabbit companions or with people. We want to show that providing rabbits with plenty of things to do is good for their physical and emotional well-being and can be great fun for owners too.
I’ve been going through my clips of Scamp to dig out some of the best ones of him having fun. It’s fun looking through all the pictures, this one’s no good for the RSPCA but it’s so cute I thought I’d share. This is Scamp as a baby:
I’ve sorted out some of him playing too, if you’ve got any suitable, here’s what to do…
1) Take some video of your rabbit(s) playing and having fun. We’re looking for rabbits playing naturally in their usual environment. Please ensure your rabbit(s) is enjoying the experience and do not make him/her perform for the video.
2) Please keep your clip to no longer than 1 minute long. We are unable to use clips that are too dark or shaky, so be aware of this when taking your video – particularly of rabbits indoors.
3) Upload your clip to http://dropbox.yousendit.com/RSPCA by Friday 18th November 2011.
