Bunny Treats

It’s incredible how much I miss Archie now that I’m living in Edinburgh. If I want to catch up with my family, we can have a meaningful chat over the phone. Skyping my bunny rabbit however doesn’t really work – he can’t interact with me unless I’m physically present and can be nuzzled, sniffed and pawed at. I long for a bunny friend to live with me but I’m not sure a rabbit would be happy in my small flat, with no garden full of grass to nibble. Luckily, the kind people at Mill Race Garden Centre and Swallow Aquatics let me send some love from afar by spoiling Archie with gifts from their site.

The biggest present that I chose for Archie was this adorable bunny house. Archie loves small spaces – if he’s in the house and we can’t find him it usually means he’s squeezed himself into the couple of inches of space under my brother’s bed! He also loves hiding behind the sofa, and more specifically, ripping the sofa to pieces. Naughty bunny! I think it must feel like a burrow that he’s digging in. For this reason, I thought Archie would love to squeeze into this bunny hut. He seems to be more interested in sniffing it and scratching it than spending time in there which might be because there’s not enough space to turn around. Regardless, it’s a cute addition to the garden and perhaps some other garden visitors – frogs, birds and maybe hedgehogs! – will get some use out of it.

Archie was also sent a beautiful selection of edible treats! These included the Living World Popcorn Sticks, Supreme Apple and Cranberry Stickles, Supreme Giant Carrot, Bunny Veg and the Russel Rabbit Fruities. He has always gone crazy for Russel Rabbits, so these were his favourites. If he hears a package rustling in the kitchen and suspects you’re opening treats, he tries to climb up your leg until you give them to him, and then runs off with it in case you change your mind. I find this adorable which makes it painful not to feed him as many as he’d like. Archie also loved the giant carrots but they’re too big for him to eat unaided – you have to break pieces off, sit there and feed them to him. Not a bad job to do! He hasn’t yet shown interest in the Apple and Cranberry Stickles or the Popcorn Sticks. He often develops a taste for food after having initially shown no interest, so there’s time yet!

Our bunny rabbits have mostly been adopted after their initial owners have returned them for being undesirable or badly behaved in some way. Since we haven’t fed them as young rabbits, often their food habits are determined by the time they join our family. Archie isn’t as picky an eater as our previous rabbit Henry, but he can still be reluctant to try new things.

If you have a fluffy tailed friend of your own remember that treats are like rabbit sweets and should be eaten in moderation, not used as a substitute for real food! One a day is plenty for a small rabbit like Archie.

Much love to my wonderful Dad, Michael, for taking these photos of Archie and helping him taste test his treats.