Speaking of food.....warm dishes for cold days?

[megandawn]

I have three outside rabbits and I am lookingfor some good warm dishes that I could feed them in addition to greens,hay and pellets? I saw on here one suggestion for warm oatmeal and Ihave done that and they like it butI was looking for somemore.

Would creamed corn be good?

Any other suggestion?

Thanks in advance,

Megan, Pipkin, Sugar and Molly

 

[Bassetluv]

Creamed corn does tend to have a high sugarcontent, and the corn itself is a high-sugar (and fattening) veggie, Ibelieve...so I have a feeling it wouldn't be the best for your bunnies.Although...cooked corn without added sugar mightn't be a bad thing, ifyou want to keep their body fat up. Maybe some corn on the cob that hasbeen allowed to cool to just slightly warm? Oats is good formaintaining body fat as well.

I don't have too many suggestions, but one thing I used to do for myrabbits (way back in the olden days (), when I had year-round outdoorPolish) was to take some veggie scraps and cook them in water for abit. I'd toss in a bit of carrot, peas, beans, etc., cook them tillthey were a bit soft in some water, and then let the entire thing cooloff until it was only slightly warm, and I'd feed it to the rabbits,water and all - it was more like a slurry than a soup, as I didn't addtoo much water. They loved it! I didn't do it too often though, and Ididn't feed it to them very warm...as I thought it might be detrimentalto give outdoor rabbits something that was too warm. (Actually I haveno idea whether it would be detrimental or not...that was just my gutfeeling about it.)

However, for the most part my outdoor rabbits were fed the regular stuff...rabbit pellets, hay, oats, some veggies, etc....

 

[Haley]

what about a little canned pumpkin heated up just a tad?

 

[katt]

squash?

 

[canela_2004]

How about some lightly steamed carrots?

 

[naturestee]

You shouldn't need to feed them anything warm. Plus cooking often removes vitamins.

Rabbits deal with cold much better than they deal with heat.Just make sure they always have access to water. There areheated water bowls, you'd just have to be really careful to protect thewire.

 

[megandawn]

Thanks for all the ideas. I think the warm food is almost more for me then for them. :embarrassed:

Last night was the first cold night here and I was alittle worriedabout them. They seem to love the weather thought. They were still justas active as other days so I don't think it bothered them all thatmuch. I did end up giving them alittle warm pumkin.

Thanks again!!

 

[Bassetluv]

It got cool here last night too...went down to-2 deg. C. I added a bit more straw to the bunnies' house compartmentsjust to make sure they would be snuggly and warm when they went tosleep. lol...when I opened the door to Anna's compartment, you couldsee the nest she'd burrowed out for herself in the straw that wasalready there. So I didn't disturb that...just addedsome newstrawaround it for more insulation. Given something snug andwarm to burrow in, and having protection from the elements (draftstoo), rabbits do quite well.

And I've found that rabbits LOVE fall weather...! As long as they'vebeen acclimatized to it, they'll have all sorts of fun running about inthe crisp air. So while it's not my favorite time of year (I'm a summergirl, through and through), Raph and Anna (oh, and my dog) are having ablast...:bunnydance:

 

[JimD]

Black oil sunflower seeds are a good winter supplement for the buns. They're considered a "hot" food.