Getting tubby buns to be more active

I've cut the pellets down as much as I can and need to get the boys exercising, but they can't get out to free range every day at the moment as I can't let them in the garden unsupervised, so I need to encourage them to be a bit more active at home.

Finx and Tango have a 4x4 playhouse connected via runaround to an 8x4 run. They also have a second storey, a 6x3 run, but they're not allowed up there at the mo as Finx is still not allowed to do any high-impact landings after her fracture.

Pepper and Doris have a 6x2 hutch connected to an 8x4 run at the moment.

Tango and Pepper are the tubby ones
Can anyone suggest any ways to get them moving?

I dont have the answer I'm afraid, but am bumping this up as I will be very interested in the reply. The vet said Nancy is slightly over weight. It's nightmare trying to get her lose weight.
Like you I've cut their hard food right down, but poor Will lost weight too, so we have to sneak him extra pellets and treats.:wave:

My rabbit George is on cage rest for a bad foot and I'm anxious about him putting on weight because he's not as active! I've been making him work for his food and spreading it out to keep him busy. His herbs get stuffed in a kitchen roll tube with hay and I hide his pellets in a treat ball which he chases around to get them out lol

I've found it's a fine line between making it tricky to keep them working for it and making it damn hard that they loose interest haha!

My only suggestion would be put pellets in a treatball - makes exercise fun!

Do you scatter feed? It's only a little bit of exercise, but better than nothing. I scatter pellets over the floor, in their hay, and in treat balls and other toys. It keeps them occupied as well as relatively active.

You can also hang forage/herbs/veggies so that they have to stretch up for them etc.

Apart from running up and down stairs (which my buns love to do) I think you can only encourage them to jump around more by providing ledges etc for them to hop up and down on.

Cutting back on food is the main thing. I would do it fairly slowly. No root veg (carrots, parsnips, swede etc) and light greens like coriander, herbs, forage from the garden (whilst it's still available), courgettes, and romaine lettuce. Stuff that's very low in calories.

From time to time (not for reasons of excess weight) I have cut out pellets completely in my rabbits diets. They manage just fine. You could cut them down and down and finally out for a while, with a large selection of other foods. It's advisable to substitute a no pellet diet with at least 5 different types of veggies.

I hope that helps :wave:

I'd get a collapsible pen so that they can have access to more garden (preferably supervised) as I generally find that when rabbits have access to something which they don't have constantly, it becomes exciting and they run around for a while. Any way that you can give them more space is a good idea.

I'd get some tunnels and switch them around, digging pits too if they like to dig. I'd also put things in opposite corners, so litter trays and water and hay all at opposite ends of their enclosure so they have to travel between them.

I'd use treat balls for all pellets and make sure you're not feeding any other treats (including crunchies and carb-heavy or sugary veg) and scatter feed or hide any veg you feed.

Could you give the healthy bunnies the second story run instead? More space and enrichment should equal more opportunities for exercise.

I'd take the dry food they do get and maximise the effort required to get it, so treatballs, scatter feeding, hiding in a box to shred. They don't have to be running, just attacking a toy burns more calories than napping

Thanks for all the ideas!
I really can't cut their food down any more, they get herbs and spring greens as treats, no carrots etc, an eggcup of pellets per pair per day and hay hay hay.
I did think of putting the healthy pair in the upstairs run, but there's a slight issue with referred aggression (mostly Tango causing trouble).

I'm going to raid the shed and see if I have something that could be a digging box... What should the digging material be?
I also think I have a treat ball somewhere

I chase mine around the garden. Literally. I only walk but of course I shoo them off and they hop and binky away. It ends up with Coco waggling her tail and grunting at me :lol: but she's breathing hard so that means she's done in and I leave her be. Thumper's quite fit and a bit skinnier so I don't need to be after her particularly. Although Coco does then chase Thumper around the garden so they have quite a few fast spurts.

It does backfire a bit though as when I think they've had enough (I don't do it for long, just a couple of minutes) and bend down to stroke them, they run off! :lol:

Angie B said:

It does backfire a bit though as when I think they've had enough (I don't do it for long, just a couple of minutes) and bend down to stroke them, they run off! :lol:

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I chase Scamp too, but to signal the end of the game/I'm not chasing him. I always stop a bit away and/or dawdling up to him without walking straight at him and stretch my arm out with a pointy finger and he sniffs/nudges it - like a hello nudge/greeting, and that means we're not chasing and I can pick him up instead of another lap of the sofa.

Lopsy's a pellet-muncher, and to make them last a bit longer/stop him being bored I've bought him a treatball which he loves because it's easier for him to get the pellets out of. He acts just like a cat. I also stuff tubes with hay: a 2" wide poster tube, so nice stiff card, cut into 4", 8" and 12" or so lengths (we used a saw), then hay stuffed in, treats in and hay on top. I have to leave enough hay hanging out the ends (especially of the longest one) or he can't reach to pull the 'plug' out, but he loves those too: flings them about, digs at them, sticks his pointy little face into them, runs back and forth with them (dropping them on the way and then coming to find me as if to say 'hey, where's it gone?!')... He's got very good at getting the beans out! We also make sure he has to stretch for lots of his forage: OH arranges it through the top of the run and as stuck in the ground, if it was an actual natural setting. Sometimes it's a full-on jungle in there, I can't even see the rabbit! Same with his water bottle, it's not too close to his nose, but he also has a bowl (up in his hutch). Also scatter-feed other things like celery lumps, loose leaves etc.