Homemade Hay and Raisin Treats for Rabbits

Raisin wheels

These are cute little treats that resemble little wheels. They are made with yummy banana and a raisin poked into the middle. Raisin wheels are treats that can also act as a fun toy for your rabbit as they figure out how to get the treat out of the cardboard lining.

Ingredients 

• ¼ cup of rabbit pellet dry food
• 1 Banana
• ½ cup of hay dust
• 2 cardboard tubes
• 16 raisins

Directions:

Yield: 16

Time: 1 hour

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
2. Blend the pellets into a dust and mash the banana. 
3. Combine the bananas and pellet dust. Mix in the hay dust. It should be the consistency of a dough. Add extra water if necessary.
4. Cut the cardboard tubes into rings about ½ an inch to 1 inch thick
5. Add the banana pellet mixture to the cardboard rings. Assemble on a baking tray.
6. Place a raisin in the center of each treat wheel.
7. Place the treat wheels in the oven for 20 minutes. Then turn the oven off while leaving the treats inside for another 30 minutes. If the treats are not fully dried, flip them over and repeat on the other side.
8. Remove the treats from the oven and let sit until cooled

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How to make raisin wheels

To get started, first you want to prepare your ingredients. If you don’t have a blender to grind down the pellets, you can use a plastic bag. Put the pellets inside with a small amount of water to soften them. Then grind them down with the bottom of a cup or bowl. For the banana, I just chop it up into slices and then use the back of a fork to smush it.

Once you have your basic ingredients prepared, you can combine the first three ingredients together. It should form into a dough that is pliable and moldable. The dough shouldn’t be so moist that it’s sticky, but it shouldn’t be so dry that it’s crumbling. If it’s a little dry, add a couple drops of water. If it’s too wet, you’ll need to grind up more pellets and add them to the mix.

Now that you’ve got your dough, it’s time to prepare your molds. Take your cardboard TP tubes and cut them into rings that are about half an inch in width. I get about 8 rings per tube, for a total of 16 cardboard rings.

After you have your molds prepared, you’ll want to place the dough into each of the rings. Push the dough into the molds with the back of a spoon until it’s packed in. Then flip the molds over and make sure it’s packed in on the other side too. Now it’s time to include the raisins and create that “wheel” look. Add one raisin to the center of each of the treats.

Now that you have the treats fully assembled, it’s time to bake them. The goal here is to dry the treats out. So we are going to bake them for only 20 minutes and then turn the oven off and let them sit in the heat for another 30 minutes. If they’re still not dry at that point, flip the wheels over and bake them for a little longer on the other side.

Once everything is dried, take the treats out of the oven and allow them to cool completely before giving any to your rabbit. You can store these in an airtight container on the counter for about a week, or for 

How many treats should a rabbit have in a day?

Even these healthier treats should be kept to a minimum. We want our rabbit’s main food to be grass-based hay, such as timothy hay. So try to keep the amount of treats you give your rabbit to 1-2 per day, unless you make them into smaller sizes.

Other considerations for this recipe

• Wash vegetables and appliances before using them for rabbit treats. Make sure to rinse off the fruits and vegetables to avoid adding any residual dirt or pesticides into your rabbit treats. You also don’t want to contaminate the rabbit treats with people food, so make sure to wash any tools and appliances thoroughly before using them.
• Other fruits and vegetables can be added and replaced in these recipes. You don’t have to use the fruits and vegetables that I use. If your rabbit prefers different foods, simply add them in or make the substitution.
• Store homemade treats in the refrigerator or the freezer. You can leave the treats in an airtight container on the counter for about a week, but if you expect them to last longer than that, you’ll want to keep them in the refrigerator. If you are making them in bulk, you’ll want to keep extras in the freezer.