Why not celebrate pancake day with your bunnies? With our vet-approved recipe, you can!
You should never feed traditional pancakes to your rabbits as the ingredients can cause serious stomach issues. Ingredients such as flour, milk and sugar are bad for rabbits, as they are not part of a rabbit’s natural diet.
Rabbits are herbivores, meaning they mostly eat plants and need a balanced diet, which is high in fibre. Feeding them the wrong food can lead to serious issues such as dental disease and gut stasis (where the digestive system slows down or stops, causing food and gas to build up painfully in the intestines).
That’s why we’ve put together a special pancake recipe just for rabbits! So, your bunnies don’t have to miss out on the celebration.
What should I feed my rabbits?
As well as hay, grass and fresh food, you should give each of your rabbits one tablespoon of nuggets every day (or twice a day if they’re over 3.5kg). Although this seems like a small amount, dried rabbit nuggets are very concentrated, which is why your bunnies don’t need a lot.
If your rabbits are fed too many pellets, they will eat less hay, which can lead to health problems such as overgrown teeth and gut stasis. Even nuggets containing long fibre or high levels of fibre should be fed in small quantities so make sure you don’t give your bunnies too much. For more information on their diet, check out our guide to feeding your rabbits.
What you will need for the pancake recipe
- 1 small cucumber
- 45g of your bunnies’ nuggets
For optional decorations in small amounts:
Rabbit-friendly vegetables such as:
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Pepper
Step 1:
Start off by putting three tablespoons of rabbit food into a zip-lock bag or cling film. Add in one to two tablespoons of water to soften up the mixture and break down the kibble with your hands or with a wooden spoon.
Add more water to break down the kibble, so it’s a mushy texture. This may sound like a strange way to break up the food, but it’s been a tried and tested method used in our rabbit recipe for bunny biscuits.
Step 2:
Once you’ve finished turning your bunnies’ food into mush, it’s now time to prepare the next ingredient. Cut up your cucumber into tiny pieces so it’s even smaller than the size of your rabbits’ nugget. Mix all the ingredients together to mould a more solid shape. Once it’s solid, mould it into a small pancake shape.
If you have multiple rabbits or plan to store the pancakes, then repeat the steps above to make three stacks of pancakes.
Optional step:
Time to decorate your pancake! For this you can use whatever rabbit-safe vegetables you have in your fridge? such as pepper or cauliflower. In our recipe, we grated a small piece of pepper over the top of our pancakes.
The vegetables mentioned above are safe for rabbits to eat as they contain a good balance of vitamins and minerals but be sure to only a small amount as decoration - too much food is bad for your bunnies’ guts and waistline.
Bun appétit!
Now you’ve made the delicious pancakes for your rabbits, it’s time to for them to enjoy them and celebrate pancake day with you.
When you give your rabbits a treat, make sure you adjust their meal size, so they don’t have too many calories that day. The full pancake will be too much for your bunnies, so be sure to break it down into smaller sizes. You can store your pancake in your fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
Looking for cat-friendly pancakes? Check out our vet-approved recipe here.