Imagine being stuck in the same room all day with no books, no phone, and nothing to do — it wouldn’t take long before you started to feel restless or frustrated. Our rabbits experience boredom in much the same way.
They can become stressed, lethargic, or even develop behavioural issues without stimulation. That’s where enrichment comes in: it provides animals with opportunities to think, move, explore, and engage with their environment — and it’s 100% essential for their wellbeing.
Providing positive enrichment increases our rabbits’ resilience and can help reduce stress.
Rabbits misbehave when they are bored, just like children do. Without an outlet, they release their boredom and frustrations on themselves and their environment, which can harm their health. This is usually when you see destructive and stressed behaviours like fur plucking, biting, circling on the spot and destroying things they shouldn’t. Behaviours like this can lead to more problematic long-term behaviours or health problems that then become stressful for everyone.
How can you create an enriching environment?
Luckily, there are many simple things we can do to provide a fun and enriching environment for our animals to thrive in!
Providing toys (balls, chew toys, and hay-stuffed containers) and platforms is a great way to get our buns moving and exploring their enclosures.
Change things up every few weeks or months, move where toys are placed, and add and swap toys so there are always new things to look at and explore. You should also provide supervised time out of their enclosures or move them to another room or area so they can explore a new environment.
Hiding treats around their enclosure is also a great way to engage bunnies with their surroundings. Try hiding hay or pellets in cardboard boxes, toilet rolls or paper bags.
The size of their enclosure is important
An enriching life starts with the right environment. Rabbits need plenty of space to run, jump and express natural behaviours, so a roomy enclosure is key. A good rule of thumb is to provide an area at least 3m x 2m in floor space with at least a metre in height—enough for binkies, zoomies and upright stretches.
An indoor setup is often the safest choice if you’re in a region like Australia, where mosquito-borne viruses are a risk. Not sure how to create an enriching indoor space? The Rabbit Sanctuary has some great enclosure inspiration to get you started.
Rabbits are social creatures
Rabbits are deeply social creatures and are happiest when kept in pairs or trios. A bonded companion provides comfort, stimulation and prevents loneliness.
But if you’re unable to keep two or more—whether due to space, time or budget—you’ll need to step into the role of your rabbit’s companion. This means spending regular quality time together and ensuring they have plenty of enrichment opportunities throughout the day.
If you’re away for extended periods (more than four hours a day), it’s especially important to provide toys, tunnels, safe chews and foraging activities to keep your rabbit mentally stimulated and emotionally content.
Finally, it’s crucial to desex or house males and females separately, as rabbits can reach sexual maturity at just 8 weeks old and breed rapidly.
Incorporating DeliStix into your bunny’s life
Vetafarm’s DeliStix is a great source of enrichment for rabbits. Its variety of natural ingredients, including seasonal vegetables means that your pets constantly get fresh ingredients that may vary over time to keep them inquisitive and engaged.
We use an all-natural binder, no sugar or glues for us! This means you can count on the quality of our Deli Stix to be the absolute best they can be, and as a bonus, it’s packaged in a food-grade hanger that you can reuse to give your buns even more enrichment or let them destroy for some extra fun!
By giving our bunnies enrichment, they get to use their brains, problem-solve, stay active and expend energy. This helpskeep them healthy while building their resilience and helps them be confident, calm pets that feel secure in their environment.
