A Monster delivery

Bailey and Flicka received a big surprise in the post the other day, a package from the nice folks at Monster Pet Supplies.  After demanding that it be opened now, now, now, immediately... we read the letter (addressed to them, of course!) and set out the goodies for inspection.

First up, a Burgess Excel food bowl which Flicka declared to be "well posh".  I agree - very posh indeed.

Shouldn't this bowl have something in it??

Then, a bag of Country Value Fruity Nuggets and a quick scan of the ingredients to ensure there was nothing harmful (although to be honest, no dry rabbit food can be said to be 'good' for rabbits).  I gave them a few nuggets to try which were wolfed down with appreciative grunts from Flicka.  The rabbits only get an eggcup of nuggets each per day (Burgess Excel) and the Country Value is also made by Burgess.  The pack has good information on it (feed alongside hay, fresh water etc) and most importantly is a nugget, not muesli, so prevents selective feeding.  All in all, I would say this is a good, cheaper alternative to Burgess Excel but, like all dry rabbit food, should only be fed in small quantities.

Flicka inspects...

Finally, a bag of Smartbedz bedding.  I have been wanting to try this for ages!  Even the sample pack (1kg) contained enough to cover the bottom of a largish litter tray.  Typically, Flicka tried to eat it but no worries - it's made from 100% natural straw so no nasties there.  It smells nice and is the most absorbent litter we've ever used.  Shame we don't currently have a garden as I bet this would compost really well.


Monster Pet Supplies have a great range of rabbit products, including hay, herbs, toys and treats and with free delivery on orders over £59 would be a great online store to buy in bulk from.  We give it the 'paws up'!

Bunny supplies: what I use and where I get it from

Thought this might be useful to UK rabbit people... this is what I use for bedding, hay etc, how much it costs and where I get it from.

Hay

By far the biggest expense!  As it should be, making up 80 - 90% of their diet.  Thanks to some Facebook friends, I've recently started buying Ings hay from the website Hay for Pets.  This hay is thick, long stranded, smells lovely and the bunnies love it.  It's grown organically in traditionally managed water meadows in the Vale of York and at £16 including delivery for 9.5 kilos, is a total bargain to boot.  Payment via Paypal, delivery within 5 days.

The 'Bunny Zone'

Bedding

I've used Carefresh, newspaper and wood pellets in the past and if money was no object I would probably use Carefresh all the time.  These days, however, I use Megazorb (made by Northern Crop Driers) which is actually a horse bedding but is brilliant for small animals too.  It is very lightweight and absorbent and really good value for money.  I tend to buy two 85 litre bags at a time from GJW Titmuss to save on delivery charges.  Per bag it is £7.45 with delivery of £7 per order.  Payment with debit or credit card, delivery usually 1 to 2 days.

I clean two largish litter trays out every couple of days and a bag of Megazorb lasts me about 6 to 8 weeks.

Readigrass

I also get Readigrass from GJW Titmuss if it's in stock or direct from the producer, Friendship Estates.  I count Readigrass more as food than hay as it's too rich to give ad lib and I only give a couple of handfuls a day per rabbit.  £14 for 4kg (made up of 4 x 1kg bags) inc delivery, payment via Paypal, delivery within a week.  A 1kg bag of Readigrass lasts us about 3 to 4 weeks.

Help yourself, Flicka!

Pellets

I feed Burgess Excel, one eggcup a day per rabbit and tend to buy it from our local petshop, Capital Pets (run by a very nice man and no animals for sale!).  A 2kg bag is about £4 and lasts a couple of months.

Vegetables

Wherever I can get them... I like using our local greengrocer, Tattieshaws, which has local produce really cheap; depends what is in season though and Bailey's fondness for cavolo nero often sees me trekking across Edinburgh to the only Sainsbury's which seems to stock it...

Treats

The bunnies get a banana now and then which lasts them a few days, a few mouthfuls at a time.  Or I get bags of unsweetened raisins or dried pineapple.  My biggest expense in terms of treats is Bailey's favourite herbs, Burgess Country Garden, which costs £1.99 per bag and lasts him a week or so.  I get these at our local petshop too.

So that's it.  No Pets at Home, you might notice, although I do have to make the odd trip there when Flicka has finally destroyed her latest Woodlands hay tunnel... they are one of the few toys which keep her off the furniture!

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