DIY Pinecone Toys for Rabbits
Even though my rabbits are primarily meat & show animals, I try to give them the best life possible. This includes lots of hay, fresh greens, and enrichment. Rabbits LOVE to chew, and dried pinecones are perfect for satisfying a rabbit’s need to chew, shred, and throw objects around. In this post I’ll be showing you how to prepare pinecones for rabbits and how I made mobile toys for all of mine this Christmas.
Preparing the Pinecones
Step 1: Find pinecones
If you know of a place that has pine trees, there’s more than likely some pinecones underneath it! Just make sure that none of the pine trees have been sprayed with pesticides or other chemicals.
Luckily one of our local parks has many pine trees, so my husband and I went and loaded up a whole bag full of pinecones. When you gather the pinecones from the ground, they will probably be closed up. Don’t worry - the baking process will help them to open up and become much bigger.
Step 2: Soak the pinecones
Add 1/2-1 cup of white vinegar to a 5 gallon bucket or similar. Fill the bucket with water and add your pinecones in.
The vinegar will help to kill off any pests that might be living within the pinecones. Soaking them in the vinegar water will help remove any excess sap on them. Sap is not toxic to rabbits, but it is not something your want your rabbit getting stuck in their fur!
Step 3: OPTIONAL: Dry the pinecones
Remove your pinecones from the vinegar water and let them sit to dry out for several days.
Just as a disclaimer, I didn’t do this part, but it will considerably cut down on your oven time. If it was summer as I was making these, I probably would have set them out in the sun. But since it’s almost Christmas and it’s cold and wet here in northeastern Indiana, I decided that running my gas oven for several hours on a low heat was no big deal.
Step 4: Bake the pinecones
Preheat your oven to 250°F.
Line some cookie sheets with foil* and spread your pinecones out evenly across the sheet. Bear in mind that the pinecones will become nearly twice their current width after opening up in the oven.
Bake the pinecones for 2-4 hours, or until the pinecones have fully opened up and feel crispy. Make sure to check on them every 30 minutes or so during the baking process to make sure none of them are burning.
Since I did not dry my pinecones out, they were in the oven for a long time (4+ hours).
*Please do not forget the foil on any baking sheet that you use. I have heard and seen many stories of sap coming out and totally ruining people’s baking sheets. So unless you truly do not care what happens to your baking sheets, foil is your friend :)
DIY Mobile Pinecone Toys for Rabbits
This was my Christmas present to all of my rabbits this year. I absolutely loved watching my rabbits play with their toys! It’s so fun to see their little personalities come out when they get things to play with. Some of them were very violent with their toys and had them demolished within an hour! Others have had their toys for almost a week now and only occasionally nibble on them. Either way, They all loved their pinecone Christmas presents and I had a lot of fun making them.
What you’ll need:
Pinecones
Jute twine
Metal clips
Rabbit-safe branches
Step 1: Gather and cut branches
This step was easy for me because I have a willow tree in my backyard that is constantly shedding old branches. You can use any tree branches that are safe for rabbits to chew (willow, apple, pear, maple, and birch are all good options). I cut all of my branches with hedge clippers to approximately 5-6” each.
Step 2: Assemble the top of the mobile toy
Cut a piece of jute twine about 16” in length. fold it in half and put the loop through your metal clip, then take both ends and knot them through the loop (see attached photos). This is called a “cow hitch knot” and can be adjusted later if your mobile toy is lop-sided, so don’t worry!
Tie each end of the jute twine in simple knots around each end of your branch and cut off the excess twine.
Step 3: Tie the pinecones to the the branch
Weave a long piece of jute through the top of the pinecone and create a knot. Do this to three pinecones. Then attach the pinecones to the branch using more simple knots. Cut off the excess, and you have just created your first mobile pinecone toy.
Let me know in the comments if you made these mobile pinecone toys, and what your rabbit thought of them!
I live in north-central Indiana in the country with my husband, our two dogs, and a lot of animals :) I love to craft and DIY and I’m obsessed with learning new things. I am driven by coffee and my love for animals. Learn more…