I investigated if a foraging model used in ecology could be employed in evaluating rat preferences for features believed to enrich their housing. The foraging model used in the following experiments was Brown’s modified version of Charnov’s Marginal Value Theorem: harvest rate (H) = predation (P) + metabolic cost (C) + missed opportunity cost (MOC). Several ecologists have used this equation to show that animals will leave foraging patches at different Hs depending on the values of P and C. The following experiments attempted to employ this approach by using H to evaluate cage features shown by previous experiments to provide benefits to rats. The rats were provided with two foraging patches – one being their home cage with standard food and the other being a highly attractive food patch. Home cages were enriched, with either conspecifics or shelter, or not enriched using a cross-over design. It was expected that the H values for the enriched and not enriched conditions would give a relative valuation of the enrichment items. In contrast to what was predicted, neither enrichments of social contact nor a very sheltered environment produced H values that suggested they were of more value to the animal than the control. I conclude that the method, as employed in this experiment, is not a suitable measure of rat preference for environmental enrichment.