Do runts stay small to adulthood?

[whiskylollipop]

Happy 6th month birthday to my two bunny babies! They're officially grown-ups now. They can drink! They can vote! They can wreak havoc on the town and go to adult jail!

However, one of them is significantly smaller than the other. My big boy, Rose, is 6 pounds and a nice solid mini lop. His brother Merlin, however, was a runt and seems to have consistently stayed about 2/3rds Rose's size. He weighs just a little over 4 pounds. And he's just such a wee little thing, even though we feed him just as much if not more as what Rose gets. I don't believe either of them are an unhealthy weight for their frame.

Does this mean Merlin is at his true fully grown size, is he never going to catch up to Rose? Is this normal or should we be plying Merls with more hearty foods?

 

[PaGal]

I can't answer as to feeding something heartier. I do know my bun Thumper was the runt and he is a little on the smaller side. His mom was big and his dad was really big.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Just like people, rabbits mature to be different sizes. Even within the same breed, there are smaller and larger ones. Usually those tendencies are apparent early in their lives. If you have one that seems to be the smallest in the litter, that proportion often stays true. It can be but is not always a health concern. More often than not, it's just genetics.

 

[whiskylollipop]

I see! Thanks, it's a relief to know it's not a case of Merls not getting enough nutrition or something.

 

[majorv]

I had a runt in one litter that stayed smaller than her siblings as they got older. She was a sweet little rabbit, but she also had some health issues that ultimately proved fatal. Health isn't always compromised in runts though. I think runts tend to have sweeter and more mellow personalties, at least that's been our experience with rabbits and dogs.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Heh, my runty boy is a right little hyperactive monster. He's very bold and friendly, but gets up to all sorts of trouble given half the chance.

Oh dear, what health issues were they? Are there symptoms I should be looking out for?

 

[majorv]

Mine had some GI issues...I think maybe her digestive system didn't fully develop. If he's 6 months old and has been okay so far, then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We've noticed that smaller ones tend to stay that way, no matter the animal.

 

[naturestee]

I have seen a runt catch up- Zappa was likely undersized due to mom's malnutrition, additional pregnancy while nursing (she didn't have enough milk), being outcompeted by the bigger babies, and being the only one to get symptoms of syphilis. I'm not sure on the full adult size of the rest of her siblings because they were adopted by other people, but a friend (Myheart) adopted Zappa and I think she is nearly her mom's size. A lot of breeds are at or near to adult size at 6 months though, so I'd say your little one probably won't get much larger compared to his sister.

I'm always a soft touch for runts. I wouldn't worry about it because if they're fine up through weaning age they're usually as healthy as their bigger siblings. Zappa is 5 now and healthy as the proverbial horse.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Lil Merls does seem to be in decent health, no problems so far aside from the occasional small or soft poops. Which are usually solved by locking him up with heaps of fresh hay so he has nothing else to do but eat it. He wasn't really a severe runt, just a few days behind his siblings developmentally. I know when their puberty age started Rose was humping him mercilessly for maybe 2-3 days before his own hormones kicked in and he out-enthused poor Rosiebun in the humping olympics.

I'm glad Zappa turned out more than fine, what a bundle of hurdles for such a young kit! Animals are amazing.

 

[akane]

Sometimes smaller ones catch up or even surpass their siblings and sometimes they don't. By 6 months unless they are a very large slow growing breed they should be done growing.

 

[Lynne_Bunny]

My last rabbit Angel was a runt, and she was always smaller than her sister. She was the sweetest and calmest bunny I've ever come across!


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[RabbitGirl101]

Runts will usually stay smaller. It can be genetics. OakRidgeRabbits gave you great information! I have runts, that have had some health issues but that was caused by stress during weaning. My runt is about half the size of his litter mate it was interesting to watch him grow up, he will make a great pet for someone.