How should a rabbit of an "ideal weight" feel?

[kherrmann3]

I've recently put Toby on a diet because the vet said he was mildly overweight. He wasn't fat, but just a tad bigger than she would like him to be (a matter of a few ounces). Toby was 4.1 pounds when I took him into the vet in August. Keep in mind, he is a Netherland dwarf, just a big one. He IS NOT fat. He is just larger than the normal Nethie. At the time, he was getting 3 ounces of pellets/day. Now, he is getting 1 ounce per day (+ veggies). He rarely would eat all 3 ounces, so I gradually decreased his pellet intake to 1 ounce per day. He still doesn't eat ALL the pellets, there are normally a few left over every day. Now, after a few months of dieting, I can feel his spine a bit more than normal. I mean, I can feel his vertebrae pretty darn good (I could always feel his spine, this just seems like I can feel it more). He is eating, drinking, and nibbling on his hay just fine. He is still bright-eyed, fluffy and affectionate (when he wants to be!). To Will and I, he looks "fatter", but I think it's all fluff!

I think I am over-reacting, I just wanted to make sure my fur-baby is OK.

I don't have a scale that can weigh him, but I am trying to get one through eBay to weigh him (we only have a kitchen scale that goes up to 1#). I won't allow a human-scale in my apartment

 

[Maureen Las]

You're giving him way too much pellets. for his size. It will be hard for him butgradually cut it down to 1/8th cup which is not very much . A timothy pellet is preferable to alfalfa but if you do feed alfalfa get a good brand plain pelletFeed no alfalfa haybut only timothy and grass hay and a lot of it. You can also feed veggies.

Do this gradually so you do not upset his GI tract


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12046&forum_id=17

 

[kherrmann3]

One ounce is really too much? I read that you should give 1/4 to a 1/2 of a cup per 6# of adult bun. Right now, he is in between a 1/4 and 1/3 cup. I am really worried about feeling his backbone. I can feel the individual vertebrae. This morning, I gave him 1.5 ounces until I get everything figured out. Toby WILL NOT eat a lot of veggies. He normally throws them around the bedroom. He eats a lot of hay, though, but not a TON.

The vet said that he was not too fat and that I should be feeding him about 1-2 ounces per day. She said on a scale from 1-10, 10 being obese, 1 being starved, and 5 being normal, Toby was about a 6 when he went in for a visit in August.

I found a postal scale (up to 35 pounds) on eBay and I just have to wait for the stupid auction to end in a day or so. Then I can figure out what my super-fluff weighs.

 

[Maureen Las]

You're right I made a mistake . I'm really sorry:headsmack

1/8th cup= 1 oz
1/4 cup =2 oz


You are not giving him too many pellets for his size if you are giving in that range.
I would be concerned if he was not finishing his pellets unless it is a brand that he never liked. Usually buns eat that amount of pellets with gusto.

if he is eating his hay and not his pellets it's possible it could be a dental issue although usually (but not always) the bun has more trouble with hay.

It is a great idea to get a scale and keep track of his weight.

if he loses weight and continues to leave pellets I would want to get a blood panel on him to make sure all organs are functioning normally. I would also advise a thorough dental check.

What brand of pellet are you feeding him?

 

[kherrmann3]

Right now he is eating Sunseed's Vita Rabbit (don't hurt me!). I am in the process of switching him over to Oxbow's BBT. He normally eats MOST of the pellets. There are normally less than an 1/8 of an ounce left, if that. I mean, it's mostly just ten or less pellets and some little schnibbles. Sometimes there will be 1/4 ounce left (rarely) and those are the days he eats most of the veggies I give him.

Right now, I am giving him 1 1/2 ounces per day. I weigh what is leftover before I refill his dish the next day. He has been eating everything for the most part (minus the occasional stray pellets).

I also mix in small amounts of banana chips and dehydrated papaya into his food. That's his daily treat. In one day, he will get one, maybe two, papaya chunks and two to four banana crumbs.

 

[Maureen Las]

if you are mixing BBt with the vita rabbitit is possible that Toby is picking out the vita rabbit and leaving the BBT.
My buns hated BBT and wouldn't eat it

I gave the Sunseed vitarabbit to Babette (RIP)when I knew that she wouldn't be with me much longer as she really liked it. I would guess that the taste is way better then BBT.
Toby is used to eating the dried sweet stuff and it will take awhile for him to agree to eat a plain pellet.

I think that you should cut out papaya and banana chip altogether until Toby gets hungry enough to eat his pellets. At least try that.
I eventually gave up on BBt for 6 of my buns and ended up mixing katee timothy pellets with regualr alfalfa pellets for a very long time. then I decide to leave out the regular and just give the kaytee and now they eat it but it took a long time.

Just wondering if this scenario could be possible ?

 

[kherrmann3]

He used to do this with the plain SunSeed too. He is eating the BBT (I've seen him trying to get into the bag to get it). When I was mixing the pellets, he would snitch a few from the Oxbow bag. He just leaves a few pellets, that's all. He's an odd one.

 

[TreasuredFriend]

I've got a kitchen scale I used for weighing cottontails. Would that help in weighing Tobias now and then?

 

[kherrmann3]

I have one on it's way from eBay. It's a postal scale that weighs 0 to 30-something pounds. It will come in handy for other things, too, such as when I get bored and have the urge to start weighing/measuring things. This DOES happen, because I have a touch of OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).

:sweepI don't clean, either. That's the best part! I just rearrange things!

 

[Maureen Las]

leaving a few pellets is not abnormal for some buns (not mine)so weighing him is going to give you the best indication of whetherhe
is losing weight
I still would cut out so much papaya and banana

 

[dquesnel]

With a healthy rabbit you should be able to feel their spine, even the vertabrae. I don't believe they can store fat pockets along that area, so it is a good thing that you can feel it. It is also good, believe it or not, to be able to feel their ribs. They shouldn't feel too prominent and they shouldn't feel 'sucked it' but you should be able to feel the shape of the ribs. They are obese if you can't find the ribs. A healthy rabbit feels lean and solid under the fur, without fatty pockets to grab (edited to add: with the exception of the dewlap and scruff on the shoulders)!

The stomach should feel round and soft (almost like dough), but not too soft that it is limp and really doughy. It also shouldn't feel very tight and bloated. Both a stomach too soft and a stomach very tight and big can mean there is GI issues, possibly related to being under/overweight.

Some vets and owners don't even add pellets to a rabbit's diet, but I give my guys just enough to keep the teeth in shape. To echo what others say, it is great to have a scale around to weigh the bunnies! It tells so much about what is going on with them.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

How should a rabbit of an "ideal weight" feel?

Right happy I'd imagine

 

[kherrmann3]

Haha Bo B Bunny. Smarty pants

 

[Bo B Bunny]

At least I waited until you got the good answers!

Berry Boo is going to want to eat like crazy I have a feeling. Bo and other mini's I've heard of, tend to get a bit chunky.... they like the foods and the foods like to hang out on their little tummies and hips......

I know the feeling...... :?

 

[kherrmann3]

She's a PIG! If I just leave pellets, she chows them. I feed her twice a day, now (measured) so she doesn't have an empty food bowl all night. I am giving her basically half of what she was eating before (half in the AM half in PM). She gets a lot of veggies too!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

LOL! That's exactly what I did with Bo - he gets half for breakfast and half for dinner. He has all the hay he wants and believe me, he eats it!

 

[kherrmann3]

Haha! Berry-Boo eats a TON of hay! Toby just nibbles, but Berry-Boo DEVOURS it!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

We are almost completely off topic but that's really interesting!

Tony isn't a big hay eater, and Clover eats a little more but Bo eats 2 to 3 hay racks per day..... now mind you that's about 1.5 or so after he drops the pieces he doesn't care for! I swear he eats the middle of each strand and leaves the ends.

 

[kherrmann3]

How much should a Mini-Rex weigh or feel like? I mean, she's pretty solid right now, but she has a nice layer of "pudge" over her. I call "pudge" her skin/fur. Mini-Rex have such a different feel over other buns with "normal" fur. She's the best fur-mutant ever! She is getting a mini-double chin (too cute!). I think it *might* be a dewlap. It's funny-looking when she's tranced. I am feeding her roughly 1/4 cup in the A.M and 1/4 cup in the P.M. plus a food bowl packed with veggies during the mid-day. When I see that her bowl is empty from breakfast, I give her the veggies. Right now, her only veggies are romaine lettuce and Belgian endive. I am trying to keep only the veggies that BOTH buns eat in the house at the moment...

Off topic... How do you pronounce "endive"? Is it "end-eve" or "end-ive"? ("Eve" as in "Evening", or "Ive" as in "Ivy")?

Back to the semi-subject. Should Berry-Boo have that pudge on her? I can still feel her ribs (not too definite) but I cannot feel her backbone. Her back is pretty flat/solid. It doesn't feel chubby. She DEVOURS her food pretty fast, too. She also normally gets a three treats/day (I make my own for her - recipe is in the paragraph). She also will get some of my cereal in the morning. Today it was Rice Krispies (she gets about 3-5 Krispies).

My home-made treats that I give her are pretty-healthy, from my guess. The recipe is equal parts of:

- ground-up/powdered food pellets (chunky-flour consistency)
- ground-up/powdered hay
- ground oats
- apple sauce (plain/unsweetened) (I add a tiny bit of banana)

After mixed the ingredients into a nasty-smelling paste and rolled thin, it is baked on a cookie sheet. The cooking process makes my entire apartment smell like one huge "hippy convention", if you know what I mean :grumpy:... Darn hippies. After being baked and cooled, the giant nasty-cookie is broken into little pieces (mine are around 1/8-1/4" in diameter.

Those are her dietary needs She also gets timothy hay with alfalfa hay mixed in (75% timothy/25% alfalfa). We're just going to finish this bag'o'alfalfa and then just keep her on timothy.


Wow, this post turned into a small novel... inkbouce:

 

[Bo B Bunny]

How old is she? like 5 mos? and what type of pellets? timothy or alfalfa?

She looks very nice but her snacky isn't necessary LOL! I do it too tho... but mine get one snack now and it's usually just a craisen or two.

Bo LOVES LOVES LOVES cereal and if I have cheerios or something he gets one. The others turn their noses up.....

Yes, she is getting a dewlap - which is very common in MR girls.

People here have told me that MRs will get like a pudge over their hips if they are getting a bit too round.

Ideal weight for a girl is around 4 pounds or so..... but not every MR is ideally built either. Feeling her ribs but not overly so sounds like she's perfect. She is active so she probably can use the little bit of extra goodies.

Bo was on unlimited pellets and hay when he was under a year old.