How to help my bunny gain weight

[bunny_charlie]

Hi guys,
Today I went to a rabbit savvy vet to get my bun checked up because he had a bout of gut slow down (tho not stasis) a few days ago. When the vet talked to me she also mentioned that he’s a little underweight and that I should double the amount of veggies I give him. This rabbit clinic recommends 2 cups of veggies per 1kg of body weight and I currently feed Charlie 2 cups per day (he’s 2kg/4-5 pounds now). I asked if I should also double the pellets (I give him one tablespoon a day) but the vet seemed to be more keen on increasing veggies instead. I’m a little confused as to whether this a good way to increase weight because the house rabbit society says “greens have fewer calories, due to high water content”.
Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[JBun]

I'm a little confused by your vets recommendation too. Rabbits gain weight through increased protein or carbs, not veggies. Has your rabbit usually been at a good weight and just lost weight recently? Did the vet do a thorough dental exam to make sure dental problems weren't the cause of the gut slowdown and weight loss?

Are you still feeding oat hay, and is it a very mature coarse cut or a less mature cut that is softer and more leafy? Does it contain very many mature seed heads? And how well is your rabbit eating the hay?

 

[bunny_charlie]

I'm a little confused by your vets recommendation too. Rabbits gain weight through increased protein or carbs, not veggies. Has your rabbit usually been at a good weight and just lost weight recently? Did the vet do a thorough dental exam to make sure dental problems weren't the cause of the gut slowdown and weight loss?

Are you still feeding oat hay, and is it a very mature coarse cut or a less mature cut that is softer and more leafy? Does it contain very many mature seed heads? And how well is your rabbit eating the hay?

My bun has always been a good weight (well, at least from the looks of it and his gradual weight gain as he grew older) and recently another vet who is not rabbit savvy but regularly cuts his nails said he was at a healthy weight. It never occurred to me that he would be underweight until I got told today. About the hay, I did switch to ryegrass a few months ago because I realised he just wouldn’t eat oat hay no matter what. The ryegrass i have is more on the leafy side and he is very keen on the eating it (he eats about 4 big handfuls a day). The vet did do an overall health check today and mentioned that his teeth were completely fine.

 

[JBun]

Leafy is good, in that it will be higher in protein and help with weight gain if he's eating enough of it. My rabbits loved ryegrass when I used to feed it.

Have you felt along his back to see if it feels boney? Basically you want there to be muscle alongside the backbone, so it has a nice rounded feel to it. If the backbone protrudes, then your rabbit is probably underweight.

 

[bunny_charlie]

Leafy is good, in that it will be higher in protein and help with weight gain if he's eating enough of it. My rabbits loved ryegrass when I used to feed it.

Have you felt along his back to see if it feels boney? Basically you want there to be muscle alongside the backbone, so it has a nice rounded feel to it. If the backbone protrudes, then your rabbit is probably underweight.

Yeah I have, I do feel the spine easily but it also has a thin layer of fat above it. Here are some photos to help

 

[Diane R]

Yeah I have, I do feel the spine easily but it also has a thin layer of fat above it. Here are some photos to help

Very cute and does not look underweight at all. Just keep pushing the hay, I would definitely not increase veg or pellets.

 

[JBun]

I agree. As far as I can see from the photos, he looks fine. Nice and rounded and doesn't have a boney angular look. But photos sometimes may not be completely accurate when you have fur obscuring things. So it's still always good to check by feel.

The way I check is roll my fingers from side to side over the spine in the middle of the back, between the hips and the shoulders. If the spine doesn't feel like it's protruding between the muscle on each side of the spine, but has a more rounded feel to it, then the rabbit isn't underweight. If you can really feel that spine sticking up and there isn't good muscle layering on each side of the spine to help it feel more rounded, then the rabbit is underweight. The more the spine is protruding, the more underweight the rabbit is.

 

[bunny_charlie]

I agree. As far as I can see from the photos, he looks fine. Nice and rounded and doesn't have a boney angular look. But photos sometimes may not be completely accurate when you have fur obscuring things. So it's still always good to check by feel.

The way I check is roll my fingers from side to side over the spine in the middle of the back, between the hips and the shoulders. If the spine doesn't feel like it's protruding between the muscle on each side of the spine, but has a more rounded feel to it, then the rabbit isn't underweight. If you can really feel that spine sticking up and there isn't good muscle layering on each side of the spine to help it feel more rounded, then the rabbit is underweight. The more the spine is protruding, the more underweight the rabbit is.

I tried that method and I do feel the spine protruding a little, though not much. I guess it would be best to keep on him the same diet for now and consult a different vet the next time I visit the clinic (he’s been balding a little on his nose and the vet didn’t find any kind of infection under the microscope and we are just going to monitor for now so i’ll likely be bringing him back in a few weeks time)

 

[Sweet Potato rabbit]

Your bun is adorable!
I'm confused too. I thought pellets (and I've heard some say oat) is the way to go to plump them up.
But it's the same for my bun - he's a 1yo male Netherland and weighs 1.1kg which I thought was quite the maximum for Netherland dwarves. He looks ok, no angular look, no dental issues etc. But when he was getting his check before being neutered, the vet commented that he's boney and told me to up the pellets. That was about 3 weeks ago and I've since upped his pellet intake from 0.5 tablespoon to about 1.5 tablespoon. Planning to go slow till he's ok with 2 tablespoons a day. I haven't weighed my boy since, but his butt definitely became rounder

 

[bunny_charlie]

a

Your bun is adorable!
I'm confused too. I thought pellets (and I've heard some say oat) is the way to go to plump them up.
But it's the same for my bun - he's a 1yo male Netherland and weighs 1.1kg which I thought was quite the maximum for Netherland dwarves. He looks ok, no angular look, no dental issues etc. But when he was getting his check before being neutered, the vet commented that he's boney and told me to up the pellets. That was about 3 weeks ago and I've since upped his pellet intake from 0.5 tablespoon to about 1.5 tablespoon. Planning to go slow till he's ok with 2 tablespoons a day. I haven't weighed my boy since, but his butt definitely became rounder

Aw thank you urs is cute as well!! I agree, pellets is the common way to plump up a bunny and the veggies method sounds a little questionable to me. Hope all goes well for ur bun and that his neutering went smoothly!

 

[Bluebell’s Mum]

Hi guys,
Today I went to a rabbit savvy vet to get my bun checked up because he had a bout of gut slow down (tho not stasis) a few days ago. When the vet talked to me she also mentioned that he’s a little underweight and that I should double the amount of veggies I give him. This rabbit clinic recommends 2 cups of veggies per 1kg of body weight and I currently feed Charlie 2 cups per day (he’s 2kg/4-5 pounds now). I asked if I should also double the pellets (I give him one tablespoon a day) but the vet seemed to be more keen on increasing veggies instead. I’m a little confused as to whether this a good way to increase weight because the house rabbit society says “greens have fewer calories, due to high water content”.
Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Bluebell’s Mum]

My lovely bun fitted into a teacup when l got him. He was nose to tail the size of his two siblings head and ears! I didn’t pay any attention to the teaspoon /tablespoon pellets thing. Think it was an egg cup recommended in my case. I just gave him a small bowlful of pellets daily and a big clump of fresh meadow hay. He has never gone fat, still gets his bowl filled daily. Still gets his size and more in hay. When he is full he flops out and leaves the pellets be. I buy him curly Kale, which give he loves. A top and tailed carrot now and again and green cabbage leaves every other week. I slice the top off my strawberries and give him those, stalks included and he lives that. I have never felt the need to ration his food and he is a very happy bunny. No bones poking through on spine but not fat either. Hope this helps.