how to make my bun gain weight

[SamanthaYelof]

Hey everyone, sadly Bunny is going into surgery 12/22 to get a mass on his inside cheek removed. He's lost weight due to it and needs to put some on asap. He has criticare but HATES it. Ive tried mixing it with everything under the sun and it breaks my heart to syringe feed him. My vet said feed him what I can as much as he wants and just watch his poops to make sure he doesnt get the runs. Ive heard of people feeding organic oats to bunnies that are underweight, is this safe? Can I do this just to pack on some pounds then stop after surgery? I gave my bunny one and he ate it instantly.

Are there any other high calorie bunny safe foods I can add?

Thankyou! !!

 

[flemishwhite]

Some of pellet formulas are high in calories. They include molasses. Some of the high calorie pellet mixes also include nuts, seeds, and fruit pieces. My understanding is that these high calorie pellet mixes are not to be used for long periods of time for your pet bunny, because of their high calorie content...for a skinny bunny this could be a good way to fatten them up. From what I know, bunnies are to be fed timothy, oat hay and selected greens. (This diet is for home pet bunnies..commercial rabbit owners pretty much have to use pellets because of the expense.) If you're buying pellets, look at the ingredients. If your bunny is getting hay, greens, and hand outs of sweet treats...apple, banana, cherry, etc., you want to buy pellets that are a supplemental back up and pellets that don't contain sweet things...just basically ground up grasses and grass seeds.

 

[ravenmoore36]

My baby has lost massive amount in weight. She had evu niculi(excuse spelling) She weighs 1.8kg she should be 2.5kg. Im giving her critical care food supplement....bunny porridge from the vets.

 

[3bunmom]

Try canned pumpkin and/or sweet potato. Rabbits usually like these better than critical care.

As to bunny with e cunjiculi, you are treating with panacur?

Also, they can lose appetite just if the gut isn't stimulated-- often fresh herbs like parsley and mint and certainly dandelion greens stimulate appetite. If bunny hasn't eaten in a while vet can prescribe metachlopramine to stimulate stomach contraction

 

[squidpop]

Hey everyone, sadly Bunny is going into surgery 12/22 to get a mass on his inside cheek removed. He's lost weight due to it and needs to put some on asap. He has criticare but HATES it. Ive tried mixing it with everything under the sun and it breaks my heart to syringe feed him. My vet said feed him what I can as much as he wants and just watch his poops to make sure he doesnt get the runs. Ive heard of people feeding organic oats to bunnies that are underweight, is this safe? Can I do this just to pack on some pounds then stop after surgery? I gave my bunny one and he ate it instantly.

Are there any other high calorie bunny safe foods I can add?

Thankyou! !!

From what I understand, the only reason say rabbit shouldn't eat oats is they are too fattening, so if your rabbit isn't eating and wants the oats, I would feed oats. I would also give a small amount like 1/2 teaspoon of flax seeds, which is the only treat my rabbits like even better than oats, flax seeds have some good nutritional value, omega oils and vitamin E, selenium and are also very fattening and used by many breeders to add condition. Hay is really important for keeping fibre moving through their system so if your rabbit isn't liking hay right now a good substitute would be some nice long fresh grass if you can find some-- grass has more fibre than lettuce or greens and thats good to keep his gut healthy. Is he eating any
hay? (side note on oats I have heard of a random story where a rabbit seems to have wolfed down oats so fast it choked- but I think chances of that are pretty slim..

 

[ravenmoore36]

Yeah shes had panacur and septrin. Cross fingers she is clear for now. Our vet is very good but didnt recognise ecuniculi. Cant help wondering if caught sooner she wouldnt have the permanent damsge she has.

 

[Azerane]

You can feed oats to help put on weight, I would probably give about 1 teaspoon daily. Otherwise, if he's still eating other things, his pellet amount can be increased a little. If he's not eating pellets because of the pain, you can add a little water to them to soften them up and he may eat them on his own that way.

 

[ravenmoore36]

Unfortunately she absolutely hates them tried but no gi. Pees and poos very liberally all over them. Have been told peanut butter good. What do you think?

 

[Azerane]

I wouldn't recommend peanut butter at all. While not toxic, and likely it would put on weight, there's a good chance of disrupting their gut flora balance and causing runny poops or other digestive issues. Not worth the risk in my opinion.

 

[ravenmoore36]

Im having weight gain issues too. Vet told me to try cooked pulses...chickpeas lentils butterbeans. Peanut butter can disrupt the normal gut functions i was told.

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

You're never meant to feed oats to a rabbit. Sure it may say that it is 'safe' on the internet but then again, the Internet is very opinionated by rabbit owners. I had a similar issue with my rabbit. He lost 230grams in 7 weeks because he was sick with dental problems. Post his dental surgery the doctor told me to feed him small slices of banana or apples or one piece of a sultana to make him gain weight. Not too much so they don't have runny stool or health complications because it is high in sugar. They gain weight easily from bananas especially though.

Oats are very high in carbohydrates for a rabbits digestive system. Oats may be high fibre for us but not for our herbivorous rabbits, who's far better able to completely digest cellulose ("dietary fibre").

 

[Watermelons]

Amanda, oats are highly recommended by many breeders and rabbit experts for weight gain.
Banana will not help with weight gain and neither will apple. They are more likely to loose weight given extra of those fruit because the excess sugar can cause diarrhea.

 

[ravenmoore36]

I was told by a lagamorph specialist oats were fine in small quantities. I also note that some of the bunny treats i buy contain small portions of oats!!!!

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

Okay. Well I was just quoting what the vet doctor told me. I was told by Dr. Gerry Skinner (aka the rabbit doctor, whom operated on my rabbit) that oats are a big no no. I mean, surely a surgeon and a rabbit raiser with more than 20 years experience with rabbit health wouldn't give me false information?

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

But then again, everyone has been told various information from rabbit experts. I'm just passing on what was told to me but thanks for your insight

 

[ravenmoore36]

I was told by an exoctics bunny specialist.....luna has been catergorised as an exotic....as long as the oats are cooked they are fine. My girl has hers boiled up in calcium free unsweetend rice milk which i allow to cool before she has them

 

[Watermelons]

No..... not cooked either....
Plain old rolled oats.
Even flax seed.
Youre not filling their bowl with it....

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

Just to clarify, the oats that are given to the rabbits, are they the oats WE eat? So for example, Macro Rolled Oatd? Or Macro Unstablised Oats? Or are they oats specifically designed for rabbits?

 

[Watermelons]

I am really not sure what you're trying to figure out.... This has been a well discussed topic on this forum for years. It is common knowledge oats are safe and good for weight gain.
Oats are oats. Oats are bunny safe. There isn't a farmer growing a special bunny variety of oats. Some oats are processed differently so don't be feeding quick oats or overly processed junk. Oats are good for putting weight on rabbits. Banana and apple are not good for putting weight on rabbits.

 

[majorv]

Plain old fashioned rolled oats are okay to give rabbits. As with anything, moderation is key to not having gut issues. We get them at the grocery store but you can also get them at a feed store.