How to tell if SweetPea is too skinny??

[maherwoman]

Hey guys...

My SweetPea feels quite skinny to me. Her backbone is quite prominent, I can feel her ribs (individually if I take a moment), and her fur is still kinda rough (slowly changing to MUCH softer).

I've been giving her about a tablespoon of oats once a week (concerned she'll become an oats JUNKY)...and we're considering buying her some alfalfa hay to mix in with her Timothy hay. Is this the right process to take?

Her prev owner said she was 5lbs, but she feels REALLY LIGHT, much lighter than Maisie...and like it was mentioned in another thread (which I'll post the link for in a sec), she feels lighter than she looks like she should be. Also, she has no dewlap at all...and she's about a year and a half in age. :?

Soooo...for a bun like this...first of all...is she underweight, do you think?

If so, please tell me what process I can go through to help her get to her proper weight...

She's not much of an eater in general...doesn't eat as much hay as the other girls. I've been giving her 1/4c of pellets, but don't have to refill her bowl daily. Right now, she's eating Forti-Diet by Kaytee (it's what she came with, and I thought with her current weight, it would be good to keep her on...I've been considering switching her to Kaytee Rabbit Supreme, as it's got appropriate percentages of things, and is alfalfa...which might help her as well), and getting about (literally) 1/2lb of hay daily (whether she finishes it or not..it's what all four girls get daily).

Any suggestions?

Edited to add link mentioned: http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=1202&forum_id=1&highlight=underweight

Also edited to add pictures of SweetPea:

You can kinda see her back end a bit here:

 

[JadeIcing]

I dont know, she looks like Elvis. Shesupposedly weighs the same. He I know is healthy. We thought he weighed less than Dallas whenpicking up and when we weighed hewas actuallyalot more.

:shock:

 

[Penna]

Maggie's backbone is like that also. She's just below two pounds andfull grown,I worry about herall the time. I can also feel her hips. But the vet said she was fine, just a very hyper little thing.

I would suggest taking SweetPea to the vet and have the vet look at her? I think that alfalfa hay might help like you said.

 

[clarzoo]

First off, I'd look into getting her wormed if you haven't already. This really causes rabbits have that boney feel.

Next- she seems to eat very little. So I'd make the food she does eat count for as much as possible. You can up the protein a bit by feeding her an alfalfa based pellet or giving her alfalfa hay. If she doesn't seem to like eating hay- see if she likes hay cubes instead.

Do the oats on her food get her to eat the rest of the pellets? If they do, mix them into her pellets to try and encourage her to eat more while eating the oats. Be prepared for her to make a total mess though- some rabbits will just dig through the pellets to get to the oats. It's not worth it if she does that.

Do you ever add any wheat germ or flax seed oil to their diets? If she likes the taste of it- you can try mixing some of the oil in a tupperware with her pellets until it is lightly coated in the oil. Don't do this for weeks straight though, as these oils are rich in vitamins A, D, and E- and they can build up in their systems. Try one week on one week off. It will make her coat lovely, too.


Good luck! I hope some of these tips help.

 

[Pipp]

Can you find out from the people who had her if she's eating or weighing less now than in the past? She could have a 'skinny' metabolism or a naturally light appetite,but if this is a change, there's cause for concern.

I think giving her a mix of pellets and a mix of hays will help as well, along with a fewoatsand maybe a few black oil sunflower seeds daily. And of course Nutri-Cal is always a good stand-by.

I'm not a fan of feeding them 'fat' type foods for the sake of puttingweight on,but I also likejust a bit of abuffer there in case of illness.

Does she drink a lot?Might be worth it to give her a little diluted carrot or apple juice and see if that makes a difference. I'm not sure why it happens, but it seems to be directly related to Pipp's appetite. The more she drinks the more she eats. (And the more active she is).

Good luck with her!



sas

 

[Pipp]

clarzoo wrote:

First off, I'd look into getting her wormed if you haven't already. This really causes rabbits have that boney feel.

:yeahthat:too!

Good advice all 'round from Clarzoo.



sas :bunnydance:

 

[maherwoman]

Thank you!! I'll try those things!

I do put her oats on top of her food, and have noticed that, due to the fact that they fall in between and kinda mix in with the pellets...when I give her oats, she does tend to eat more pellets.

So, I'll start actually fully mixing them, and then when I see she's a good weight, I'll taper them off, so that she adjusts to not having them there anymore, and still eats her pellets.

:biggrin2:

I'll add the alfalfa hay (mixed with Timothy), and wean her off that when I see her having a good weight, too.

Yes, her former owner did give her hay cubes...frequently enough, though, that she won't give them the time of day.

BUT...Your ideas are fantastic! I'll start doing those things! Thanks!

 

[naturestee]

Another idea would be to switch to a different brand of pellets. Didn't you say you get hay from a feed store? What brands of rabbit pellets do they sell? Most decent brands of 16% protein "breeder pellets" are IMO higher quality than Kaytee and might do the trick. Some of them also have higher fat contents which can help with rabbits that have a high metabolism or poor fur quality.

I started a thread a bit ago about possible supplements for Fey and Sprite, since they always seem to be skinny and have relatively rough fur. Adding alfalfa wouldn't work for them because it makes them sick. Since then I have been feeding them about 1/4 teaspoon each of a seed mix, about every other day or so. The seed mix is primarily whole black oil sunflower seeds and whole flax seeds, plus a little bit of rolled oats. The fats in the seeds are great for fur and muscles- my cat food actually has the same oils added in for the same reason. So far, so good. No bad reactions for them, although Oberon seems sensitive to the flax seeds. It got them to finally start molting, which is a good thing, and their new fur seems softer. They still feel skinny, but healthy diet changes should make slow changes to the body anyway.

 

[Starlight Rabbitry]

How old is she? I would change the pellets. Get one with 16% protein. I use Blue Seal and I love it.

Also, Clarzoo was right about worming her. It won't hurt her if she doesn't end up having worms.

What concerns me is how little she eats. Her spine doesn't concern me unless she is less than 2 years old. As some rabbits get older, they start to loose flesh condition and seem to "sag" to the belly, they develop a pot belly.

Keep us posted.

Sharon

 

[ra7751]

I would go for the worming...but I would suggest getting a fecal done just to see what is in there so you will know exactly what treatment to use and can properly follow up. And don't discount a possible dental issue either.

Randy

 

[maherwoman]

Okay, cool...

SweetPea is about 1.5yrs old...to answer your question.

I'm waiting to consolidate all advice and figure things out from there.