I need to Fatten up my Bunnies

[JimD]

Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears wrote:

Ok. Umm where do i find them and how much of it can they eat?

Leaf wrote:

black oil sunflower seeds.

I buy my black oil sunflower seeds from the pet store....in with the bird supplies.

I would start with just a couple per day to see how the buns tolerate them.
I have two buns that will get soft poops if they eat too many.

My own made up rule of thumb is appoximately one seed per one pound of bunny.
Most of my buns average around 5 - 6pounds...they get 6 - 8 seeds.
Tootsie is my NZB and weighs over 11 pounds....she gets 10 - 12 seeds.

Too many seeds will make for a chubby bunny, so give them in moderation.

IMO, their coats are so shiny and soft ever since I started giving them seeds.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Bo was having trouble with his coat and someone (probably Jim) told me to try the black oil sunflower seeds. I gave him 1 or 2 per day for a week or two and he seemed to improve! Now, he gets one or 2 as a treat maybe once a month and he does great!

 

[JimD]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

Bo was having trouble with his coat and someone (probably Jim) told me to try the black oil sunflower seeds.

Credits must go to Buck.....

.....as he's the one I learned it from.

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

So i didn't get a lot of input into this expect for the black sunflower seed. Is there anything else?
Fluffy has put back on this weight. Monster's on the other hand is getting older and skinner. She looks thin. She still has a good appetite and still has lots of love to give to me and fluffy. She doesn't move well as her back right leg doesn't work well anymore so she falls over and has a hard time getting back up.
I hate that she looks so thin. She has to go back for a check up before we can get another metacam refill.
So what else can I buy her? I have looked for Benbac and Nutri Cal in the pet stores around her and can't find it.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Have you had them checked for worms? That can drag their weight down bad.

 

[gingers_giants]

Do you have a local feed store? If so they could maybe order Nutri Cal and Benbac for you.

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

No I haven't checked for worms. I'm pretty sure it's just old age issues. I don't know if she's lost weight since her last visit for sure but I'm pretty sure she has. If you look at her she looks thin.

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

Feed stores....... I only one I can think of might be Early's farm and garden. But they are really far from me. I guess if they can I can get my mom to pick it up as there is one close to where she works.

gingers_giants wrote:

Do you have a local feed store? If so they could maybe order Nutri Cal and Benbac for you.

 

[tonyshuman]

A fecal test is usually very cheap and easy (here I think it's less than $20), so it might be good just to make sure.

You can feed older bunnies alfalfa-based pellets IF you are sure their kidneys and bladder are fine to deal with the extra calcium AND they already eat all their cecals. I think one of your bunnies (or both?) had urine scald problems, so this wouldn't be good for her/him (sorry I can't remember, and I may be totally wrong and confusing your guys with someone else's). Another option to put on weight is oatmeal and/or Nutri-Cal (malt flavored) which can be found in the dog/cat medical section of a big box pet store. It's high in calories and contains an appetite stimulant.

 

[Flash]

Thanks for suggesting the black oil sunflower seeds. Flash is 16+ and he's been losing a bit of weight andI know it's his teethies. I'll have to look for those too!

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

Monsters is the one who has/had urine scald. But when she's on Metacam that isn't much as a problem any more. I can't find Nutri-Cal in the city. I have looked at PetLand and PetSmart. There's only one more and it's Pet....something.


tonyshuman wrote:

A fecal test is usually very cheap and easy (here I think it's less than $20), so it might be good just to make sure.

You can feed older bunnies alfalfa-based pellets IF you are sure their kidneys and bladder are fine to deal with the extra calcium AND they already eat all their cecals. I think one of your bunnies (or both?) had urine scald problems, so this wouldn't be good for her/him (sorry I can't remember, and I may be totally wrong and confusing your guys with someone else's). Another option to put on weight is oatmeal and/or Nutri-Cal (malt flavored) which can be found in the dog/cat medical section of a big box pet store. It's high in calories and contains an appetite stimulant.

 

[JennJenn]

Nutrical can be found in most pet stores. You can find it in the ferret section.Some will say Nutrical fof ferrets but it can be used for buns. I also found it in the dog section near the puppy milk replacer and other health supplies.

They do have it at Petsmart in the ferret section. I just bought some from there 2 days ago and I think the stores in Canada are the same.


Good luck finding it and I hope your bun gains some weight!

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

Ok I emailed Early's farm and Garden and they don't carry it but they might be able to bring it in if i can give them more info on it. So does anyone have any good links on this nutri-cal and bene bac?

Here's the reply to me.

Sorry we don't stock either of those products and none of our distributors
have a listing for them. Please contact us if you have any more info on them
that may help us locate a source to bring them in.

 

[gingers_giants]

You could always google them both and find info that way.

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

I have done that. But I can't find a good site. I just thought I would try her and see if anyone has a link.

gingers_giants wrote:

You could always google them both and find info that way.

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

I have decided to added alfalfa pellets to her diet slowy untill she can eat them without the timothy. I think with her condition and state she's in I will give her as much as she wants. I picked up some oxbow alfalfa pellets, orchard grass and oat hay.

 

[Brandy456]

Cheerios.
Lots and lots of cheerios.
( Not the honey nut cheerios, the plain bland ones )

 

[lilbitsmom]

Hi everyone,

I was under the impression that "seeds" in general were not something that the bunnies could really digest and that they were bad for them.

Is this not the case with the black oil sunflower seeds?

I've got a rex girl at the shelter who has a serious problem with gaining weight. We just are scratching our heads and don't know what to try next.

Thanks for the input.

 

[tonyshuman]

They are hard to digest in some cases, especially corn seeds. I think people really shy away from seeds because the high fat content can cause fatty liver disease, and the high protein content can cause GI imbalance/not eating cecals. I think, however, that occasional seeds are ok, especially in a bunny that's having trouble keeping weight on. I also give a few black oil sunflower seeds when my guys are having bad molts to make the coat shinier and come in quicker.

We're all just so terribly afraid of bad pellet mixes that we put seeds on the "NEVER feed" list, when maybe a few are ok, especially for some bunnies with low weight issues.

 

[snap]

Rolled oats and crimped barley. That's what the FFA buns are put on.

Carrots, I think. I just heard you're not supposed to give them lots of carrots because it's fattening for them. It may have been wrong, though.

And leave food out at all times, in an easily accessible place. Very accessible. Older rabbits can become arthritic, and not want to move as much which could be decreasing food intake.