Over weight dwarf

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FreezeNkody

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So I currently own 3 buns. 2 Netherlands and a holland. My female dwarf is really over weight but I'm not sure how to fix it ( sounds bad) the issue lies tat the 2 dwarfs are housed together and i don't know exactly how to limit food to the female without depriving the male. She will throw a tantrum if she's not fed at a certain time or her food bowl is empty. I try to get them out as often as possible with weather and work permitting. They are also housed in an xpen so she can run around all she wants. Any ideas on how to drop a few pounds on her? ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1378243962.167739.jpg


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You'll probably want to slowly reduce the amount of pellets, by like a pinch at a time. That way, she won't notice as much. Then you get her down to like a 1/4 cup even as little as an 1/8 cup a day of pellets. Which is normal for that sized rabbit. And push more hay than pellets. Get different types of hay, (other than oat or alfalfa), to help prompt her to eat more hay.

And I just wanted to say that even though shes over weight, she's ADORABLE! She's like a little ball and she's SO cute!
 
They eat Timothy hay I have 3 racks full of it. 2 water bottles. They are both about 2 years old from my knowledge both fixed. I do free fees them usually about 1/4 cup each in separate bowls.



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So they're getting fed, 1/4 cup twice a day, in two bowls? Thats half a cup a day and thats too much for a dwarf. And she could be pushing the others out of the way to eat the food. So she could be eating like a cup a day of food! Thats WAY too much.

I feed my bun 1/4 cup once a day. I try to split it into two feedings so 1/8 cup twice a day. She's a 4 lb Dutch, so she eats plenty. I would try to get her down to about 1/4 cup once a day. Slowly though, you can't just take her food away. First I would start with separating her while you feed them. Making sure that the heavy one isn't getting the other ones pellets.
 
Do they also get daily greens?
Reducing pellets usually means increasing greens. What size are your rabbits? If they are normally under 2lbs, then they may need a not overly-limited diet.

I know the following is long, but I think it will help better explain what your rabbit may need. It's from the HOuse Rabbit Society.

Because of several potential problems associated with pellets, some veterinarians now recommend that pellets be not only rationed, but rationed quite severely. Instead of giving the rabbit all she can eat in a day, a night, or a few hours, we have been considering the following amounts as maximums (Brown 1994):


5-7 lb of body wt. 1/4 cup daily
8-10 lb body wt. 1/2 cup daily
11-15 lb of body wt. 3/4 cup daily


There is evidence that small breeds (under 2 lbs) may require a diet higher in energy and lower in fiber than the larger breeds (Cheeke 1987, 324). Several foster homes have experienced digestive problems in rabbits under 4 lbs who were put on severely restricted diets.


Once pellets have been reduced, it is equally important to make sure that fresh grass hay is available to the rabbit at all times, and that fresh vegetables be given in larger amounts than has previously been recommended (up to 2-4 cups a day). Actually, because of the problems usually associated with the overfeeding of pellets, some rabbits do better if they receive no pellets at all. Instead, they eat several cups of fresh veggies a day and all the grass hay they want. Other rabbits still eat pellets, but receive significantly less than the above amounts, with a corresponding increase in the amount of vegetables offered. These more extreme measures are particularly helpful for overweight rabbits who need to lose weight safely. Treats should be limited to small (1 tsp.) amounts of fresh fruit. Most starches should be avoided, since too much carbohydrate has been associated with enteritis. Oats and barley in small amounts can be digested by rabbits but can, nonetheless, provide more calories than necessary.


In feeding trials in which pelleted feed was reduced to 50% of normal intake and the diet was supplemented with greens, young rabbits maintained normal growth. When the amount of pellets was reduced to below 50% of “normal,” growth rate declined (Pote et al 1980). These studies indicate that even young, unaltered rabbits do well on a reduced pellet diet. Since most of our house rabbits need to lose weight rather than gain, reducing pellets below 50% should not affect spayed or neutered adults adversely.
 
I've tried doing greens. But she gets really bad diarrhea. So every few days I'll give them some grass and dandelion leaves. Occasional apple bits. The article helps. Thank you :)


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Reducing their pellet intake should really help with the weight issue. I have a bonded pair that lives together. They get a portion of their pellet ration out of a wide, low bowl in their cage and the rest of the day's pellets they eat from my hands. I've found feeding them small amounts at different times of the day allows me to use their pellets as treats (e.g. they always get at least a few pellets when I send them back to their cage before I leave the house) and keeps them eating hay all day long. They share just over 1/4 cup between them, I just spread that small amount out over the day.
 

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