Weight gain diet

[Izhang]

This might seem strange since most people I know have problems with overweight bunnies, but mine needs to put ON weight. The vet said I should feed a supplement of Critical Care every day, but he didn't specify on how much or how often. Does anyone have any advice about a weight gain diet?

Shadow weighs in at 2.8 lbs, but ideally he should be around 3-3.5. He's a dwarf mix, 9 years old, recently had his teeth trimmed in January, and was evaluated by the vet as being slightly underweight with chronic dehydration. Here's his feeding pattern:

Morning: 1/6 cup of pellets, but sometimes I feel sorry for him and give 1/5 because he just LOVES them

Mid-day to Afternoon: A bowlful of romaine/parsley/cilantro

7-9pm: 1 tbs of critical care

All night: Unlimited timothy hay

Treats: Occasional alfalfa hay

I'm scared to overfeed him pellets/vegetables, and I feel like I'm already giving him a lot for what his ideal weight should be. He always eats everything I give him enthusiastically and quickly like a starved man.

However, no matter what I try he just doesn't have the same appetite for hay. I think he's eating more than before getting his teeth trimmed. It's hard to tell because I put it in huge handfuls into his litterbox and he pushes it around, but there's definitely still a significant portion of it left the next day. (I'd say I throw away at least 4/5th of the hay I give him daily, if not more.) The hay smells fresh and incredibly fragrant to me, and I haven't had much luck with other types of hay, so he shouldn't have a problem finding it yummy.

Every night when I give him fresh hay he does jump into his litter box and chew on some, but it stops after 30 minutes or so and I don't really observe him eating it any other time during the day. I just don't know how to get him to LOVE his hay, and I think that's contributing to his poor body condition. Thoughts?

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

-more-quality,pellets,daily,,will fatten him up,,my problem is just the opposite....too fat...james waller

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

What kind of pellets are you feeding? As he has weight issues, an alfalfa pellet might be better than a timothy one. As long as he doesn't have issues with excess calcium, it should be fine. Even a 50/50 mix of alfalfa and timothy pellets might work.

Increasing the amount of pellets might be helpful. If he has weight problems, he might need more to maintain a good weight.

Are you mixing the critical care with water to make a mushy paste or just giving the powder? Get a large syringe, about 30ml. Mix the powder with water to make about 15-20mls and put it in the syringe. That should probably be enough to supplement him. As he does have hydration issues, you could make it more watery to get him some more fluids.

 

[introoder]

I've never had a problem with hay... Mix in a little more alfalfa, like... 3/4 timothy, 1/4 alfalfa every time you feed it? That usually gets my buns going CRAZY.
Gradually decrease it, and hopefully his interest in that hay will rise.

As far as the pellets go, a higher protein might help him fill out a little more. My buns are always on a 16%, with nursing does on 18-20, depending on the doe. A lot of home bunny owners buy the feeds from a pet store, and for rabbits, they are almost allllways 12%. Sometimes 14, on rare occasions.

Soo. that's my sugestion. =D

 

[Izhang]

He gets timothy based pellets from Oxbow. I switched over from an alfalfa-based diet because the vet pointed out that his calcium level was a bit high (when we did a blood work.) That's why I'm not too keen on feeding him more alfalfa, since his kidneys probably aren't working as well due to old age.

I mix the Critical Care in 2 parts water 1 part powder, so it's mushy like a pudding. I sometimes do put a little extra water in there.