Another rabbit chin!

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grace_morse_

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My rabbit willow (Rex) has a double chin. I don't know if it's healthy or something. Thanks. And what can I do to make her not have it?
 
It's called a dewlap (google image "rabbit dewlap" for confirmation). It's perfectly normal for female rabbits. When they get pregnant they pull fur off it to help make the nest. A rabbit can have a dewlap and still be perfectly fit - to tell if a bunny is chubby you should look at the rest of her body (here's a chart: http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-weight.asp). You can't make the dewlap go away - it's just a part of normal anatomy for many rabbits.

However, it can be larger in unspayed rabbits - which isn't a problem on its own, but female rabbits HAVE to be neutered. So if she isn't, make an appointment with your vet. It's not like in other animals where you spay to avoid babies - with female rabbits spaying is all but mandatory because they have a tendency to get ovarian cancer. My vet has said she's seen it as young as 18 months, so females should be spayed as soon as they're mature. Unspayed rabbits have an 80 percent chance of developing cancer and half half the average lifespan of fixed rabbits; spaying should eliminate this risk.
 
The percentage quoted is a bit high, and misleading. The risk of cancer increases with the age of the doe, and it does go up significantly once they reach 5-6 years old. Only one study showed the 80% (in older does), others show it at more than half, which is still pretty high but not as high as the one study (which also used small sample size).

But that doesn't have anything to do with the OP's original question. The dewlap is normal and not an indication that your rabbit is overweight. As long as it's not so big it interferes with her drinking water from a bowl, I wouldn't worry about it.
 

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