How to know if he is eating too much and/or overweight?

Flynn eats a lot...well seems like a lot. I find it hard to tell if he is fat, I can feel his ribs and other bones, but I am use to feeling dogs and cats so I wasn't sure if it was the same for buns.

He eats one bowl of food, I don't measure it exactly just fill the bowl, it doesn't hold more than 1/3 cup..it is a tiny bowl. Then he gets his hay box fillled twice a day. I give it more if he empties it, but that isn't everyday. He also gets greens at night, about 1 cup green lettuce (romaine, green or red leaf)then some parsley or other similar food. Once or so a week he gets a carrot and once a week a strawberry or apple. If something is on sale at the store I will get that too, like mustard greens or collard greens. I do not feed spinach and something else ( my rabbit vet gave me a good list of foods for him).

Is this too much food? He will be 1 on April 8th, and I am not sure how much he weighs, I could take him to my cat vet and weigh him(his vet is far away) what weight range does the typical holland lop fit into? He is a big boy and when he stretches out he looks thin, well perfect. He does however finish all his food everyday.

According to the Standard, a Holland Lop should not weigh over 4 pounds. We use a digital postage scale to weigh our rabbits and that works really well. You could increase the amount of pellets you give him, but it would be better to weigh him first. I'm not familiar with Hollands to know how they should feel.

Hollands can weigh more than 4 lbs though. I have a holland doe that looks alot like your Flynn, and she weighs around 5 lb., though she is a little oveweight. Flynn doesn't look overweight to me in that picture so you don't want to cut back on his food at all. I can't tell if he is underweight though. Feel along his back and the flesh along side his spine. if it feels pretty well fleshed and somewhat rounded along side his spine then he's probably a good weight. But if it feels like his spine is protruding too much, and if looking at him, he seems boney at all, then you may need to increase his pellet amount a little.

Holland lops do have the dwarf gene, so there are some that don't have it and end up bigger than the standard.

Rabbits tend to not put weigh on their bones like a dog or cat will, so feeling the spine and hips can be normal. But being able to feel them really easily and not having muscle around the bones is concerning. A fat or obese rabbit will have hard to feel bones and not much shape.

Adult rabbits don't really need a ton of pellets. 1/3 of a cup is on the higher side for a rabbit about his size, but can still be good if he is maintaining his weight. The hay and veggies sound good as well. Rabbits do tend to eat more than a dog or cat of the same size, but since most is hay they aren't usually getting more calories.

You do need to go more on feel with rabbits to determine if they are a good weight. There is so much variety within breeds that just going by weight is not enough. Weighing your rabbit is good so you can track gains and losses.

I can feel his ribs and hips easily, when he is balled up u have to press a bit more but when moving and laying down it is very easy. I will measure out exactly how much food he is getting and put him on our human scale to get an idea. He was 4lbs at 4 months when he was neutered. I can't remember exactly but I thought our vet said he would be around 8lbs because I remember saying something about him being bigger than the dog and the same size as the cats. He is a very lazy rabbit, when he is out if his cage and even outside he really just hops and sleeps. There has been very few times he has ran fast. He is hilarious on a daily basis, he likes to sleep behind the toilet he has been this way since day one, he is just a very laid back guy...he thumps occasionally but other than that, never a bite, charge, box, grunt...he is great with my 2 small children. He couldn't be a better bun, I was worried because I know dogs and cats that are more laid back tend to gain weight when eating normal amounts compared to their counterparts. Maybe I should email his breeder and see if he is way bigger than he is suppose to be...I will go weigh him now! he is right around 6lbs, we do not have a digital scale so exact.

Thanks for all the advice, he can look so round when curled up in his tight sleeping balls.

My female dwarf is chubby. I've tried to limit food, but shes in with her husbun and i can't deprive him.. Summer hoping to get them outside more and less food.

kloppie8 said:

He was 4lbs at 4 months when he was neutered. I can't remember exactly but I thought our vet said he would be around 8lbs because I remember saying something about him being bigger than the dog and the same size as the cats.

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If he was 4 pounds at 4 months, I doubt he will be 8 pounds full grown. Felix was 7 pounds at 4 months and is now probably around 8-9 pounds and just over 6 months old. He is a Rhinelander, so hopefully won't get much bigger.