A very skiny rabbit

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Dribbles

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Jul 23, 2006
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Hi i have just in the last few days realisedthat Honey is realy under weight, as you stroke her back you can feelthe ripples between each bone on her spine, I have just realised thatnibbles is taking food away from Honey to eat. I seperated them justnow for their food but am worried as she is realy skinnt she might notmake it through winter. Can anyone help asap
 
I'm no expert but if the cause of her beingunderweight is the other bun stealing all the food then she will gainback fairly fast now that she is seperated.. If you notice she is notthen there might be something else wrong. If it was my bunnie i wouldgive her free fed pellets and all the hay she can eat.
 
A healthy weightgain would be doneover time, not tohave Honey back toher ideal weight asfast as possible. Herregular meal is a goodbasis. As long as sheis eating and isactive, and not deprivedof her food sheshould be fine.

Like Jil101ca says freehay, butpellets (I wouldstill measure) are a start.

For winter, I would add a fewblack sunflower seeds to hermeal, as it is a hotfood and is fatting.

Rainbows! :)
 
When Miffy was underweight we supplemented herfeeding with Oxbow Critical Care for Convalescing Herbivores mix. It isa dry, high fibre mix that you add to some water to make a paste,bunnies can eat it from a bowl, or it can be syringe fed with a largeholes syringe. We also fed her plain, rolled oats (Scot's porridgeoats) that helped her gain weight too.

Take your bun to the vet though. There may be an internal reason she isnot maintaining weight - liver function, teeth etc. should all bechecked out.

Good luck..

mummybunny x
 
Make sure they're the old fashioned ones, notthe 'quick cook' ones. Can't remember why - someone suggested that tome! Maybe the quick cook type puff up too quickly in their tummies?
 
Dribbles, I would really suggest taking your bun to the vet if shes underweight.

I think that if you were feeding proper pellets and unlimited hay,there shouldnt be a reason for her to be so skinny. Are herpoops normal and is she eating- you should be able to monitor this nowthat she is separated.

I think it would be good to have her checked outanyway.Aswas mentioned, lots of things cancontribute to a rabbit losing weight, such as teeth problems,intestinal problems. etc.

Better safe thansorry, in my opinion...

Also, have you seen the newQ & ANaturesteedid on feeding? Lots of good feeding infothere!http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=16340&forum_id=1
 
I have no idea on how to help. I think separating them was a good idea.

how is she doing?
 
Haley wrote:
Dribbles, I would really suggest taking your bun to the vet if shes underweight.

I think that if you were feeding proper pellets and unlimited hay, there shouldnt be a reason for her to be so skinny.
Click to expand...
Although I fully agree with the vet vist, I do not agree with all ofwhat was said. First off, my rather chubby Mocha has a very prominentspine, no matter how much he weighs, I can still feel it. The vetassured me that he is not under weight but over weight. Most likely dueto the mix breeding, it's a conformation fault which is also possiblein purebreds. However, if her spine was not prominent before, thatcannot be the reason.

That being said, my doe has been to the vet because I was concernedabout her weight, the vet was quite pleased with her health and feed aswell as routine. She agreed that Zoey was probably simply wearing offas much as she was eating (she wason unlimitedfeed)and that was why she was not gaining weight at all.There is no medical reason for it at all. She is just now starting toput on weight.

But, I still thinka vet visit is important. Internalparasites can be the cause of a rabbits weight loss as well as a ton ofother medical and environmental factors.
 
I just meant there might be another cause forher being underweight (not just that nibbles is eating the food...). Iam thinking this bun is a little more underweight than just feeling thespine a bit, if he made a comment like "I dont think she will make itthrough the winter".

That was the reasoning. Better safe than sorry in my opinion!
 
No she is definatly underweight you can even seeit without even touching her, i have just found out the sister nibblesis about the same but a bit fatter. i have given them more oats today(tablespoon size) and all there poos are normal. Mum is going to see ifthere is a tonic that would help or as suggested that oxbow stuff.
 
When Miffy was weighed when we noticed herinitial weight loss she had actually lost 25% of her original bodyweight, after being admitted to the vet hospital a list of problemswere revealed that (fingers crossed) are now okay.

You must take your bunny to the vet to be sure, as even feeding oatsand critical care mix will not sort out tooth problems (spurs,overgrown roots, abcesses in jaw), or internal organ issues like liverfunction problems etc.

I really hope your bun is okay, but better to be sure and get any issuetreated than to make it worse by leaving it, after all, there may notbe anything wrong at all. The vet will be able to find out. Best ofluck and keep us updated.

mummybunny x
 
:yeahthat

Miffy is a good example of why an unusually skinny rabbit (or skinnyfor no reason like malnourishment) should be taken to a vet.God knows what would have happened if Mummybunny hadn't!

Personally, I wouldn't add too much to their diets. Maybe asmall increase the pellets, depending on how much you are feeding, anda pinch or two of oats. But overloading them with caloriescould upset their stomachs. Plus when you make them gainweight fast, they only gain fat weight, not muscle weight like theyshould.

I do agree with MBB that some rabbits' bones are just easier to feel nomatter their weight. Fey and Sprite are like that, althoughthey were much worse when they were malnourished due to a poordiet. Then, Fey had a big belly, tight skin, rough fur, andbones sticking out everywhere. Now I can still feel herspine, but it's not bad and her hip bones aren't hard any more.
 
Nutrical can boost the appetite as well as theimmune system. I think it's available in the UK under anothername. Does anyone here know?

It's a high calorie nutritional supplement paste for dogs and cats, but it's safe for rabbits.


 
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