Bunny and weight

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Feb 23, 2020
Messages
287
Reaction score
205
Location
Iowa
My rabbit is a female Flemish rabbit. I was looking at what she should weigh now and she is about 1 month behind on the low side of normal. She mostly eats hay with fresh greens daily. Should I try to get her weight up? Or not worry and just let her eat and be at the weight that comes natural? She looks healthy. She weighs 8lbs and is almost 5 months old.
 

Attachments

  • 20200612_073250.jpg
    20200612_073250.jpg
    184.1 KB · Views: 3
Imho there isn't exactly a norm of weight/age, unless you've got data of that breeding line with that way of feeding them. You can determine if a rabbit is the right weight by feeling the spine and ribs, you should feel the bumps well, the ribs not so much. If the spine is very sharp and you can feel the ribs easily she's underwight, if you barly feel the spine she's fat.
Being fat is much more problematic for rabbits than being on the lean side. I'm not familiar with flemishs and how they grow, some of mine have checkered giant genes in them, they tend to first grow bones and size and fill out later, so there are differences between breeds.

Big, growing rabbits can profit from some extra rations pellets and calories, the digestive system didn't exactly scale up when the breeds were created, so if he's only on greens and hay he might indeed be somewhat skinny. Alfalfa based pellets, kitchen oatmeal or rolled oats and black sunflower seeds can be given to add some calories. Don't overdo it, and start slowly.
Perfect stuff to train the rabbit btw, to come when called, or to tolerate proceedures she doesn't like, like being picked up - give treat right afterwards.
 
Your flemish giant can also be smaller than normal. The weight per month is just a mean value of rabbits, as long your bunny is gaining weight and growing I wouldn’t worry that much ☺️
 
My rabbit is a female Flemish rabbit. I was looking at what she should weigh now and she is about 1 month behind on the low side of normal. She mostly eats hay with fresh greens daily. Should I try to get her weight up? Or not worry and just let her eat and be at the weight that comes natural? She looks healthy. She weighs 8lbs and is almost 5 months old.
I agree with other comments that if you feel her body is not too thin it's maybe her own norm.
Also large breeds growing more slowly and she is not her full size at 5 months for sure. I have a soft spot for flemmies when/if I have more room I would love one, they are gorgeous I imagine they are just like dogs!

Flemmies are 15 lb average but can grow up to 25 lb as far as I know but it is also who were parents, is she full breed or maybe she had some mixed history etc.

The largest one I have is Smokey I can't tell her weight since I am waiting on baby scale arriving hopefully this week by post so I can weight them all, but she is maybe 5-6kg (11-12 lbs) she has heavy bottom and tiny head very pretty blue lop girl. So I've got her when she was 9 weeks and she only reached her full size maybe at 9-10 months, she's now 1 year and 8 months.

Funny that she was one of rabbits I had to actually pay for her, not from a breeder but from an oopsie litter so I bought her to save from bad living conditions, and she was sold to me as mini lop. She was looking like a mini lop then, but she grew up now and she's massive 🤣
Oh and she was a boy then as well, I only found out she's a girl after a few weeks 🤣 🤣

Your rabbit is very beautiful! I think she's still growing and if you feel her spine and ribs and think she's a bit underweight you could add some pellets to her diet, or if you don't want pellets maybe some rolled oats or black sunflower seed, but her body feels good I wouldn't worry much.
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Back
Top