Fattening Foods?

[Mikoli]

OK - To try to keep this short, I recently started school again, and got a new puppy. Between homework and puppysitting, I haven't had that much time for Ollie in the last two weeks, and I am sad to say that he's been a bit neglected. I haven't monitored his diet very closely, or let him out for grazing time on the grass, or that much playtime at all, really. I feel really guilty about it, but now I'm devoting all of my free time to getting him back into shape.

He's underweight. Not so much that he's about to drop dead, but I need to do something about it quickly. He puts on condition alright, but I need some advice on what sorts of foods are safetly fattening? I know that black sunflower seeds are relatively fattening for rabbits, so I'll go to the shops on the weekend and get a bag of them to mix into his feed. They are safe, right?

Any suggestions? I know some of you have rescued rabbits in poor condition and nursed them back to health, so I was hoping you'd have advice. Ollie is a very picky eater, and doesn't much like his hay or his pellets most of the time, but he adores all leafy vegetables, and some fruits. He also loves sunflower seeds, and those sort of "rabbit mix" ingredients.

Rachel.

 

[BlueGiants]

Poor Ollie... hope he bounces back quickly. Rolled oats will put weight on a bunny too. (The sameoats we eat as oatmeal. But not the flavored stuff! Quaker Oats work well.)

 

[GoinBackToCali]

We use a half a cup of cheerios every other day on underweight show rabbits to make weight.

I don't advise doing it to everybody's rabbit. They are great for treats, and fine in moderation..

I SAID IN MODERATION... with that being said.. half a cup.. and he will think he is getting a great treat. I still give them to some of my rabbits who are no longer on the show circuit...occasionally, just cause they love them so much.

 

[Mikoli]

Thanks guys. Ollie's put on a little weight, but he's still pretty under. He's been awfully picky about his food lately. He hasn't been eating very many of the sunflower seeds I bought him. Is there anything that I can add to his pellet mix to make it a bit more appealing to him? Preferably something that is common, and I won't have to go for miles to find. I keep thinking honey, but then I remember that rabbits don't eat honey.

:?

 

[GoinBackToCali]

The only common things I can think of, right off hand, have your tried offering him a piece of bread?

Some of the kids give their bunnies bread to even up weights before shows. I don't mean offer him a loaf, just a piece of bread. a slice.

Mine also like Wheat Thins and Veggie crackers..

I also give my nursing moms alfalfa pellets and fresh alfalfa hay because it's fattening, and the one's with the huge litters seem to get the life sucked out of em sometimes.

I also mix a tad bit of wheat germ oil in my feed, my buns love that, you can usually get that at any feed store.

I stress in moderation, it is easy to make a bunny fat... I am not saying this for your benefit so much as much as the people reading this thinking *Oh Zin says its ok to feed my Bun cereal, so thats all I am gonna feed him*...that ain't what I said....

If I think of anything else I will give you a jingle... best of luck!

Wait.. I did think of something.. have you had his teeth checked? His molars?

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

Couple of cautions about adding/dropping weight in a rabbit. Do either very slowly. You do not want fast weight gain or loss. The way a rabbit metabolizes fat is much different than other animals (like so many other things). Changing weight quickly can really cause some damage to the liver....much more so with weight loss.

The way to safely add weight is to slowly increase calories. Since we deal with many underweight buns coming into rescue, once we establish we don't have or we treatany underlying medical issues such as depression,infections, intestinal parasitesor dental problems, we slowly ramp up the calories. We usually do this based on alfalfa hay. We also use greens, like kale and dandelions, that have a lot of nutrition in them. We also allow them free choice pellets (we only use pellets to maintain weight and conditioning in our sanctuary rabbits). If you have a vet, a shot of B Comp sometime works wonders....and there are a couple of drugs that can be given to stimulate appetite but should be used only in some extreme cases.

The idea here is to not to use a short term fix for a long term issue. Don't try to add weight quickly. Ask any vet about how to start feeding and adding weight to a starving animal....you would think it would be to allow them to eat all they want....not so. You want to do it slowly to get the maximum long term health benefits.

Randy

 

[Mikoli]

GoinBackToCali wrote:

Wait.. I did think of something.. have you had his teeth checked? His molars?

No, not yet. I had a quick peek at his teeth yesterday, and they looked pretty normal to me. I haven't had a good look yet, because he's been pretty fidgety lately and it's been hard to get him to hold his mouth still long enough for me to get a peek at them. If I get the chance, I'll probably take him to the vet for a checkup.

I thought bread was bad for rabbits ... ? I can't off the top of my head remember why, but my vet advised me a while back not to feed rabbits bread. I assume it's alright in moderation, but I don't want to overdo it. Can anyone remind me why not? Just in case ...

I know not to dramatically increase my rabbit's feed, but thanks for reminding me Randy. Ollie's a funny duck, and he's very picky about what he eats and doesn't eat. He has never, in the two years I have had him, eaten all the food I've given him. I'll give him a handful of hay, and he'll eat half. I'll give him half a handful, and he eats half of it. Some days he eats pellets, some he doesn't.

Phone, will write more later.

 

[GoinBackToCali]

I think it is because of the carbs...

Like I said, we just do it a couple days before a show to put weight on buns to even them all up on the scales. it isnt something I recommend to do on a regular basis.

 

[Lias_ark]

I use nutrical to pit weight on rabbits. It is for puppies and can be bought at the pet store. I squirt a little on their mouth and they lick it up.

 

[tonyshuman]

my thought is that maybe there is another reason he's underweight, like an illness. could that be a possibility?

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

:yeahthat:I was just thinking that.:?Has he lost the weight very suddenly or over a long period of time? Is he acting strangely at all or showing any signs of illness?

I think if I were youI'd take him in to the vets to be checked over, as it is better to be safe than sorry.:?

 

[Mikoli]

I suppose it is possible that Ollie would have gotten some sort of illness. But, all his life he hasn't been eating very much, and he's always checked out fine with the vets. Even over the holidays, he was reasonably thin, but it was over a two week period that he got so thin I started to worry. The only way he's acting strange at all is that he's not as active as he used to be, but that's more due to his lack of exercise lately than anything else. He still will move if I ask him to (he was jumping about 30cm (one foot) yesterday), he just doesn't want to rip around anymore.

If I get the chance, I'm definately taking him to the vet. However, it'd be difficult, and I doubt my parents would agree unless I can prove to them that he actually is sick.

Rachel.