Gaining weight in a rabbit

[massie777]

I just got a rabbit into the rescue that i need some help with. It is a 1 year old female really small dwarf. She is very underweight, you can feel all her bones and she only weighs 1.95 pounds.
I took her into my rescue because she came into my vet needing a dental on her back teeth and the owner could not afford it. she had the dental and is doing great. She eats constantly pellets and hay but i was wondering if their is anything i can feed her to gain weight that wont upset her stomich. i am going to try and give her some critical care everyday and see if that gains some weight.
let me know what you guys think.

Thanks
mandy- CottonTail Rabbit Rescue
www.cottontailrescue.weebly.com

 

[Flashy]

You can gradually add some oats to her diet (regular oats, not quick or instant). Also Sunflower seeds can be good for putting on weight too.

Sounds like she is in the right place right now

 

[massie777]

thanks for the advice, I will try the oats and sunflower seeds.

 

[Bunnymom,K]

Has she been checked for internal parasites?
If she is all clear then I would go with adding oats or sunflower seeds to her diet.

 

[massie777]

i started her on albon just in case, but he stool looks normal.

 

[Sweetie]

What kind of pellets is she eating? You could try alfalfa pellets, they put weight on rabbits. Try Sunaturals, it is high in fiber and it has hay and other things that she would need also.

 

[Maureen Las]

I wouldn't give her a whole lot of new food at once but introduce larger amounts slowly if she has not been eating

A variety of new foods in large amounts is going to cause GI problems
Some benebac may help her also now....

 

[tonyshuman]

It will probably take time for her to regain the weight, but there were a lot of good suggestions already. I think an alfalfa food would be good for her at this point. Bene-Bac is also good with any major diet change, and really you shouldn't do anything too quickly. Make sure she has a lot of hay too, to keep all this new stuff moving through.

 

[massie777]

thanks for all the suggestions, i have her on purina rabbit chow right now, but i have been feeding her some alfalfa hay. i am hopeing in the next 1-2 weeks she gains some weight back. i will keep you guys updated

 

[Sweetie]

Sounds pretty good.

 

[dquesnel]

Once she is settled on her new diet, you could add carrot pieces to her diet. Treat size- not an entire carrot. If she doesn't like it, dehydrated papaya is a favorite. It is perfectly fine to begin adding small amounts of sugar to her diet once she gets settled in and on the right track.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

As she did need dental work, she may not have been eating much and that could have caused some weight loss. A steady diet should help her put some of the weight back on.
I wouldn't do too much too soon. Give her a week on a good diet and see if she gains some weight. If she does, there is a good chance that she will continue to put it on until she get to be a good weight. Some oats couldn't hurt, but you will need to monitor her so she doesn't put too much on.

Weekly (or more often) weighings can help you too. I wouldn't worry too much about small fluctuations as they can just be food or poop. Look for overall gradual increases.

She is in good hands now and should do wonderfully.

 

[massie777]

UPDATE: just wanted to let everyone know that i think Maude is gaining weight, i am going to weight her at work on thurs. to see for sure. I do have another concern for her though, she is drinking a lot of water. She drinks about 1 full bowl of water wich is about 1 cup of water in less then a day. Not even some of my big bunnies do that and she is tiny. Do u think she could have something wrong with her more then her teeth that has made her soo skinny?

 

[tonyshuman]

At her age, kidney disease is pretty rare. You could have blood work done to check her kidney/liver function. That or a urinary tract infection could cause her to drink more. If her pee looks normal and her kidneys are ok, she could just be a thirsty girl.