High calorie veggies?

[BethM]

I am wondering if there is a higher-calorie (but still healthy) vegetable that I can add to Benjamin's salad to help put weight on him. Normal salad at my house is leaf lettuce, dandelion greens, parsley, and cilantro.

I took Benjamin in last night for his first vet visit since we got him (about 6 months ago). He wasn't going in for an illness, I just wanted to get him checked over, and also get him into the vet's system. I was also a bit concerned about his ears, as he doesn't seem to hear things very well and is generally startled when he sees me walk into the room, even though the other bunnies heard me coming. Also, I wanted his teeth checked, as he eats quite a bit less that my other bunnies, even though he is larger than some of them.

He came up generally good. Excellent tooth alignment. Small amount of ear wax (I'm to do a couple ear rinses to help with this), but nothing major. Clear eyes and nose. Normal heart, breathing, and tummy sounds. No unusual lumps.

However, my veterinarian thinks Benjamin could stand to gain a bit more weight. He was very thin when I got him, and he has put weight on since then. The vet commented that he has a lot of "extra" skin, as though he used to be much larger, but has lost a lot of weight. He would like to see Benjamin fill out a bit more.

I have already been adding oats (about a teaspoon) to his feed each day, and am going to pick up some alfalfa cubes to give him. I do not want to swith him to all alfalfa hay, as he is already extremely picky about his hay, and I don't want him to decide he only wants alfalfa.

Oh, he is an adult male (neutered)mini-lop, and his weight last night was 5lbs, 3.5oz. I can still feel his hip and shoulder bones, but his ribs are nowhere near as prominent as they were when I got him. (He was from a shelter.)

I also do not want to increase sugary treats too much. I want his weight gain to be gradual and healthy. He currently gets the same treats as the other bunnies, one slice of banana (or a no-sugar-added banana chip) with his breakfast salad, and one piece of no-sugar-added dried papaya bit at bedtime.

Any suggestions would be welcome!

 

[elrohwen]

I googled "calories in veggies" and came up with a few lists. Of course, starchy veggies have the highest calorie count, but these aren't good for buns. The surprising ones I found were that sprouts and kale contain at least twice as many calories (if not more) as typical lettuce. So I would try some of those.

Also, could you just give him some more pellets? How much is he getting at the moment?

 

[pamnock]

A few sunflower seeds and some oats will help to add some flesh.

Pam

 

[BethM]

pamnock wrote:

A few sunflower seeds and some oats will help to add some flesh.

Pam

Pam, thank you for mentioning sunflower seeds. I've read about them being high in calories, but have never fed them, so I didn't think to give them. Do I get the ones sold for wild birds? Feed the whole in the shell? Thanks!

I already feed him oats daily. I use a Tablespoon as a scooper, but fill it half to 3/4 full. Have been giving these for a few months.

 

[BethM]

elrohwen wrote:

I googled "calories in veggies" and came up with a few lists. Of course, starchy veggies have the highest calorie count, but these aren't good for buns. The surprising ones I found were that sprouts and kale contain at least twice as many calories (if not more) as typical lettuce. So I would try some of those.

Also, could you just give him some more pellets? How much is he getting at the moment?

Cool, I might try adding kale into his salad. (He gets 2 cups of salad daily.)

As for pellets..........Benjamin isn't too hot on pellets. He does eat them, but doesn't get excited over them. When I first got him, he would sniff the pellets, but not eat them. The next day I would throw out the old and give him more. It took about 3 weeks before he started eating the pellets. I feed straight timothy pellets. I suspect that he had previously been given either alfalfa pellets, or pellets with colored junk in it. (It also took him a couple days to get the hang of salad, he may have never had that before.)

He gets 1/3 cup each day (my other bunnies get 1/4 cup), but just doesn't go crazy for them. It sometimes takes him overnight to finally finish them.

On hay, he also only eats about half of what my other bunnies eat. I don't know if he'd had that before coming to me, or not. He only like fresh hay. If it's been in his basket for more than a few hours, he will not touch it. Even the fresh hay, he only eats about half of it, the rest he throws on the floor and lays on it.

He also doesn't get the exercise the rest of them do. When it's his turn out, he does not ever leave the rabbit room. He will go up to the door, and look out, but won't leave. He spends most of his run time in his cage. He also periscopes a LOT. I wonder if he was kept in a small cage and not given a lot of exercise. This is another reason I don't want to bulk him up too quickly, he just won't work the extra calories off.