How "fat" should she be?

[Sayuri]

We have had Lottie now since Monday and to look at her she looks fine and healthy and her weight may be perfect for her breed but as someone who has only had fluffy lops I am wondering if she is a bit skinny.

As I said she looks fine but when she touch her you can feel every single bone in her little body. Is this normal for a dutch? Her foster carer was really good and didnt say anything about her being underweight so it may just be her breed but I am at the point at the moment where I am thinking of feeding her 3 times a day for a while to fatten her up.

She wont eat hay, we think she worrys about it because of her dental problems, she will only eat carrots and only if they are grated - she really is a very picky bunny and I thought Grace was bad. Im going to try her on some grated apples in the next few days and try and introduce new veggies into her limited diet.

Does anyone here know how much she should weigh and if, by my discription she does sound to be underweight?

 

[Luv-bunniz]

From my experience of dutch rabbits, thats not normal. My vet uses oats for keeping weight on but they can also be quite fattening. From all the dutch rabbits I have handled (easily over 40) they do feel bony compared to the lops like french lops, dwarf lops etc but its east to tell they are not under weight of course, its hard to tell without actually being hands on with the rabbit but you could always see a vet for a second opinion.

 

[LadyBug]

i'd know if you've thought of this, but if she really likes carrot, the why not put a little grated apple, ect in with the grated carrot and increase the amount every time. just an idea. sorta ease her into it so maybe she won't notice it so much at first.

 

[tundrakatiebean]

show quality dutches are usually around 4-4.5 lbs. My dutch is a little over that. But all rabbits are different.

 

[tonyshuman]

just like tundrakatiebean, my full-grown 2yo dutch male is 4.5-5 lbs. he doesn't feel bony at all, but you can feel his spine and hips if you try. he looks a little pudgy and the vet said to not have him gain any more weight, but not try to have him lose any.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I'd give her a pinch of old fashioned oats with her feed in the mornings or something.

That's what I did for Clover and she got a little meat on her and has kept it.