How much to feed a Netherland Dwarf who needs to go on a diet?

[cmh9023]

When I got Button from the shelter he weighed 1.9 lbs. I took he and his partner Sherry to the vet today and, while Sherry lost1/2 lb, Button GAINED 1/2 a lb.

Sherry has some problems with her molars and I think I waited too long to have them filed, which is probably why she was eating less and lost weight. I felt terrible I hadn't noticed. However, I also hadn't really noticed Button is starting to look like a little round gray ball.

I'm going to start feeding them separately so Sherry can gain some weight and he can lose a little.

My question is how much pellets should Button get? Right now, together, they get a little over a 1/4 cup which is supposed to be 1/8 cup for each but apparently Button's been getting the majority of them :?

When I look at the size of a less-than-1/8 cup portion for him, I feel like I'll be starving the little guy. They eat Bunny Basics T, have unlimited timothy hay and vegetables every day.

Thanks,

Cara

 

[aurora369]

That amount of pellets sounds okay. His diet should mainly be hay, especially if he's pudgy.

I would give him nice leafy greens and lots of hay. You should notice his hay in take going up, so he's not going to starve he'll just be eating healtheir.

I'm lucky that my pairs share their pellets pretty evenly and I don't have to seperate anyone. I'm very happy about that!

Good luck on your little mans diet.

--Dawn

 

[tamsin]

The pellets you do feed are also a good opportunity to make him exercise. Like people a combination of diet and exercise is the best way to get healthy.

Make him work for his for example put the pellets in a treatball, hide them under boxes, on top of things he has to jump on or just generally spread them over a wide distance to make him move about. You can do the same with food, if you peg it to the top of the cage he has to stretch everytime he wants a bit.

For my house bun I don't feed any pellets as 'food' in a bowl they are just used as treats or activities like the above. If you feed them as treats it's also easier to monitor how much each of a pair is getting so one can have more and the other less.

A low pellet diet will help with teeth problems too, the less pellets they have the more hay they eat and the more their teeth are worn. Though as she's under weight she'll need feeding up a little first.

Weighing your rabbits weekly (just use kitchen/bathroom scales) is a good way to monitor health

Tamsin

 

[ra7751]

Hi Cara,

NDs are very prone to weight gain. We have some that get only about a dozen pellets once a day. NDs are also very prone to dental issues due to the shape of their face/jaw. Pellets can lead to molar spurs since they require no real chewing at all. The primary diet should be hay....unlimited grass hays. Since hay is very chewy, it really works those teeth. And by feeding different types of hays...the different textures require different chewing mechanisms....and that wears the teeth better. And you already know the benefits of that low protein, high fiber diet for the gut....and to keep the weight down. We have some buns that eat no pellets at all...only very high quality hay and limited greens.

I would separate them at pellet time. A rabbit metabolizes fat far differently than other animals (isn't that a surprise?). It is very important to the long term health of the liver that weight be added or reduced slowly. To reduce weight, gradually reduce the amount of pellets over a period of a couple of weeks. To add weight, gradually increase the calories. We use pellets only to maintain weight and conditioning. Don't really care if any of our healthy rabbits eat pellets....as long as they keep the hay going. And exercise will not only burn calories, it will help with overall body conditioning.

Randy

 

[cmh9023]

Thanks for all the information! I started the new diet and fitness program for them today

 

[BSAR]

I have a ND who is pretty overwieght as well. I got her and she was overwieght and then she dropped weight and then gained it again. I was told she would have to be in pet quality show class but at County fair last year we were away and they took her a put her in type and she did great. It is hard for me to manage her wieght, when you look at her and another Nd she is sooo much larger, but she doesn't weigh much more. I don't give her that many pellets any more but the problem with her is that she doesn't really like the hay, she loves pellets.

I don't like not giving them pellets either because I think they will starve but as long as they have hay then they can't complain and that will make them eat it.

Another problem with some of my buns being over weight is that they don't always get exercise, like in winter they rarely come outside. In the summer though, they are usually out for three to six hours a day. With supervision of course. My mom also feeds them too much when we go to our dads house, even when we tell her specifically " Only give them enough pellets to like barely cover the bottom of the bowl and give them tons of hay." Our buns also only get veggies and fruits a few times a month because it is just too expensive to give them veggies and fruits every single day.