How to get my baby to grow!

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Missylilred

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Hi all,
I’ve just taken my baby to the vet for the first time and found out she had parasites and is only 2.5kg. She is a 4 month Flemish Giant and I’m wondering if the parasite might have slow down her growth? Google says she should be about 4-5kg.

Does anyone know if she really is a Flemish? Pics attached for reference 😊

Does anyone have any tips on how to get her to grow to her full size? She has a room of about 5m x 5m so I don’t think space is a issue

thanks!!!
 

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Welcome!

Wow, she's a cutie! 😍 Hard to tell if she is a Flemish Giant or not, she sounds pretty small for a 4 month old Flemish, but her ears certainly look big (like she'll need to grow into them)!

Unless you saw her parents with your own eyes, there's no reliable way to be sure she's purebred- you will just have to wait and see how she grows.

A parasite infestation could certainly inhibit normal growth; an infestation that heavy would usually be accompanied by a dull coat, low energy, a bloated belly, and general lackluster. Assuming the vet treated her for these parasites, she will grow just fine if you provide her with good pellets, lots of fresh hay, and bunny-safe greens. 🐰🌿
 
What parasite and what was she treated with?

Yes, a parasite can result in stunted growth. I have a friend that had an undersized baby rabbit, that was treated for worms and after that caught up in size to his siblings.

Usually once the parasite is dealt with, a good balanced diet with sufficient protein levels, is all the rabbit needs to continue to grow normally. What is your rabbits diet like(type and amount of hay, pellets, any additional foods)?

Looks like she could be Flemish to me.
 
It was coccidia and she was treated with Baycox Piglet (just finished the course and is in the clear yay)

She is being pretty fussy with hay but has been eating a mix of Timothy and standard hay bale. Doesn’t seem like she’s eating much of it so thought I would try a different one in my next pet shop order. The vet told me she should b having 1/4 pellets a day but she seems so hungry so she has been probably a little bit more than that whoops (maybe 1/2 cup). And a decent handful of dandelions/ribwort and sow thistles a day 😊

thanks for you help! I’m a new bun mum so everything is a learning experience 🥰🐇
 
Coccidia can definitely cause retarded growth rate. Now that it's been treated, you should start seeing more normal growth and weight gain. Though as your rabbit matures, she may end up being on the smaller end of the scale for a flemish, or she could catch up and be a normal size. Just no way to know for sure.

If she's not eating much hay, she definitely needs to be getting more pellets until you get that sorted out. And 1/2 cup per day for a growing flemish, is definitely not too much. In fact it might not be enough. She either needs to be getting more pellets or a semi leafy higher protein grass hay(as opposed to a more coarse grass hay),that she is actually consuming well. Or that could be supplemented with some good quality alfalfa/lucerne hay. She just needs enough protein in her diet for good growth. So either more pellets, or a leafy grass hay, or a combination of grass hay and lucerne.

Pellet amounts for a growing flemish can be much higher, and flemish take longer to grow than smaller breeds. At least the first year of their life they need a higher protein diet. So for hay amounts you're aiming for a rabbit eating a pile of grass hay the size of their body per day minimum, with healthy looking and sized fecal balls. Then for growing young rabbits the rest of the time they can have pellets, if you opt for feeding more pellets as opposed to more of a leafy grass hay(or some lucerne added to the grass hay). You just have to be feeding enough protein, from either a leafy grass hay, or some lucerne added, or an increase of pellets. After 15 months lucerne needs to be transitioned out. Though also if there are any signs of thickened creamy or sludgy urine, then lucerne shouldn't be fed.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/feeding.html
Until you can sort the hay issue out where she is eating a pile of semi leafy grass hay, the size of her body per day minimum, I would either increase the pellet amount or add in some lucerne hay. Because insufficient food, fiber, protein and calories, will definitely stunt her growth and could risk a gut slowdown and GI stasis. I would also monitor her body condition and weight gain.

Monitoring a rabbits weight

When she was at the vet, did the vet also check her teeth? It's important to make sure that pickiness with hay isn't due to a dental issue. Also want to make sure the lack of good hay eating isn't because of the hay being off. You want good horse quality green hay with no signs of mold(black and white spots, white dust, dampness, sour or musty smell), noxious weeds, or excess dust.
 
Amazing thank you so much for your help!!
That’s a relief that she can have more pellets as I think it was stressing us both out when she was hungry haha.
i have picked up some lucerne hay for her so hopefully she munches more on that!
Yes the vet checked her teeth and she’s all good. She has been eating some just definitely not her body weight! And she has certainly been munching on plenty of things to keep them trimmed.
thanks again!!
 

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