Is my rabbit hungry?

[EdwardForDaWeen]

I got Shiro about 2 weeks ago from the petstore and he is right now about 9 weeks old. I know that many suggest keeping rabbits who are under 6 months old to have an unlimited pellet diet but he appears to be gaining weight quite a bit? He is a Polish rabbit. Today I changed his diet to only 1/4 cup pellets a day with ofcourse unlimited hay.

I feel like I should go back to unlimited pellets because its like he begs for it, and looks like he's really hungry. I dont want to make him overweight though.

Any advice?

 

[ZRabbits]

I have a Polish that I kept on unlimited pellets and he's done very well. I started to cut back at 6 months. I know your bunny might look heavy, but bunnies grow fast in their first six months. Kreacher would look heavy to me at time. But also you have to account for their fur. Baby fur is a bit more fluffier. The little ones also have a fast metabolism and need that extra fuel to keep them nourished.

Your baby is hungry and I really think you should go back to unlimited pellets and unlimited hay as well. He needs it to help him grow.

You can control his weight when he reaches maturity.

K

 

[EdwardForDaWeen]

Thanks for the advice, I'll go back to the unlimited pellet diet!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Rabbits do tend to act like they are starving when you give pellets, so their reaction has little to do with how hungry they might be. If he has lots of hay and is eating it, then he is not starving.

Young rabbits do need more pellets than adults. You can keep giving unlimited pellets or just give a large measured amount. You can monitor his weight and cut back a bit on pellets if he is getting overweight. It may be good to wait until he is around 4 months old before doing this and don't cut back too much.

 

[ZRabbits]

Acting starved and really stressed because they are starved can look a like. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Plus I've found at 9 weeks, my bunny's hay habits were just starting to kick in so the pellets were a major source of nourishment.

And 4 months is always my check point too. Just make sure they are ready for that cut off. Once you really get to know your bunny, you will know if he's only acting and not stressed. Thanks to that Polish I have really good system of checking diets.

K

 

[majorv]

I mentioned in another post that we have Polish rabbits and I found that some of them can become overweight very easily. Some know when to stop eating and some don't. When I had 3 - three month olds that were bumping up against the senior weight category (which is a 6 month old),I decided that I couldn't leave them on unlimited pellets after they were no longer with the mom. I don't think 1/4 cup once a day is enough though. I feed mine that amount twice a day. My rabbits are for show and so weight is critical. Your little guyis a pet.

 

[wendymac]

I guess it's time to bring the scale up from the barn and weigh Nestle. I feed him free-choice pellets (just like my large breeds). So far I don't think he's gained much weight but he's just about to turn 6 months old. He's currently doing laps in his pen, so hopefully he's burning off his daily calories. LOL