Low Fat Food

[Brandy456]

Well, Babii is on the plump side..Very plump I should say.

And The food im giving her now it's main ingredient is Alfalfa meal. Tracy said thats a no-no so I need a name of a good (low fat) Bun food (and maybe a list of low fat vegi's or treats) that I can find here, In Ottawa (Canada)

Shes getting older now Just turned 2 the 20th of march and I don`t want her going out on heart failure or nothing. So any advice on excerise or anything, Is well apreicated.

I usually make her go all the way up the stairs..and down once every umm..2 days maybe.

Oh and just to note..She can`t be out for a two hour period because of sparky and well..you all know how puppies can be.

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

Pellets should be such a small part of the diet that it should not matter if they are alfalfa or timothy based. The key to bringing weight down in a rabbit is to feed as Mother Nature intended.We have some rabbits that get only hay (high quality) and limited greens in order to prevent weight issues.....the primary ones are our Flemish Giants.

It is vitally important that the weight come off slowly. Rabbits metabolize fat differently than any other animal (like that is a huge surprise). If you reduce the calories too quickly, the fat will be metabolized in the liver....and that usually results in a condition known as hepatic lipidosis....aka fatty liver disease. I think cats are quite prone to this too. Ideally, a blood panel should be performed now and then again in a few months to check the liver values and offer support if necessary.

In our weight watcher program, we start reducing the pellets slowly over a period of several weeks...and if the weight problem is severe, a much longer time period. We make up for the loss of calories by providing bulk....unlimited grass hays and limited greens mostly romaine lettuce. Think cottontail. Ever see an overweight cottontail? Probably not. They get plenty of exercise....and they eat as nature intended and that is low protein and high fiber. And the digestive systems of domestics and cottontails are identical. Once the targeted weight is reached, we offer pellets only to maintain that weight and body conditioning.

Randy

 

[TinysMom]

Just wanted to point out that 2 is still sorta young fora house rabbit - they can live up to 12 or so - depending upon the breed, etc.

Peg

 

[Brandy456]

I knoww but she seems so old to me .

Because i've had her since she was about a month. soo..2 years