obese bun needs a diet. I need advice

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frogorf

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So I adopted a female mix bun today. She's been looking for a home for awhile. And I've been watching her awhile.(Knowing she's supposed to be in my home.) You just know. :D
Anyways the pet store that was looking after her for the rescue society was feeding WAY too many pellets. About 2 cups a day. Basically they filled her dish when it was empty. As well as 2 med carrots half an apple and a few leaves of romaine lettuce. That's was her daily diet. Anyways she's 15 pounds and looks pregnant. her coat is bristly and light (meaning no under coat.) not dense and plushy like it's supposed to be. She saw a vet a few weeks ago for an check up, Apparently there was no mention that she may be over weight.(the shop attendant didn't have that information) Either way. With the information I have. How would I safely go about putting her on a diet? And would I introduce hay slowly or let her go to town on some timothy? I don't want to feed her 2 cups of pellets a day. Help? best guess on breeds maybe an American maybe some flem. They say she's a year old. Don't know rabbits well enough to agree or disagree with that. Muchly appreciated.
 
Cut down the pellets now. 1/2 a cup or so per day should be all she will need. You could bring it down gradually, but still start at a lower amount than what she was getting.
If she was no a not so good pellet (not surprising from a pet store), switch to something better. I have had good luck with Oxbow adult pellets. Switching is something you want to do gradually to avoid an upset tummy. Some rabbits don't take to oxbow right away, but most will eat it eventually.
You should be able to give hay right away. Timothy or other grass hay is best. Avoid alfalfa.
Cut out the carrots and apple, both are high in sugar and should only be a treat. You can start to introduce leafy green veggies slowly.

Exercise is important. Give her as much space as you can and encourage her to move around. Putting food and water in different areas at least can get her moving to get those. An x-pen with toys and other stuff is good to engage her and get her moving around.

A photo would help possibably determine breed and her overall appearance. The dewlap may reduce as she looses some weight. If she has not been spayed yet, that can help as well once she is in better condition.
It can be a good idea to get a vet check done yourself. Having a vet see her can help with a plan on weight loss and her overall health.
 
I'd add in hay right away, adding in grass hay shouldn't hurt her at all. Definitely bring down her pellets. Do you have a picture of her, it's hard to say how much she should lose because we don't know how big she should be.

Try getting her working for her pellets. You can scatter them around her area, hide them in boxes with her hay, make her do tricks for them (I even settle for them letting me pet them as a trick). My buns have a treat-dispensing cat toy they like to get their pellets in, it gives them something fun to do.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bM8w--CECg[/ame]
 
Ok I will start there. I will take some pictures tomorrow.
New camera still learning how to use it.
She is a rescue rabbit so she's already spayed.
I have her in an 4x6 "X-Pen".
Good idea on the cat treat toy!
So should I split the 1/2 cup of pellets into a few feedings or all at once? My other buns get 2 tbsp. 2x's a day. So should I do 1/4 cup 2x's a day?
About hay...I feed timothy and orchard grass 95% of the time.
What other hays are out there besides alfalfa? If I feed alfalfa it's 70% timothy 30% alfalfa.
Should I wait on the bonding process until she drops some pounds? I am worried food aggression may arise? Or should I let them bond and just feed pellets separately?
 
With most rabbits, eating is a social activity so food aggression is pretty rare.
If she's not used to eating hay, I'd split the pellets up to several times a day just so she's not eating one big meal and then not eating the rest of the day. Hiding her pellets in a pile of hay can work too. Just think of things for her to do that are more active than sitting in front of her food bowl all day.

Timothy and orchard are good. Alfalfa will just make her fatter at this point. Any grass hay is okay (timothy, orchard, meadow, brome, coastal, oat, wheat, barley, etc.) but what is available is different in different areas.
 
frogorf said:
I have her in an 4x6 "X-Pen".
So should I split the 1/2 cup of pellets into a few feedings or all at once? My other buns get 2 tbsp. 2x's a day. So should I do 1/4 cup 2x's a day?
About hay...I feed timothy and orchard grass 95% of the time.
What other hays are out there besides alfalfa? If I feed alfalfa it's 70% timothy 30% alfalfa.
Should I wait on the bonding process until she drops some pounds? I am worried food aggression may arise? Or should I let them bond and just feed pellets separately?
Click to expand...

HRS recommends 1/4-1/2 pellet per 6 lbs body weight per day... personally, I'd try 3/4c for a bit before looking at scaling all the way back to 1/2c. I like to feed pellets twice a day to split up the feedings/spread out the pellets so the little piggies don't inhale them all at once. I'd recommend split feedings and/or using one of the cat food toys.

I haven't watched the video yet, but we've got one of those cat treat/food dispensers that I've used for our chubby cat. I've been meaning to try it for the bunnies but keep forgetting. Prices vary a lot on those types of toys, btw, and many are a total rip-off... I wouldn't pay more than $7-10 for one. I got this one and love it; the design would work as well with rabbit pellets as cat food because you can adjust the size/shape of the openings - https://secure.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?SKU=1183494 (I got it for $7.19, as Petco has most products on sale online more often than not).

Alfalfa shouldn't be fed to adults (aside from pregnant/lactating does) except in very limited amounts as an occasional treat, since it's higher in calories, protein and calcium than grass hays. I wouldn't offer it even as a treat with an obese bunny. ANY kind of grass hay is suitable for rabbits and there's a ton of different kinds (bermuda and coastal are two other fairly common ones), though if you give a "cereal" type hay (oat, wheat, rye, etc.) you should remove the seed heads (which contain the oats or w/e) before feeding it because the excess carbs and calories aren't good for bunnies.

As for bonding, I would hold off at least a week or two, if for no reason other than to give her time to settle in and get used to her new "forever" home. Food aggression seems very uncommon in bunnies; however, little piggies are a different story - one rabbit may hog up more than their share because the other rabbit(s) let them get away with it. It would certainly make it easier to monitor and control her food intake if she were kept separately for a while.

Also, are you planning to bond her to another solo rabbit or to an already bonded pair? Adding a rabbit to a bonded pair can be extremely tricky and has the potential to upset their bond... however, it's possible to form a successful trio. If your intention is to try to form a trio (heck, even if it isn't), I highly recommend reading the articles below (and possibly the other bonding-related articles on the site) - they're written by someone who has been successfully creating a COLONY! First by adding a third to a bonded pair, then later by successfully adding a fourth to the trio... and she's now working on adding a *fifth*! Definitely a good source of advice for anyone looking to add a bunny to a bonded pair or group :)

http://www.wheekwheekthump.com/2013...rs-guide-rabbit-bonding-everything-need-know/
http://www.wheekwheekthump.com/2013...of-bonding-that-people-always-seem-to-forget/
http://www.wheekwheekthump.com/2013/06/17/4-rabbit-bonding-beliefs-that-arent-always-true/
 
I usually spell it "binkies", but it's kind of a made up word anyway so I don't really think it matters how you prefer to pluralize it :p
 
Imbrium: I plan on bonding her with my solo guy Pharoh. And then eventually try to get all 4 buns together. We'll see how it plays out.
 
Best of luck! Bonding more than two together can be challenging, but is apparently quite possible :).
 
We got a mini Rex that was almost 9 pounds. Took her off pellets totally and just gave unlimited hay and a cup of veggies 2 times a day. Got her down to and stabilized at 5 pounds, so, she looked more like a bunny and less like a blob with ears, and did she ever eat hay! Did the same with our Checkered Giant and she's back to 18 pounds and no more "poopy butt". Our vet says they shouldn't get any pellet at all, just their natural diet.
 
Well the good news is she hates healthy pellets. So dieting probably won't be too upsetting.
She's quite the little "hay Burner". She's eating more hay than my other 3 combined! And leafy greens don't last long either. I'm thinking if she is only a year old, maybe she's part flem? what pictures do I need to determine that?
 
Try to get pictures from the side as it helps show the body. Some face shots and from above can help as well. Weight does help determine breed, but if she is obese, that isn't a great indicator.
 
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