Should he gain weight? :\

[Meeky242]

Recently I had to have Guien put to sleep as some of you will know. After a day or two Luther started getting really, what Ican onlysay isdepressed He turned off his pellets and they only thing he would eat was fresh grass and hi vege dinners. He used to LOVE his pellets, beyond all reason but then just stopped eating them since i assume he's realised Guien wasn't coming back to him

Being a worry wart I contacted a registered and well known breeder, having bred for 20yrs to organise him getting another mini-lop girlfriend, hoping this will help him and perk him up a bitand hoping this time, coming from a breeder, she'd be atleast a bit healthier then Guien was. She had quite a few young females available so she suggested I bring him with me and we see if he likes anyone.

Before I took him I made sure he was groomed, nails clipped so he couldn't do bad damage to the girls if he didnt like them and I weighed him, which he was 1.4kg. I've read the ideal weight for a mini-lop is 1.6kg so I was happy with him, he felt nice, looked nice and all was good.

Upon arriving she checked him over for me to make sure that there wasn't something I missed and informed me he was a little underweight because she could feel a little of his hip bones and spine. I never noticed this and I though he was fine but apparently he's not He only liked one girl.....the most boring squirrel coloured girl but she was gorgeous so we got her. He's definitely perked up a lot andthefood in his bowl seems to be disappearing quite quickly.

I haven't actually seen him eat the pellets, I only ever see Morrigan (the new girl) eating them but being such a tiny little thing (8 weeks) I have my doubts that she's managing to eat a whole bowl of pellets, a massive bowl of veges and a good hand full of hay every two days, Plus the grass they eat when they have their outside time each day.

My question is do you think I should try to bring his weight up a little more? He seems fine to me and is obviously eating as he hasn't LOST any weight but i'm doubting it now

Here's a recent photo of him relaxing in the shade

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Rabbits don't carry weight the same way some other animals do. Even with a fat or obese rabbit, you can still feel their spine. The hips and ribs would be harder to feel though. Even breed weight limits don't apply to all rabbits of that breed. Some lines grow differently, so can be bigger or smaller than others of the same breed. I have a Giant Angora who should be 10+ pounds, but she is only about 8.5-9 pounds and is getting a bit fat at that. So even though she is underweight for the breed, she is still a good weight for her and could even loose a bit of weight. You can also get rabbits who are more that what the breed should be, but are not overweight.

You can try giving him a bit more food. Losing a partner and going off pellets for a little while can cause some weight loss. Even just what he was eating before can be good to get him back up to a better weight without putting too much on. I don't think you would need to give him a ton of extra food and some stuff to help him gain weight, but just make sure he is eating well. Weight him weekly if you can to monitor any changes.

If you are really concerned, you can book a vet appointment to get a vets opinion.

 

[LakeCondo]

If Morrigan is eating the same things as Luther, she isn't getting enough calcium for a growing bunny.

 

[Meeky242]

Theyre both under 1 so they're both on young rabbit pellets.

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

My lionhead doe weighs about 3 pounds. When we got her she was skin and bones at about 1.4 pounds. Now she is a good weight but her hip bones still stick out. To encourage weight gain you can give some steel oats or basic quaker oats (not instant oatmeal). Muppet gets two teaspoons. on her pellets. It also encourages her to eat more pellets as she is a slow picky eater.