Too Skinny?

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caramelsoda

caramelsoda

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Feb 22, 2011
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Location
, South Dakota, USA
Lacy's been feeling really thin. I can feel all of her bones and I can't seem to get her to gain weight. I feed her unlimited Oxbow alfalfa based pellets and kaytee alfalfa hay. I mix the alfalfa hay with some of the timothy hay that we got first so it doesn't have to go to waste. She eats everything just fine. It seems like she started losing weight right after I started giving her the new Oxbow pellets (they changed the formula).
Lacy is a very active 13 week old English Spot. She's an indoor bunny and gets let out of her pen during most of the day unless she keeps getting into trouble. Then I put her back in her pen for a time out [:
So what can I do to help her gain some weight?

 
Honestly, it sounds like you are doing everything you can. I know English Spots are a lean breed of bunny. The only thing I can think of why she wouldn't be gaining weight is due to some kind of illness. Though some bunnies just don't each as much, I have one named Penny. It's a battle to keep weight on that girl, she is naturally lean.
 
I don't think our choc buck is thin bit has eating issues. He eats what he wants and when he wants. He's also pretty mad at me right now for sticking my does in the cage to make sure they took. He almost bit me for this.
 
Hmmm. I know you should start weaning them off of alfalfa hay at around 7 months, since it's so high in calories compared to Timothy, so you'd think it would help your bun gain weight! My vet told us that Pipper was too thin, and that we should feed her as much pellets as she could possibly want for now (this is how she was when we got her from the breeder). Are you feeding Lacy unlimited pellets?

If your feeding her as much as she wants, but she still seems to be losing weight, you may want to take her to a vet. Her kidneys may not be functioning properly, as renal disease can result in chronic waste. However, you did mention that the weight loss happened when you switched to the different formula, so that's the more likely cause. Do you know what the % protein is? I believe a young bunny should have pellets that have between 17-18% protein in them.
 
I do feed her unlimited pellets and the protein is 15%. But that's the same as the old pellets. I don't know if she likes the taste of these ones as much. She won't eat them out of my hand like she did before with the other ones.
 
Ah sorry, I must've missed that part in your post. Then, I'd say your best bet would be to bring her to the vet. If she's eating fewer pellets, then it's probably because she just doesn't like the new formula, but if she's still eating the same amount of pellets, I'd suggest taking her to the vet, just in case.

Hope Lacy gets better!!
 
A young rabbit on that diet should not be skinny. I would get her checked out. It's possible that there is an underlying issue that is causing her weight issues. It could also just be your misinterpreting her weight if perhaps your not used to that breed or age bun. It's normal to be able to feel some bones but they shouldn't be too sharp or have dips between them.

It's difficult to judge weight just by looking cos of bunny fur but do you have a photo?
 
As stated, English Spots are a lean breed. She is at the "uglies" stage, where kits go through a huge growth spurt and I often find that they will seem slimmer during this time.

I would suggest adding a teaspoon of calf manna to her pellets daily. This is available at most feed stores and is a high protein pellet that helps to add weight and condition.

Does she seem to have a bloated belly or feel pretty normal and squishy? A bloated belly could be an indicator of internal parasites. In which case, it would be wise to de-worm her.
 
Well her tummy feels firm and not squishy. Does that mean it's bloated? What are some other symptoms of internal parasites? How would I have her checked for them? She's eating and pooping fine. But some other symptoms that I've noticed is that her breath stinks and her poop or pee started to smell too even though I clean out her litter box every 3 days.

Also, I can't get any pictures of her now because I don't have batteries for my camera.
 
If I suspect internal parasites, I usually just go ahead an de-worm them. I use Ivermectin horse paste and just put a small pea-size amount on the pellets. It's a one-time treatment and usually clears up any problems.

However some people prefer to go to the vet and have the rabbit tested to ensure there are parasites before treating. You can do this too, I think usually they take a stool sample to test.
 
Parasites can cause a rabbit to not gain weight, but also lose weight and flesh condition. So they will become thin and rough over their body- rather than feeling fleshy and firm, they will feel thin and bony. Often times, their fur condition gets thrown off and they become dull and molty rather than bright and shiny.

I use the apple flavored kind:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/equine...rvet-reg-ivermectin-paste-1-87-6-08-g-5144639

For a 3 month old, I'd give a very small amount. About the size of half a pencil eraser.
 
Parasites can very well cause bloating, if the parasites are residing in her upper intestines. It's actually one of the major signs of parasitic infection. Bring her to your vet, they'll do a stool float to make sure. If this is fairly recent, your bun should have nothing to worry about :). They'll jut give her anti-parasite meds and she should be on her way.

So if her stomach is bloated, she likely has parasites, so bring her in!
 
I personally would NOT feed so much hay. I would feed unlimited pellets and decrese the hay. The hay will bloat her stomach since you are mentioning that it is hard.
 
GorbyJobRabbits wrote:
I personally would NOT feed so much hay. I would feed unlimited pellets and decrese the hay. The hay will bloat her stomach since you are mentioning that it is hard.
Click to expand...
The amount of food going in is not the issue with bloat, the problem is the gut slowing down and not moving the food through. Hay is high in fibre which is what is essential to move food move through the gut. Pellets on the other hand are low in fibre which slows the gut down making it fill up. They are also high in carbs/protein etc. which feed the bacteria which in turn produce more gas and make bloat worse.

Rabbits guts are optimised to work on grass/hay. Pellets are the opposite of that.
 
There is a hay gut. If you feed too much it does make the stomach swell. I bought a pair of english lops where they overfed hay, after I bought them and the hay was reduced it went away. Also just had a Himmie here for a friend. When I got her it was the same issue.

To each their own.
 
I think I will also look into this apple stuff.

Because my vet said Harley was really skinny when he went to the vet a couple weeks ago, and his back seems really bone-y but his tummy feels chubby.

Sounds like it could be bloated, right?
It doesn't harm them if they don't actually have it right?
Harley is 10 weeks old now, so I'm hoping it will be okay.
 
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