I AM EDITING THIS POST BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THIS.
WHEN I SHARE ABOUT CHEERIOS - I AM SHARING A 'BREEDER'S' METHOD OF PUTTING ON SOME EXTRA WEIGHT IF AN ANIMAL HAS BEEN ILL. I'M NOT SAYING IT IS THE FIRST METHOD OF CHOICE NOR AM I SAYING THAT IF YOUR RABBIT HAS LOST SOME WEIGHT THIS SHOULD BE THE FIRST THING YOU DO.
AS A BREEDER, I ONLY USE CHEERIOS TO PUT ON WEIGHT IF THE RABBIT IS ALREADY GETTING QUALITY PELLETS (NOT THE STUFF WITH COLORED JUNK IN THEM), ALONG WITH A BIT OF OATMEAL, HAY, AND POSSIBLY NUTRICAL AND CRITICAL CARE. I USE CHEERIOS FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY...NOT FOR THE REST OF THE RABBIT'S LIFE (EXCEPT FOR NEW HOPE WHO HAD ONGOING ISSUES WITH WEIGHT DUE TO OTHER THINGS).
IF YOUR RABBIT IS LOSING WEIGHT THE ABSOLUTELY BEST THING TO DO IS TO SEE A VET FIRST AND TO MAKE SURE YOUR RABBIT IS EATING QUALITY PELLETS, HAY, ETC.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE FOLKS UNDERSTAND THAT BEFORE THEY READ ABOUT MY EXPERIENCES!!!
I AM NOT A VET - I USED TO BE A BREEDER.
I edited the title to warn folks about the picture - I hope you don't mind. But I felt that we should give folks warning.
I would definitely give her Nutrical if you can get it. I think it also stimulates the appetite for them to want to eat.
I'm going to share something now which many folks are going to disagree with. I know a lot of breeders who do this a lot - not because it is "medically sound" but because it works. I did it with New Hope every time he'd drop his weight and it would help him get his weight back up.
That is....cheerios. I got him to eat his pellets - I'm not saying that you shouldn't use them. But I added cheerios to his diet whenever his weight started dropping. And I'm not talking 1 or 2 cheerios. He actually had as much as he could/would eat.
Would I recommend this for a normal healthy rabbit? No.
But sometimes you do what is called a "hail Mary" treatment....you know it isn't the best thing - but you pray it works because nothing else seems to be working.
I've also used alfalfa hay (for limited periods) to get weight on - I've added uncooked oatmeal to their feed (but you have to watch for poopy butts with that).
However, I've used the cheerio trick with a number of rabbits....and its always helped them put weight back on and then I wean them back off the cheerios as they start getting healthier.
I want to share a few precautions here though before the infirmary mods want to strangle me:
- I'm not recommending this to people who have healthy rabbits (although mine do get cheerios frequently mixed into their food so they have maybe one or two for a treat).
- I'm not recommending this for folks who have rabbits who have a history of GI issues. I think of Naturestee's buns who have had GI issues....or Jenk's buns. I would not recommend it in cases like this.
- I'm not recommending that you free-feed cheerios for the rest of her life.
I would definitely watch her poops for excess cecotropes.
But in New Hope's case - I believe we bought him several additional months of his life by doing this. He ate so many cheerios sometimes that his nickname was "cheerio".
I've also used this with other rabbits who might've dropped weight - and found it successful.
I'm sure the infirmary mods will have better "medical" advice for you - I'm just sharing a breeder's trick....ok?
Also - you might want to speak to your vet (if you haven't already) about what you could do.
Oh - and before I forget - I would think you could give some canned pumpkin since it has fiber and fluids sorta...I mean - it seems like that would add some extra calories.
Peg
P.S. I just remembered Saphira - some of you may remember we "lost" her in Feb. when she disappeared and was hiding for like 10 days. When we found her - she had lost about 1/3 of her weight. For the first couple of weeks to get her system moving again - we went with just her pellets and her hay. Once she was more stable - I added the cheerios and she put her weight back on in about a month or so. I forget how long it took - but once she was a good weight - I weaned her back off them so she only gets them when the others do.... She's kept her weight on and been in EXCELLENT health since then.
