Weight gain foods?

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bagginslover

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I posted a little while back in the infirmary about Fudge, my female mini-lop loosing her hair. 'She is doing much better now, I got a new hutch set up and seperated her and her partner, totally transformed her!

Now her hair is coming back though, she is feeling a little thin ( weighs ok, but feels bony) so I want to put a little weight on her before she goes back with Fred (neutering him first (; ).

What can I feed her to help her put a bit of weight on? She has unlimited hay, and pellets. I have tried upping her pellets, but she just leaves the extra in the bowl. She is in a run on grass during the day, with her hutch ontop, but she spends most of the time in the hutch and doesn't r
eat much grass! She is most odd? She loves veggies and greens though, should I up them?

Any help or advice would be great, thank you!
 
What kind of pellets is she getting? I'd up the greens. You don't want to increase protein or fat or overload her on carbs.

Did she lose weight? If so, do you know why?


sas :clover:
 
It is thought she was having a phantom pregnancy. She might have lost about 20g but that's all, she just feels thin on her bones, her tummy feels normal. She has supa rabbit pellets, given in the morning and left in til next morning. Are there any greens you'd particularly recommend?
 
Almost all greens are great. My guys get a lot of carrot tops, lettuce, dandelion, broccoli leaf/stem/crowns, celery, celery leaf, kale, chard, almost all herbs (esp. parsley, cilantro and dill) and a little spinach. They also get at least one non-green per meal like red cabbage, cauliflower, bell pepper. They almost always get a little carrot. They'd lynch me without their carrot, although apple peel works equally well.

sas :bunnydance:
 
I'd suggest a conditioning mix of rolled oats and black oil sunflower seeds. Maybe even some calf manna, if you can get it in a small enough bag. This will help the bunny put on some weight and flesh condition. It's a trick mostly for show rabbits, but works well for pets too. :)
 
Is it fat she needs to put on or muscle? If it's muscle then that will go on gradually with exercise. It might be she's a bit nervous of the big open space so add some boxes to encourage her to come out and move around a bit.

Mixing a few higher protein pellets in or a little alfalfa in with her hay would help weigh gain.
 
tamsin wrote:
Mixing a few higher protein pellets in or a little alfalfa in with her hay would help weigh gain.
Pellets adding weight and being an automatically "fatty" food is somewhat of a misconception.

I use a pellet that has a considerably higher protein content. This is good for my breeding and show rabbits, but I also use the same pellets for my pets as well. Like any food (pellets, greens, etc.), they key is moderation. If the rabbit is eating anything in excessive amounts, it will gain fat. But eating a high protein pellet or other food in correct and healthy amounts will not pack on weight. So by moderating the amount of food each rabbit gets, a high protein pellet can work for all of them. By the same token, mixing a few higher protein pellets into the diet either would not make a difference or would just pack on flab, depending on the amount of pellets added (which would not be healthy weight gain).

As I stated above, a conditioning mix in addition to a limited, quality pellet is usually the best option to add some flesh and condition. Increasing pellet or green amounts will only add fat.

Also remember that fresh water is an important part of every rabbits diet. Make sure fresh, clean water is available at all times. This, plus unlimited grass hay, also helps rabbits to keep their body condition.
 
OakRidgeRabbits wrote:
tamsin wrote:
Mixing a few higher protein pellets in or a little alfalfa in with her hay would help weigh gain.
Pellets adding weight and being an automatically "fatty" food is somewhat of a misconception.

I use a pellet that has a considerably higher protein content. This is good for my breeding and show rabbits, but I also use the same pellets for my pets as well. Like any food (pellets, greens, etc.), they key is moderation. If the rabbit is eating anything in excessive amounts, it will gain fat. But eating a high protein pellet or other food in correct and healthy amounts will not pack on weight. So by moderating the amount of food each rabbit gets, a high protein pellet can work for all of them. By the same token, mixing a few higher protein pellets into the diet either would not make a difference or would just pack on flab, depending on the amount of pellets added (which would not be healthy weight gain).

As I stated above, a conditioning mix in addition to a limited, quality pellet is usually the best option to add some flesh and condition. Increasing pellet or green amounts will only add fat.
For maintenance, if you feed higher protein pellets you can counter that by feeding a lower quantity. That way you end up with the same amount of protein overall. Like you say high protein pellets aren't bad, so long as they are used in the right quantities. Rabbits that are pregnant, lactating, growing and moulting all use extra protein. You could do that by increasing the quantity but that would decrease hay eating so instead I'd suggest feeding the same quantity of pellets but ones that are higher protein. Which is what it sounds like you do, presumably you feed your pellets a lower quantity that your feeding mothers/growing youngsters.

Higher protein pellets often have seeds/grain in to boost the levels, so it's the same foods your suggesting just processed into pellets. Either will add fat unless the rabbit is encouraged through exercise to put on muscle too. Fat isn't a terrible thing though. Rabbits do need some fat, just not too much :)

I use rolled oats too for weight gain.
 
Rabbits do easily get fatty liver issues and gut imbalances, which is why I tend to be leery of the sunflower seeds/oats combo usually recommended.

The key is moderation, yes, but I've seen too many people trying to fatten up a rabbit this way resulting in fatty liver disease (seeds) as they age, and cecal dysbiosis (oats) almost immediately, they seem to miss the 'moderation' part.

So now I just encourage a well rounded diet with gradually increased vegetation (ie: greens, grass, other vegetables, vines, twigs, a little fruit, etc) mostly because most rabbits don't get nearly as much as they should. I use oats flakes and sunflower seeds as single little treats.

sas :bunnydance:
 

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