Weight Gain

[Aspen’sbuns]

Hello!!

I have four bonded bunnies. In February-March I bonded them. They were on a hay only diet for about 7 weeks. In that time, presumably from the stress of bonding too, they all lost a little bit of weight. They all lost an equivalent amount of weight to each other, and so our vet wasn’t too worried about it.

I fed them a few extra pellets for a while, and sort of once they settled into their new house, they seemed to gain it back.

However, in the last week or so (and I may just be being neurotic) I feel like they’ve been feeling on the thinner side again. They are all beginning their winter moult, and so I know my buns normally feel like they have a change in size this time of year, solely due to the fact they are loosing their thick winter coats.
However, I do not want them to loose any more weight, and ideally would like them to put a little bit more weight on.

I was wondering what everyone would recommend to help my buns gain some weight???

I should also mention that their pellets have been reduced recently, as they were eating too many pellets and not enough hay.

Thanks!
Aspen

 

[Blue eyes]

Are they provided with greens as well? Roughly what size are they (or what breed)?

 

[Aspen’sbuns]

Are they provided with greens as well? Roughly what size are they (or what

They weren’t consistently getting greens, but for the last maybe 2-3 weeks they’ve been getting greens every night/second night.
It was a bit tricky for a little bit, as our supermarket pretty much ran out for a while.

My buns are all mini lops. Three came from the same place though; two of those buns are about the same size between 1.6-1.9ish kilos, one of those three is a lot bigger, she generally weighs about 2.2-2.3 kilos. The fourth bun is also a mini lop, but he is extra tiny. On different vet trips, he has weighed between 0.9 to 1.2 kilos. He was a little fat when he was 1.2 kilos, as he had been on like a sugary pellet mix thing, so I would say he should probably weigh around the 1kg mark. He did not feel too skinny or anything when he weighed 900grams

 

[JBun]

What is the cut of the hay you're feeding(eg. soft and leafy, mix of leaf and stem, mostly hard stems)? And is the hay mostly green, mix of green and yellow, or mostly sun bleached and yellow?

 

[Aspen’sbuns]

What is the cut of the hay you're feeding(eg. soft and leafy, mix of leaf and stem, mostly hard stems)? And is the hay mostly green, mix of green and yellow, or mostly sun bleached and yellow?

We buy large bales of pasture hay for our buns. Not as good I don’t think as the specialist hays like oxbow does, however they are just not attainable budget wise for us! We are in Australia so they’re really expensive.

The pasture hay generally comes as a mix of things. Bales can also vary. Generally though it will be stems and stalky, with some leafy bits mixed in. There will generally be a small bit that the only way I can describe is if you picked grass, and let it shrivel up. The bunnies generally won’t eat those bits though.

The bales are a mix of yellow and green. Probably like 65% and 35% respectively.
I will see if I have a photo

 

[JBun]

If you can find a leafier cut of hay, that will help with weight gain. The problem with hay that is too coarse without enough soft strands, is that much of it is indigestible fiber, and it doesn't have enough protein and nutrients for sufficient weight maintenance. I actually had a rabbit that I suddenly discovered had lost some weight due to a coarse cut of hay. The problem was she liked it so much she was eating it in favor of her pellets. So her bunny buddy was eating her share of the pellets while she primarily ate the hay. But the hay didn't have enough nutrients in it and so she lost weight. I had to change to a leafier hay and then she was fine.

The alternative to help with weight gain if you can't find a softer cut of hay, is to increase pellet amounts. When you have to feed a coarser cut of hay, pellet amounts have to be increased to balance out there being less protein and nutrients in the hay. This is when a rabbit eating a pile of hay the size of their body per day, isn't as applicable. Reduced pellets(or no pellets) can only be fed if you have a hay that is at least part leafy strands(and your rabbits eat it well), otherwise a coarse cut of hay with reduced pellets will lead to weight loss, and could lead to other health issues(eg. impacted cecum, fatty liver disease, etc).

So it's all about the right balance in a rabbits diet, and monitoring body condition and weight weekly, to make sure a rabbits current diet is maintaining their body condition and health well.