Is he Underweight?

[Hokankai]

Is my boy underweight? He was at the vet a couple weeks ago for ear mites and she didn’t mention anything, but I feel like he’s awfully skinny compared to his very muscular young bunny friend. I can easily feel his spine, ribs, and hip bones and I can’t feel much muscle on the sides of his ribs. He’s also got a very distinct valley between his eyes on his forehead, but I can’t tell if that’s prominent because he’s molted. When I look at him I can see the raised area where his spine is. He always acts like he’s starving. He gets 2 tablespoons of Oxbow pellets, a handful of fresh greens, and unlimited hay (which he doesn’t like very much). He’s a very petite Holland, weighing in at 2.5 lbs as of his last vet visit. 

I followed the directions on feeding and I feel like he isn’t getting enough. Should I increase his pellets or something?

[Monkeybun]

If your vet didn’t say anything, he’s probably just fine. Every bunny is different, and different breeds have different body shapes. He’s gettign plenty of food, sounds like about the same as what I feed my 4lb boy

[KytKattin]

How old is he? I know that their weight kind of shifts to different places as they age. My girl is at least 6 and where she holds her weight now is very different than where she used to hold it. That being said, have his teeth been checked recently? Has his weight changed since any previous visits? Can you track his weight at home? If he is molting you might want to up the amount of pellets he gets temporarily until he is through with that since they are expending extra energy.

[Hokankai]

He is about 2 years old, and the vet looked at his teeth and molars during his visit just a few weeks ago.

I think I’m going to up them just a bit and see how he does. Would mixing alfalfa hay in his hay rack be bad?

[KytKattin]

I am not sure adding alfalfa would give you the results you want. He will probably just pick out the alfalfa and not eat any more of his other hay. Maybe consider if you are able to try a variety of hay? Right now Nova is getting a mix of All Living Things timothy (kind of meh, but w/e), Oxbow orchard and oat varieties, and the Binky Bunny blue blend (which does have some alfalfa in it I believe). Maybe try a second cut blend? I also hear good things about America’s Pet Diner (or something like that…).

[LittlePuffyTail]

It would be a good idea to keep a record of his weight, then you will at least know if hes losing or gaining. I weigh my buns every month on a kitchen scale I bought at Walmart. I have a calendar and I record the weights so I immediately know if someone loses or gains. Its good to keep records like this in case you need to discuss it with your vet.

[Sarita]

I agree about keeping track of his weight. Smaller rabbits though do tend to have a more fragile body build compared to bigger rabbits.

I agree as well about not giving alfalfa, maybe up his pellets by a few pieces.

My rabbit Bobby who is a Netherland was dumped at a guinea pig rescue due to bad teeth and at that time he weighed 1 pound – he is now closer to 2 pounds – it’s taken about a year to get some weight on him so just keeping consistent with his food is going to be the best way to maintain weight. I have to say Bobby really barely eats anything. So I guess what I am saying is that it can take a long while for a thin rabbit to gain weight and you don’t want to just try packing it on since that isn’t healthy either.

[Hokankai]

Alrighty, I’ll leave the alfalfa for Ariadne. He’s always had a mixture of hay and I’ve started to notice the Orchard grass being left until there’s no more Timothy left, so I’m guessing he doesn’t really like it. He also gets some of the dry oat hay pellets from this site in his breakfast and seems to like those.

I made his tablespoon a rounded tablespoon and I think that’s good for now.

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