Healthy size for bunny??

[haffy]

I’ve never thought much about it before because I thought my bunny was fine but someone commented that he looked pretty skinny compared to pictures of other rabbits online. And now I’m paranoid lol! I’ve tried looking for a way to know but it’s really difficult as I don’t know what breed he is and therefore don’t know how big he is supposed to grow. Ive also tried to weigh him many times in different ways but he’s too quick, he jumps out of the bowl on my kitchen scale before it shows a reading! But he’s about the size of a pineapple lying horizontally. (that was the only comparison I could think of lol). I haven’t taken him to the vets yet as the one I first registered with acted like they knew about rabbits but after asking them a few questions, it was clear they didn’t specialise in small animals at all so I’m still on the lookout for a good one in my area. At the moment he’s 3.5 months and is getting unlimited hay and water of course, junior pellets twice a day and a small amount of leafy greens every few days. And I think he should be okay but does anyone have any tips on being able to tell if he’s at a healthy weight and size? Thank you!:3

[Lee]

People always do that with dogs too, because it is normal to see overweight dogs, so of course my lean, healthy dogs look ‘skinny’ or ‘underfed’.

I’ve seen some fat bunnies on the net as well haha.

There is a handy chart on this website that helps you tell by body condition rather than worrying about breed/weight.
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-weight.asp

[Bam]

I just love the comparison to a horizontal pineapple!

I don’t think you need to worry though, he’s young and should be lean since he’s growing. It’s absolutely not good for a young bunny to be over-weight. If you feed him unlimited pellets and perhaps alfalfa hay, he eats what he needs. 

Great link, Lee! I’m saving that one.

I think it’s kind of hard to tell if a bunny is over-weight. I didn’t realize Bam was fat when the vet told me he was and I thought Yohio was fat when I took him to have his teeth trimmed, but the vet said he wasn’t. (They are different breeds with very different body-shapes. I put Bam on a diet of course so he lost 300 grams and he has not regained them.)

[haffy]

Thank you both the chart is very helpful! I think Pebbles is ideal but slightly more on the thin side as the very top of his spine is a little sticking out. I’ll add a picture to my original post so it makes sense and will probably increase the pellets slightly.

I think you’re definitely right, I guess we’re so used to seeing fat animals that we automatically assume thats how they’re supposed to look so an average one looks too thin. (Funny that it’s the opposite with humans, we’re so used to seeing pictures of underweight models and whatnot that anyone who’s a normal size, is seen as being fat :/)

[Bam]

He looks very healthy to me! And so pretty! Those ears!

[Author]

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