Rabbits LOVE oats. All of mine would kill for oats. You can get them at feed stores, whole oats are the best type. It would be best to feed the oats at a different time than the pellets, because he’ll pick through and eat what he wants and leave the rest. Oats are good for bunnies, but don’t have the vitamins and minerals present in the pellets.

To make my Wick gain weight, we supplemented his diet with critical care. Twice a day (morning and night), he would get unlimited syringes of critical care until he didn’t want anymore. He loved it, and would literally hop away with the most enormous pot belly swinging side to side on his tiny body….. Since the feedings were spread out, this did not affect his hay and pellet eating behavior during the day.

Thank you for taking this little guy in. It’s so sad that people can let this happen.

My bunnies also love oats. I have always been told that not only are whole oats best but that actually you need to make sure you stay away from the instant or quick cook kind. If you like organic I use the Bob’s Red Mill Organic Rolled Oats and they have an extra thick version. Mine seem to like these best and they make perfect bonding with your bunny food because they are easier to hand feed than the thinner version. With that said I would be hesitant to give too much. I restrict mine to a pinch. When they were younger they got a pinch per feeding (twice a day). The one concern that I would have is that he would look for his oats and ignore his pellets regardless of when you are feeding them. How much of his pellets does he eat in a day? Obviously if he ends up choosing oats over pellets that is not what you would want. Mine would eat the oats first but then continue to the pellets second when I fed them together.

I understand your concern about them refusing pellets or hay later on. When I cut back it did not cause them to cut back on hay or pellets in the least. I think the key there is to find what they like in regards to hay and pellets.

All that said I would look at other options to help him as well. What kind of hay have tried so far? My buck wasn’t a big hay eater until I found the right kind. If he is not big into his pellets have you tried any other brand? My guy has a clear favorite of the brands I have tried for him as well. He’s very food motivated but he knows what he likes.

Please just make sure that you go slowly when making any food changes.

I totally skipped my thought on critical care. I have definitely seen people use that as a supplement to increase weight as Wick had mentioned. I would be curious why your vet didn’t recommend this though??

I would definitely try alfalfa hay. I can tell you that Timothy from brand to brand and even cut to cut can be drastically different. Mine likes soft hay and a lot of it is too hard for his liking. If you can convince him to try alfalfa you might see a nice improvement since this is what a lot of people recommend for young rabbits. Good luck with him!

Maybe try manapro GRO? It’s formulated for mamas and babies so it should help him get some weight on. Alfalfa and sunflower seeds are also good for this. And I second the oats, my bunny loves them!

Carrots and squash in limited quantities are also recommended as good for buns gaining weight. Ours gets a sprinkling of shredded carrots with every meal and a serving of oats each day and our vet recently pronounced him a perfect weight.

We also recently discovered he really likes third cut timothy. He is not normally much of a hay eater.