Advice for Putting Weight on Rabbit?

[RoxMad]

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for putting weight on an older rabbit who doesn’t have a huge appetite? He has suffered some health issues recently and his appetite isn’t super great. He is offered timothy pellets, timothy hay, and fresh veggies daily. He always cleans up the veggies, but really doesn’t touch the hay, and eats very little of the pellets. I have been offering him critical care daily, and have mixed it with a variety of juices and baby foods and he really doesn’t eat it all that well. He seems happy and active, but just doesn’t really feel like eating. I have tried offering alfalfa pellets, which he doesn’t really eat, and alfalfa hay, which he eats okay. He is eating enough to where I am not concerned about stasis, but he is already underweight due to his health issues and I don’t want him to waste away, but am hoping to avoid syringe feeding. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

[DesertBunny]

I went through something like this with my sweet little Jet, who passed last February. He had multiple old age issues plus a chronic ear infection and E.C. I found his appetite in timothy hays pretty much went away. He was also blind (cataracts) but could navigate quite well. However, his robust-young-bunny-days appetite was gone.

I resorted to alfalfa hay only (there was still Timothy around but he didn’t eat it) along with veggies and diced papaya.

That was still not enough. I had to go to assisted (syringe) feeding two… then three and finally four times a day. Around 30-40cc each time. I made a blenderized mixture of Critical Care and Oxbow’s Alfalfa pellets. (There is a definite skill in getting pellets to blenderize). It did work until about the last month of his life when his appetite slowly wasted away. Nevertheless, I felt it was worth it for the time offered. The key is you will have to feed him; offering it won’t do any good. When they get older, their appetites wane. Normally I prefer a skinnier bunny but not when they are older. It’s a sad reality that you will probably be fighting weight loss with him from here on out.

[tobyluv]

Seeds aren’t normally recommended in a rabbit’s diet, but sometimes they are used to hopefully promote weight gain. Two of them that are high in fat are pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds (hulled, plain). You should ask your vet if he thinks these seeds are appropriate and might help.

[Azerane]

Rolled oats are also sometimes recommended for weight gain. Just a teaspoon a day.

[DesertBunny]

I fed Jet oatmeal. NOT the instant kind but the old fashioned kind (I think it takes 3 mins to cook versus one minute for the instant) He sure gobbled it up.

[RoxMad]

I have given him oats before, and it always seemed like it inhibited his appetite? Has anyone had any experience like this with oats?

[Author]

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