Fatten up that rabbit

[Pomandcourt]

I need to help my English angora gain weight. She’s a bit underweight (probably 1/2lb ish)

She’s currently on 1/2 cup of timothy pellets, 1/2 cup alfalfa pellets (for baby buns), unlimited hay (she eats a ton), and fresh greens. Plus, she gets one or two fruit snacks (either a few berries or a bite of apple or something) and papaya tablets twice a week. We just added orchard hay to her diet, but she doesn’t seem too keen on it.

Any suggestions on how to help her gain weight?

When I first received Pom last winter, she was a bit underweight. Partially due to poor instructions from her previous owner and partially due to my paranoia of her developing wool block or obesity.(I’m much less paranoid now having dealt with GI stasis in my other buns and having had her for awhile with no incidents.) The vet suggested I add alfalfa pellets to her diet to help her bulk up.

We’ve been doing that for several months and at her weigh in this past weekend, she was still a bit underweight.

Her appetite is good. Her teeth are good. She’s ravenous all the time so I know she’s eating. The vet that saw her this weekend suggested adding Orchard hay to her diet to help increase her protein intake and advised against the alfalfa pellets as they’re high in calcium. 

Pom’s not the biggest fan of soft hays. She nibbles them a bit, but mostly pushes them around and makes a mess. She loves timothy though (especially the really hard stems). 

She is not spayed as she was quite a bit underweight when we first went to the vet and then a few months later had a bladder infection.Then it was summer and with all the traveling and weddings etc that we’re doing, I didn’t feel comfortable putting her through surgery in case she needed extended recovery time. I will be scheduling her for the surgery this fall. I’m hoping that will help her put on weight, but I would ideally like her to be at a normal weight prior to surgery as she’ll have an easier recovery.

Thank you!

[Eepster]

Has your vet looked into why she is still underweight even though you have been feeding her high calorie alfalfa diet? How much greens are you giving her?

Off hand, I would say add a baby carrot a day to her diet.

[JackRabbit]

Oat hay tops (the oat hay seedheads)! Nutritious, high cal, and tasty! We give them as treats because my bunnies start to get round if they get too many. Great for older bunnies who need the extra nutrition too. BB store sells them — nibble noms.

[Pomandcourt]

Thanks for asking that, Eepster! I hadn’t even thought there might be another issue. She has gained a bit of weight from earlier this year, but not a significant amount. Hopefully there’s no underlying issue. Angoras need higher protein because a lot goes into their wool.

She gets half a head of lettuce or the equivalent in herbs. I’ll start giving her some carrot pieces as well. I try to be careful she doesn’t get too much sugar.

Thanks, JackRabbit. I’ll add that to her diet and hopefully she’ll pork up.

[Eepster]

What kind of lettuce?

[Pomandcourt]

Red leaf is her favourite, but I usually go with what’s cheapest and looks best at the store. So they often get romaine or green leaf etc

[Eepster]

Different lettuce varieties have different nutritional values. Red leaf and romaine are great, but some varieties need to be avoided. Iceberg is one you should avoid, it is very low in nutrients and calories, so it will fill the belly up but not meet you bunny’s dietary needs.

[Pomandcourt]

Yeah. Iceberg also causes gas.

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