Hammer is a fatty?

[BunnyLiz]

Yesterday while Hammer was lounging on the bed, and i the floor, i noticed that he has a flap of skin under his chin when i looked up at him. Its just if he sits straight up, not if he is all laying down relaxed.  What are those huge double chins on buns sometimes? Are they like people double chins? lol.  Anyway do they all have a little extra skin there or is this a sign that he will be a little pugdey soon? He is 5 months, im getting timothy pellets tommorrow lol, i was waiting till only a few weeks of alfalfa was left, but im thinking i need to take action now!

[bunnytowne]

Yes they can get a double chin. Hehee     You are sure he isnt’ a she right?     Boys get double chins when they are pudgy.  Cut down on the treats or make them smaller by cutting them in little pieces.   It is about time for timmy hay.  Good idea there.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

It’s called a dewlap and from what I’ve read unspayed females develop them and chubbier rabbits develop them (Don’t tell Rupert but he has a little one!). Are we sure hammers a boy?

[KatnipCrzy]

I think that spayed females can also develop dew laps.  Anyone that has worked with rescue bunnies that has personal experience with this?  Do you see boys at a healthy weight with a dew lap?  Can a spayed female at a healthy weight have a dewlap?

And by healthy I mean appropriate- not healthy as in “never miss a meal”.  LOL 

[BunnyLiz]

He has been neutered so unless my vet is horribly mistaken.. then yes we are sure he is a boy lol. Its not a huge noticable thing, ive been trying all day to get a picture of it but have failed miserably lol. I not crazy though because my mom noticed it too lol. He permitted me to feel around under his chin and i cant feel anything like a fatty build up. It really just looks like a roll of skin if he is in the right position for it to roll.. like a puppy with extra skin lol. But its probably one of those dewlap things huh? He doesnt get many treats however, two raisins and one papaya tablet a day. Im guessing its the alfalfa and needs to switch a month earlier then i planned.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL That’s right I forgot he had his neuter just recently LOL

After spay/neuter bunnies calm down and tend to gain a little weight as they become more sedentry, so that may be it, or he could just be filling out as he’s still young. As far as I’ve heard a double chin isn’t a health concern so I wouldn’t worry!

[BunnyLiz]

Thats a relief! I was a little nervous it would mean a health issue, or at the least bad genes or something lol. They arent very attractive with those big things, but he could be hairless and id still love him all the same lol.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Olivia has a little one, she is not spayed yet. I never knew that about unspayed females. She looks so funny with it sometimes because she is a small, dainty bunny. My bf calls it “her turtleneck”.

[bunnytowne]

HB has a small one.  Maybe due to his being 3 yrs old.  Ruby hasnt’ gotten hers yet.  Or if she did  her hair there is so long I haven’t noticed it. Cotton has hair there being he is a lionhead.  He has more hair there then on his head  Poor guy.  HEehas a under mane I guess you would call it. For some reason it hasn’t circled his whole neck.

[Dave]

Pepper is a spayed female and she has a dewlap!  It’s big enough to get stained orange sometimes when she eats carrots!  She is also a bit of a climber after getting spayed.

[Beka27]

Meadow began to get a dewlap right before her spay. afterwards it mostly disappeared, but it sometimes still looks like she has a tiny little fold there. as i understand it, if a rabbit is spayed later in life, it’s more likely that the dewlap may never go away… you have to be careful because that area can get wet and cause bacteria growth. i’m sure some buns are more likely to get them, but i wouldn’t worry about Hammer. if he was overweight, i think you would know. and from the recent pics i’ve seen, he looks big, but healthy…

[MarkBun]

If a bunny boy has a noticable dewlap then he’s a little bit chubby. But nothig to really worry about.

[KatnipCrzy]

I remember on one of the bunny rescue sites there was an adoptable rabbit (female) with a HUGE dewlap named Dolly.  And I have to admit it really made me laugh and I showed my husband to see if “he got it”, and he did get the reference to Dolly Parton. 

[MimzMum]

Remember Liz, that we were discussing that Hammer might be part Palomino, (like Pip) which was a rabbit originally bred for consumption…so his genetics may tend toward being a little heavier than most rabbits. But I think if he gets enough hay and exercise, we don’t have to watch him become the kind of rabbit whose living room wall needs to be cut out and a fork lift used for an intervention. ^_^

Mimzy has a dewlap that kind of shrinks and grows. ^_^ If I see it getting bigger, I know I need to lay off the sweets and get that boy moving a little more!

[BunnyLiz]

Oh i had no idea Palominos were bred for meat generally! That makes me so upset, to think Hammer may have been intended for food .

That makes since though that he may be a bit chunky because of that…

[MimzMum]

Well Hammer doesn’t have to worry about that, because he has YOU for a mommy and you love and care for him so well! ^_^

I have to admit, Pip is getting a little chunky again. I’ve been so careful with her treats, but she has upped her hay and lettuce consumption and hasn’t had much chance to be in the xpen, so I attribute it to eating too much and moving too little.

Off topic, but I was just in Petco again yesterday and it was busy as a hive of bees. There were some people adopting the little baby buns in the second display tank and one of them was this huge woman who kept sticking her hand in to try and nab this little pale brown bun with a white stripe down his nose and she was almost yelling, “Come here! Come here!” I’d like to have punched her in the face and told her “It’s NOT a dog, it doesn’t come when it’s called, you ninny!” Someone who was with her already had ‘something’ in one of those teensy little carrier boxes and a third person was filling out the paperwork. It wasn’t until afterward that I got the distinct feeling that perhaps these poor creatures weren’t going to a home where they’d be pets. Plenty of people up here have snakes and what better than a free bunny in a pet store? (Made me want to heave thinking about it.)

We live right down the road from a couple who breeds rabbits, which I didn’t know until recently. I cannot imagine why someone would want rabbits for this purpose. They are such wonderful companions and so intelligent. It just doesn’t make sense.

[BunnyLiz]

O MIMZ! thats so sad, just makes ya wanna cry! I had never even thought about the free bun at the pet store thing. Yet another reason why pet store should never carry rabbits. I wish there was a national rally on behalf on bunnies, like March For Life. That would be awesome and maybe people would take them more seriously.

[MimzMum]

I’m THIS close to organizing such a thing, Liz, believe me. I am SO sick of seeing, not only rabbits, but hoards of other animals crowded into unclean and cramped conditions in that place that I am probably going to unload on some poor bugger the next time I have to go in there for hay. I understand a lot of people there are just there for the job, like any other retail outlet, but the animals are NOT. They don’t deserve this kind of treatment.
It would be nice if they even offered decent foods/products for animals, but they don’t. It’s all still the seedy, sweet-filled, nauseating junk that they’ve always carried. Not a sniff of Oxbow product to be seen anywhere on the premises, like I thought they were supposed to be stocking by now. I don’t even like the hay I buy for my bunnies that much, but it’s currently the only thing they’ll eat. Pip is not as picky and she tends to prefer the BinkyBunny hay anyway, but sadly Fiver and Mimzy do not. When spring comes, I’ll be able to pull straight from the yard again where I know there’s no pesticides or sugary plant food solutions growing with the grass, but until then, I have to put up with this crud.

I can’t be totally angry at the company, because I got both Fiver and Pip there, but I just want them to go away now.

[BunnyLiz]

Well let me know when you start some kind of rally. Ill fly down there to Alaska lol
It really is pathetic though, there would be less bunnies in need and killed everyday if they didnt sell them or even advertise crap products. If somebody really wants a bunny and does research then they can go buy one elsewhere. Instead of an impulse buy because your kid just had to have one or something ya know? Not to put down anyone here that got there babys from a pet store, i got Hammer from a flea market, but not many of the bunnies from pet stores end up as lucky as ours.

[MimzMum]

Which reminds me (as I see your avvy pic has changed) do you have any current photos of the dashing young Hammer to share? ^_^ I take it he’s healed well from his neuter and the hormones are at a dull roar by now?

[BunnyLiz]

Actually I do but my camera is dead. Ill be sure to post as soon as i get my hands on some batteries. Which should be soon because now I need to get pics of April/Rose/? still. I have only one and its awful lol.

And yes im very pleased with the way his hormones are all settling lol. Of course he still has rabbitude from time to time!

[MimzMum]

Oh, is this the new bunny in Hammer’s life? I’ve been away for a few days, so I must’ve missed something? 0_o

[BunnyLiz]

Yep new bun! its in the lounge. So excited now! She seems shy but sweet

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