is he underweight?

[Timster]

Hi all, this is my first post and tim is my first rabbit. He is approx six months old and is producing more of the soft poos than he eats. They are formed and not watery. He has eaten just hay from sunday to thursday, but i caved and gave him some greens tonight. I am worried about the soft poos and the diet of just hay which i have read about online can help reset their digestive system. Any advice? I am also concerned he is too thin as he is only 770g. He seems happy, active and always eating hay. I cant seem to upload pics of him but if anyone could offer suggestions on weight/diet it would be much appreciated

[Autumn's Dad]

Welcome to BB! What breed is he? I wouldn’t worry too much about feeding greens at his age, I fed my Autumn greens since she was 4 months but if he has had watery poop recently then stick to hay and a few pellets a day for a few days and then reintroduce greens. Rabbits produce a staggering amount of poop, so long as he is eating it’s normal.

Edit

I forgot to mention, I use http://www.imageoptimizer.net to shrink files to fit on this site. I select very small file size and 500 by 500 picture size.

[kirstyol]

Pictures would help because we cant really get an idea of what weight he should be without seeing how big he is. what problems are you having uploading pics? someone might be able to help with that

[Timster]

I cant get the pics to upload as they are over 500mb. I cant dond the settings to change it on my phone.

Thanks for the advice on the poops. Is it bad for him if he isproducing too many of the soft poops? This morning they are tiny but still well formed.

[kirstyol]

Have you tried Autumn’s suggestion above? I don’t post from my phone so cant help, but hopefully someone will know what to do.

I assume he is a very small bun at that weight? I would definitely keep a good eye on him, small poops can be a bad sign. if he stops eating and/or pooping you need to go to the vet asap, it might be worth booking a check up anyway if you are worried

[Timster]

I worked out how to upload pics! also im in australia so he is an aussie mini lop, not sure if they are the same as the us mini lop or if they have a different name their! Thanks again for your advice

[Timster]

Pics

[kirstyol]

That link is a blank page, you need to actually insert the picture – its a bit complicated on here actually, once you upload it you need to click ‘current attachments’ then ‘insert image’

I have no idea if Australian mini lops are different than other mini lops so I googled it and apparently an adult should weigh around 1.5kgs and although that will just be an average it does seem like a big difference between 750g and 1.5kgs

[Timster]

I have tried again with pics, i have add a profile pic of him though.

[Azerane]

I fixed your posts for you. There are issues with uploading pics from mobiles, sometimes they don’t show so all you need to do once you have posted is click on “edit” on your post and then re-submit the post. I removed the pics from your other post because they were the same as the ones you already posted

Unless rabbits are quite overweight, it can be difficult to visually see whether they are a correct weight, especially when they may be a little underweight the fluff tends to hide that. You need to assess his weight by feel. Pet along his back, you should be able to feel the spine and hips without applying much pressure, but they shouldn’t feel sharp. They should feel cushioned by a thin layer.

Here are a couple of guides:
http://charlotte-harris.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Body-Condition-Score-Rabbit.jpg
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/images/rabbitweightbodyscore.png

If you suspect he is thin, are you also feeding him pellets? Pellets are the best thing for keeping/putting weight on a rabbit. I know some people don’t feed pellets and simply feed hay and a wide variety of leafy greens, but I think for growing rabbits pellets should be added just to ensure they get all the nutrients they need. Some adult rabbits (like my Luna) don’t maintain weight well without pellets even when getting a large variety of greens every day.

Australian mini lops are different to those overseas. Our mini lops are similar to the USA Dwarf Lop although , and our Dwarf lop is like the USA Holland Lop. (At least I think that’s the way it is, I get confused and never remember it properly). From what I’m reading though, Aussie mini lops are around 1.5kg adult weight, so I feel like your boy should weigh more by now. When my previous rabbit was about 4 months, he weighed about half of his final adult weight.

[Timster]

Thankyou for fixing my posts! I was feeding him pellets as well as hay but he startef producing to many soft poos so i cut them out and just started feedin g hay. I did this for about four days and then caved and gave some pellets and boc choy as i feel bad just giving him hay. The soft poops are not watery, they look like little balls joined together. He still produces lots of normal poops, the soft ones seem to happen perhaps once a day. He is eating hay and drinking as normal. I have read on some sites that the too many soft poops problem is something that can happen and as long as they are eating/drinking properly it is ok. Is that correct or shouls i take him to get checked out?

Thanks again for your help, not sure if im being overly cautous or not!

[Azerane]

I think it’s always good to be cautious with rabbits when you notice changes like that The soft poops that you are seeing, little balls joined together are cecal poops, they are normal. They look sort of like a blackberry with the way they are clustered together. See here: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/e1/9c/b9/e19cb9d403771551bdec6f2a86cc9b95.jpg
You are correct that too many pellets, or too many other rich foods like greens can cause too many of these to be produced. Usually rabbits eat them but sometimes they may leave one especially if they are producing more than they need. Sometimes a particular pellet brand can also be the cause, some rabbits tolerate certain brands, but not other brands depending on how many extra ingredients they have. What brand had you been feeding?

It’s not necessary to see a vet for an extra cecal poop or two, however if it is meant to be more normal poop and is instead mushy, then it would probably do to keep away from pellets. Has Trim been to the vet since you got him? If not it’s probably worth just getting him a check up anyway and they’ll also be able to assess his weight for you.

[Timster]

Thanks so much! Makes me feel a bit better. I am feeding him barastoc rabbit pellets which is what the breeder fed him before i got him. I have not taken him to the vet yet, i am checking out rabbit vets in mey area but they seem to be far and few between!

In regards to weight, i have spoken to the breeder i got him from and she said his dad only weighed about a kilo so it sounds like he is on track.

Thanks again!

[Author]

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