Proper diet for an underweight rabbit?

[Pawprints903]

Domino’s underweight (not majorly but the vet did say he lost almost a pound) and I was looking to see what fatty foods I could give him. I know about alfalfa hay (I haven’t tried that yet) and oats (which he loves) but is there a good vegetable or fruit I could give him?

[Wick & Fable]

When my vet informed me Wick was underweight, I was distraught and felt so terrible, so I became very paranoid about his weight since then.

To get him to normal, healthy weight, my vet recommended giving him critical care twice a day (AM & PM), as many syringes as he’d take. I was feeding him 10 syringes of critical care every day for a week and he got to normal weight. His belly was so big after a feeding, haha.

Since then, I have slightly increased his pellet amount and have done more to encourage hay eating. Aside from that, it seems once he got to healthy weight, he does a good job maintaining it.

His initial slump into being underweight was because Wick always got limited pellets, so he didn’t have enough nutrients to bulk him up as he doubled in size. All is well now though

Bottom line: Did your vet mention using critical care for a boost?

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Pawprints903]

He did but I thought it was just for nutrition and didn’t help weight gain. I purchased two bags and they ran out pretty quickly (do they sell bulk bags?) but they didn’t seem to be doing much. Domino was never a fan of hay even though I offered different cuttings and types. I know hay is important for rabbits but I just can’t find a hay he will eat 

I just have to say Wick is so cute and I love the name 

[LittlePuffyTail]

How old is he and what is his current diet?

[Wick & Fable]

Critical Care was the reason Wick gained weight. The syringes weren’t the usual antibiotic syringes– the diameter is much larger and Wick ate A TON of it. 10 syringes was so much. We went through 3 bags that week I think.

For hay, it’s a lot of experimentation sometimes. Wick really likes he seeds in oat hay, but I have to give it sparingly because then he doesn’t eat hay– only searches for the seeds. Now Wick’s hay is all Timothy with orchard mixed in at night!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Pawprints903]

He’s four years old and he gets 3/4 cups of  Sunburst pellet mixture because it’s the only thing he’ll eat. We’ve tried greener and healthier pellets like Sherwood Forest but he doesn’t eat them. He’s really picky on fruits and veggies but he mainly likes to eat watermelon, banana, and romaine lettuce. He won’t eat hay (like I’ve mentioned) so in order to give him some fiber, I feed him as many whole oats as he’ll take which is also good to help him gain weight.

I’ll be sure to order lots more of critical care, thank you!

I haven’t given him oat hay before. Nor have I tried mixing the hays! I’ll be sure sure to do that! 

[joea64]

My bunny-loving confreres at Friends of Rabbits strongly recommend mixed hays, and I got a big bag (about 1/4 – 1/3 bale) of same from them as a free starter last Saturday when I went shopping for bun supplies. I’m not sure exactly what all is in it but I’m sure it includes at least timothy and orchard, and maybe oat and other grasses (brome, Bermuda, etc.) too.

What IS it with bananas and bunnies, anyway?!

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By NinjaRabbit on 8/17/2017 8:53 PM

He’s four years old and he gets 3/4 cups of  Sunburst pellet mixture because it’s the only thing he’ll eat. We’ve tried greener and healthier pellets like Sherwood Forest but he doesn’t eat them. He’s really picky on fruits and veggies but he mainly likes to eat watermelon, banana, and romaine lettuce. He won’t eat hay (like I’ve mentioned) so in order to give him some fiber, I feed him as many whole oats as he’ll take which is also good to help him gain weight.

I’ll be sure to order lots more of critical care, thank you!

I haven’t given him oat hay before. Nor have I tried mixing the hays! I’ll be sure sure to do that! 

Bunnies are creatures of habit – it can take a while to transition them from one type to another. You need to put him on a healthy pellet tho, the sunburst is full of unnecessary and unhealthy junk. You also need to find a hay he likes. It is imperative that he has hay. Watermelon and banana should be given sparingly. What other veggie besides romaine does he have? He needs an entire diet overhaul. 

The thing is, he’s having things that would normally cause weight gain – the fruits in the pellet mix, oats and the watermelon and banana so it’s concerning that he’s lost weight. Did the vet not query why?

[Deleted User]

Oh no, no, no!! He must eat hay! Like 85% of his diet should be hay, 10% veggies, 5% pellets …with treats given sparingly. You have to keep trying hay. Cut back on sweeter things gradually, he may have decided that since he’s getting what he wants the hay isn’t good enough. I would recommend trying alfalfa hay. It is richer and sweeter than other types, which might appeal to him. He shouldn’t remain on a diet of alfalfa, but maybe you could use it to jump start getting him to eat hay and then transition to other types. He shouldn’t be getting that many pellets either. As sarah said, complete diet overhaul!

On a side note, I think I remember you saying your bunny was an outdoor bunny correct? Have you had the vet check for some other cause of weight loss, such as parasites? I’m just wondering because if he’s eating just pellets and fruits he should be gaining weight with no problem, not losing it.

[Deleted User]

I agree with BunNoob. Especially when he gains that weight back, he should not be on 3/4 cup of pellets a day. That’s okay for a rabbit under 6 months because they’re still growing, but a 4 years old 3/4 cup of pellets is a lot. Cut back on the pellets and fruits, that way it’ll encourage him to eat they hay. I had to do this with Bombur recently. I would, as Wick and BunNoonb suggested, give him 5-10 syringes of CC a day and maybe switch to alfalfa to bulk him up. Definitely talk to your vet though about potential parasites.

[Pawprints903]

I agree that Sunburst is bad but it’s the only thing he’ll eat and I’m afraid he’ll lose more weight. Do you have any recommendations on pellets that I can feed him?

The vet said his gut sounded healthy and his teeth looked okay but we couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

I’ve given him spinach, kale, parsley, celery, bok choy, arugula, collard greens, and broccoli. He seemed interested in some like kale but whenever I offered to give him more he refused. 

I read somewhere that instead of hay, you could grow grass as a replacement. Would this work?

[joea64]

I agree about the alfalfa hay. While it’s generally not recommended for healthy adult rabbits, it’s good for putting weight on a bun, and putting some weight on is exactly what your bun needs to do right now. It’s also quite tasty like BunNoob says (not that I know firsthand! ) so it may appeal to Domino’s finicky taste sense.

[joea64]

Posted By NinjaRabbit on 8/18/2017 9:52 AM

I agree that Sunburst is bad but it’s the only thing he’ll eat and I’m afraid he’ll lose more weight. Do you have any recommendations on pellets that I can feed him?

The vet said his gut sounded healthy and his teeth looked okay but we couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

I’ve given him spinach, kale, parsley, celery, bok choy, arugula, collard greens, and broccoli. He seemed interested in some like kale but whenever I offered to give him more he refused. 

I read somewhere that instead of hay, you could grow grass as a replacement. Would this work?

You could (grow grass, that is), but hay is basically just the dried form of grass, and ordinary fresh grass isn’t as nutritious. Try alfalfa hay first. Under these particular circumstances, a plain alfalfa-based pellet (e.g., Oxbow brand) might be helpful as opposed to Sunburst. Basically, aside from that, keep offering him any healthy foods that he will eat.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By NinjaRabbit on 8/18/2017 9:52 AM

I agree that Sunburst is bad but it’s the only thing he’ll eat and I’m afraid he’ll lose more weight. Do you have any recommendations on pellets that I can feed him?

The vet said his gut sounded healthy and his teeth looked okay but we couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

I’ve given him spinach, kale, parsley, celery, bok choy, arugula, collard greens, and broccoli. He seemed interested in some like kale but whenever I offered to give him more he refused. 

I read somewhere that instead of hay, you could grow grass as a replacement. Would this work?

You need to be more persistent. Try picking out the bad bits from the pellet mix and just giving him the actual plain pellet. After a while of that he might be more open to trying a better plain pellet

I’d really not be happy with the vet’s blasé opinion, weight loss can be a sign of many things so it’s not good practice to not investigate further. As BunNoob suggested, could he have a parasite?

Hay is just dried grass so yes grass would work well You’d need to grow a lot of it though which us usually why people feed hay rather than grass.

[Deleted User]

oooooo I would cut way back on kale, broccoli, and collard greens. Those are some gassy veggies and maybe he isn’t eating much because he has gas! You can relieve his gas with baby gas drops (simethicone). Generally, try to stick with herbs, lettuce, bell peppers and such for veggies.

[joea64]

Yes, dark leafy vegs. Check here:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx

Google on vegetables that are known to cause gas issues with bunnies, and avoid those for now. I just had another idea, have you tried feeding Domino spring mix? I’m going to be trying that as the main source of my own buns’ vegetable diet when they move in with me.

[Deleted User]

Posted By joea64 on 8/18/2017 10:19 AM

Yes, dark leafy vegs. Check here:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx

Google on vegetables that are known to cause gas issues with bunnies, and avoid those for now. I just had another idea, have you tried feeding Domino spring mix? I’m going to be trying that as the main source of my own buns’ vegetable diet when they move in with me.

I just started giving spring mix veggies and my buns love it! Great variety too, and a cheaper alternative than buying everything separately. I’ll add some fresh herbs to it and some bell pepper slices (maybe some matchstick carrots on treat day) and it makes for a really tasty salad that they are super excited for!

[joea64]

Posted By BunNoob<3 on 8/18/2017 10:24 AM

Posted By joea64 on 8/18/2017 10:19 AM

Yes, dark leafy vegs. Check here:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx

Google on vegetables that are known to cause gas issues with bunnies, and avoid those for now. I just had another idea, have you tried feeding Domino spring mix? I’m going to be trying that as the main source of my own buns’ vegetable diet when they move in with me.

I just started giving spring mix veggies and my buns love it! Great variety too, and a cheaper alternative than buying everything separately. I’ll add some fresh herbs to it and some bell pepper slices (maybe some matchstick carrots on treat day) and it makes for a really tasty salad that they are super excited for!

Not to mention that you can eat the extra yourself.  I actually started a thread a couple of weeks back to ask about spring mix, but what brand do you use? Here in Northern VA Fresh Express appears to be the most widely available brand, but $3.49 – $3.79 is a bit much for a relatively small package (that size only lasts me two days!); I am pretty sure Costco offers its own brand (Kirkland) of spring mix so when I do my last-minute bunny-gear shopping tomorrow I will have to go by there and see how big their bags are and how much it costs.

[Deleted User]

Posted By joea64 on 8/18/2017 10:48 AM

Posted By BunNoob<3 on 8/18/2017 10:24 AM

Posted By joea64 on 8/18/2017 10:19 AM

Yes, dark leafy vegs. Check here:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx

Google on vegetables that are known to cause gas issues with bunnies, and avoid those for now. I just had another idea, have you tried feeding Domino spring mix? I’m going to be trying that as the main source of my own buns’ vegetable diet when they move in with me.

I just started giving spring mix veggies and my buns love it! Great variety too, and a cheaper alternative than buying everything separately. I’ll add some fresh herbs to it and some bell pepper slices (maybe some matchstick carrots on treat day) and it makes for a really tasty salad that they are super excited for!

Not to mention that you can eat the extra yourself.  I actually started a thread a couple of weeks back to ask about spring mix, but what brand do you use? Here in Northern VA Fresh Express appears to be the most widely available brand, but $3.49 – $3.79 is a bit much for a relatively small package (that size only lasts me two days!); I am pretty sure Costco offers its own brand (Kirkland) of spring mix so when I do my last-minute bunny-gear shopping tomorrow I will have to go by there and see how big their bags are and how much it costs.

I do use the Fresh Express. It does get quite pricey  Sometimes I can find it on sale BOGO and I’ll buy like 6!! I wish there was a way to preserve it… But what you could do is buy 1 or 2 bags, then buy a bushel of green leaf lettuce or red leaf lettuce, which is usually pretty cheap ($2 ?) and just add the extra green leaf to stretch the bag some but still have variety

[Pawprints903]

I wrote down a shopping list with everything you guys have suggested and I will try to get all of it.  As for parasites, I’ll have to take him back to the vet. The vet didn’t consider parasites as a cause of weight loss but I’ll try to schedule an appointment this week.

[Author]

Messages