too skinny?

[mint]

Bamboo just turned four months old.  She has a ton of energy, and poops just fine.  I wonder if she is too skinny though.  When I pet her, I can feel her spine very easily, and also her leg bones and ribs.  She doesn’t look too skinny with all of her fur, but she just feels skinny.  Especially compared to the other two adult girls.  She gets unlimited alfalfa pellets, oat and alfalfa hay, lettuce, some carrots, cauliflower or broccoli every day.  Do you think she’s skinny because she’s growing?

[LoveChaCha]

Have you touched her spine? My Chacha bun was small when she was 4 months of age but she filled out nicely in the later months Now she is curvy attitude girl

[Tate]

What breed is she (or best guess)? Has she seen a vet at all?
I have a Holland Lop and he was quite skinny for a while. I could definitely feel his hip bones jutting out a bit. He’s been to the vet numerous times- a week after I had gotten him, neuter, and once for a cold. He’s also seen a different vet for all of those things (we’re nomads, ha). None were concerned in the slightest. He’s finally filled out a bit.
What brand of pellets are you using? Do you notice that she’s actually eating them? While alfalfa pellets are great for young bunnies, some just don’t *like* them. If you notice she isn’t eating them much, but does eat her hay and veggies, you might want to switch!
Other than that, her diet does sound very good. I would bet she’s about to hit a big growth period… she’s just in that awkward and lanky phase right now.

[Ali925]

I have two bunnies of the same breed (holland lops for what it’s worth) and both have developed to very different sizes.. Blu (male) has always been much smaller and has less of an appetite than Oreo who eats so fast I’m not sure she gets any breath in during the process..haha. I actually took Blu to the vet in the beginning because I was worried he wasn’t gaining enough…he was under 2 lbs for a while, and didn’t scarf down his pellets like Oreo always did…and still the vet said he was completely healthy. At 3.5 months old he was 2.2 lbs and now at about a year and a half old he’s just at 3 lbs (Oreo is more like 4-4.5lbs, and longer). So it really varies bunny to bunny and as long as she is eating/drinking/pooping, etc, then she’s likely just fine. If you are very concerned you could always take her to the vet to get her checked out. Do you know her weight? It can be deceiving because you can definitely feel their bones, spine, etc, and that’s totally normal..

[Beka27]

She may have taken a growth spurt and just not added on the weight to fill out. If everything is normal, I wouldn’t be too concerned.

[Stickerbunny]

Powder is super active (he tires ME out) so doesn’t gain fat very easily, I can feel his spine very easily, but the vet says he is fine and he eats like a pig and is very active, so I am not worried about him. Stickers has a much different body type. If she’s active and otherwise healthy I wouldn’t worry too much – but if you really want to put your mind at ease about it, you can have the vet give her a health checkup and they would be able to tell you if she’s underweight.

[BinkyBunny]

This  exerpt from an article from the rabbit network has always been helpful to me.  Though older bunnies do just have that less lean, plump look.  And younger bunnies are so active and naturally more lean. (unless overfed)

 

“How do you know if your bunny is fat? Many house rabbits are, and they are not at all embarrassed by it! Rabbits store fat inside their abdomen, which makes just eyeballing them for love handles ineffective. Run your hands along your rabbit’s side, feeling the rib cage. When you reach the end of the ribs, your should be able to feel a slight inward slope, the waist. Fat bunnies will balloon out instead. Remember that the ribs are palpable in even quite obese rabbits, so don’t let your bunny fool you into more snacks!”

SOURCE: http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/obese.shtml

 

However, if you think that he is too skinny and not gaining weight properly, you could take him to the vet.  Does he have any issues with poo?  Parasites can sometimes cause issues with weight gain too. 

[mint]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. Bamboo looks like a himmie and californian mix, she’s my avatar. She eats a lot of alfalfa pellets, she’s pretty good on alfalfa and oat hay, and she’s pretty good on her greens. She likes carrots. Plenty of poops but they’re kind of small, kind of proportionate to her size.

She definitely has that young energy. I probably will take her for a health check anyway just to make sure I’m not missing anything. I’m not too worried, it’s just that my two older girls look so big and plump around her, but they definitely don’t move as much as her anymore!

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