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How can you tell if your rabbit is overweigt?

xxKarinaxx

Mama Doe
I'm pretty sure that my missy bunny is overweight. I know that this is wrong and unhealthy for her.

The buns share feeding bowls so she may be eating alot more than bunny (infact she is eating alot more that bunny) They are given a small amount of pellets each morning and plenty of hay. She just never stops eating, she has even taken to eating straw which we have put in the litter tray.

Bunny only eats when he has to, is there anyway I can control her eating without affecting bunnys diet?

Also she has developed quite the chin recently, I know this is standard for does but it came on over a matter of a few weeks. Shes a little x breed so i'm not so sure how big she is meant to be.......Advice anyone please?:D

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She does look a little chubby. Can you feed Bunny separately and just feed Missy hay and veg for a while? Does she eat fruit as this is high in sugar and should be avoided. How much exercise does she get?
 
She does look a bit on the tubby side. Try feeding your other rabbit seperately from her and don't give her any pellets just hay and veg, avoid any sugary treats like carrot and fruit.

Also it's worth weighing her to check on her weight. I find the best way is to weigh yourself, then weigh yourself holding the rabbit. Then subtract your weight to get rabbit's weight.
 
Theyre both fed together and have seperate bowls, she does tend to stray to bunnys bowl though. Would it be worth giving them one bowl of food rather than two?

She doesnt have any fruit just veges, pellets and hay.

She's quite the hyperactive bun and is always running around so she gets plenty of exercise.
 
when Hobbes got a bit overweight the vet told me not to give him any pellets at all just hay and veg. I cut out pellets for all my rabbits for a while and they were all really healthy. I only started giving them again because it was cheaper than the huge amount of veg they were getting through! They only have a small handful each morning between two of them now.
 
I'll cut out the pellets and see if that works.

Bunny has a very sensitive tummy and sometimes veges can be a little bit too much for him.
 
If his tum is a bit sensitive to veg you could cut back on them too. I've had overweight buns on hay only diets to help reduce weight with just a treat of a couple of pellets in the am and a small peice of veg in the pm.
 
Yes your bunny is a little bit overwieght. The way you can tell is if to can grab some flab around the shoulders. Mini lops are a "little" prone to overeating:lol:. As most of the people on this thread, I agree with hay and veggys, hay is kindof like oatmeal its fills you up and stays there for a looong time! Also make sure she has water the hay drys them out VERY fast!

And remember exercise helps too!
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Yes your bunny is a little bit overwieght. The way you can tell is if to can grab some flab around the shoulders. Mini lops are a "little" prone to overeating:lol:. As most of the people on this thread, I agree with hay and veggys, hay is kindof like oatmeal its fills you up and stays there for a looong time! Also make sure she has water the hay drys them out VERY fast!

And remember exercise helps too!
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lol I can grab alot of flab around her shoulders, since she met bunny she has let herself go. :lol:
I'll definately put her on a hay and vege only diet and hand feed bunny his pellets so that I know he's the only one getting them. Poor little missy shes not going to like it, she'll think shes being starved. Luckily she loves hay so she'll be more than happy to sit there and eat that.

Out of curiosity does anyone have any idea as to what breed she is crossed with?
 
LOL!!! :lol:

Well... Dont worry about her being starved! Hay is a very good filler! Its my prime wepon against overweight rabbits overweight rabbits on the show table is a BIG NO-NO! As I said before its like oatmeal a small amout will keep you going and going and going...
 
LOL!!! :lol:

Well... Dont worry about her being starved! Hay is a very good filler! Its my prime wepon against overweight rabbits overweight rabbits on the show table is a BIG NO-NO! As I said before its like oatmeal a small amout will keep you going and going and going...

hehe thanks, I'll make sure she is on a hay only diet so that she can shed some well needed weight.
 
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