• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Am I feeding him right?

nessar

Warren Veteran
Probably about 2 months ago I got a bunny, hes around 3 years old, weighed 4.7kg when I got him and I think the breed is Blanc de Bouscat (staff couldnt remember what the previous owner told them, except that he was a french pure breed).

I think he was a little skinny when I got him, and the average weight for the breed is 5kg. But he seems to have put on quite a bit of weight so I thought I'd ask you guys :wave:

I will get some pictures later tonight if he'll stay still, and when I figure out how to insert them in posts.
I have read this:http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/fat_bun.htm
He has a small bit of chin-fat, not sure but I think its called a dewlap? I can feel his ribs and hes got thick fur even though hes an indoors bunny. He can clean himself and reach his poos no problem. I'm just worried becaue hes put on weight in such a short time, and hes being neutered next friday so doesnt that make them more prone to weight gain?

His pellets are excel, and it recommends to give a rabbit of 3.6kg 100g of pellets, but I feed way under that and hes much bigger!

I used to feed on an average day (up until this week when I realised he was a tubby bunny:lol:) obv the veg etc varies

Breakfast: 2 handfuls (40g) pellets, 1 carrot
Lunch: 1 small broccoli (approx 100-150g)
Dinner: 1 handful of pellets in bowl, 1 handful in treat ball, pellets, 1 pepper
and unlimited hay

I now feed:
Breakfast: 1 handful pellets in treat ball, 1 carrot
Lunch: 1 small broccoli
Dinner 1 handful pellets, 1 pepper

Is this okay for a 5kg rabbit?

Hes also not a great hay eater. I am going to order some hay from the hay experts tonight. Im going to get the sample box, but seeing as Im going to be spending 4.95 on postage whatever I buy (because Im going to order megazorb as well), I might as well buy a couple of bigger bags anyway. He wont eat short pieces of hay so any ideas on popular long-strand stuff?

Will I have to reduce the amount of pellets veg etc even further if he decides he likes the new hay? Because then he'll be consuming even more food!
 
I would maybe replace the carrot with a small handful of spring greens as carrots are quite high in sugar.

The majority of his diet should be hay. Have you tried offering different types?o I would suggest timothy hay and meadow hay. The hay experts do do a sample pack so it might be worth trying that. Im not that experience in feeding larger buns, mine are all around 2-2.5kg and they get half a handful of pellets per bun per day and 1 spring green leaf, the rest of their diet is hay so you could probably get away with fewer pellets and veg
 
Agree with webbkath - also herbs, mine love herbs - especially parsley (the flat leafed variety, basil, coriander and mint). I don't feed any carrot as it has a lot of sugar and makes Mini's tummy off. They get a lot more green food than any other colour.

They really need lots and lots of hay. It keeps their teeth short and in good condition and pushes everything through their digestive system. If he's not interested in hay it may be because he's getting too many pellets. The rough guide is an eggcup but some need more and some need less. Obviously if he's a big boy he's likely to need more. Hay has very little calories and basically pushes everything through to keep the gut moving. Rabbits need to graze and have food all the time - hay is perfect for this as it has little nutritional value.

As for his size, if you're going to the vets for a neuter - ask them if they think he is overweight. They may say he's just right and then you know his personal ideal weight. For mine I know that Mini, Mischa and Smudge's ideal is 1.8kg and Nutmeg around 1.3. So if they feel or look different I can weigh them and see if it's changed. For instance, Nutmeg and Smudge have both got their winter coats now which makes them look a lot bigger. Smudge was recently weighed and is still 1.8 so I know he's not putting on or losing weight.
 
Last edited:
Here are the pictures:

you can see his chin fat in this one:
2j4scx5.jpg


from above to show shape of his body:
34spbg9.jpg


when hopping:
65bp1y.jpg


and just cause its cute :lol:
n3oxvr.jpg


I will ask the vet next week, but till then do you think hes fat?

also he doesnt mind timothy hay but isnt mad about it, often prefers the ordinary Pets@Home stuff. Anyone know any other long-stranded hay?

EDIT: sorry didnt realise theyd come out so small. ask if you need to see one bigger :)
 
Orchard Grass, Orchard Grass, Orchard Grass, Orchard Grass! It's the only "hay" my rabbit will eat :) well...that and readigrass.
 
He doesnt look huge to me but I would check with your vet. I would still try and get more hay in his diet either way because its good for his teeth and digestion
 
Thankyou everyone :) I will reduce the carrots to once a week or maybe only a quarter a day or something (because he adores them!) And I'll reduce his pellets too I think. This concept is a little new to me, when I was a kid we just filled my rabbits bowl whenever it was empty and she just ate what she needed throughout the day.

I do feel bad because when he does get food he acts starved, he charges at it, will bite me if I dont move quick enough and then scoffs it down straight away. He will get through a large carrot in less than 5 mins. I've actually been asked a couple of times by friends whether im sure im feeding him enough as he seems so hungry all the time.

I will ask the vet what he thinks about his weight. I may be overreacting, its just I suddenly noticed how different he was. He mightve been a little underweight when I got him.

I have ordered hay :) I got the sample pack, some readigrass, some timmothy and herb hay, and some meadow hay. Hopefully I'll find some in the sample pack he likes! Was going to get orchard grass, looks good but £9 for a kg is a bit pricey for the risk so I'll see how he likes the sample. I'm hoping he'll like the oat hay as its a bit differnt to the timothy and bedding hay I have him on at the moment but not too expensive either.
 
I think pepper is also high in sugar- green is best, and brocolli should only be feed in moderation due to a high calcium content. Readi grass is higher in calories than hay and also has a high calcium content. there are split view on here about feeding it. I get a low calorie version called top chop formulated for horses with laminitus. He doesn't look fat to me at all. I agree about the herbs, mine go nuts for corrianda, cabbage, cauliflour and celery.
With regards to him being hungry all the time I think all buns are, but having said that he should be pretty much constantly chewing on hay (eating a pile around about his own volume everyday as I understand it)
The neutering may help with the food aggression (however it worked the otherway with Toby so you can never be sure).
 
Rabbits are just like that - their digestive system is designed to graze all the time so are nearly always hungry. It's when they DON'T come charging out for food you want to worry. :)
 
I think pepper is also high in sugar- green is best, and brocolli should only be feed in moderation due to a high calcium content. Readi grass is higher in calories than hay and also has a high calcium content. there are split view on here about feeding it. I get a low calorie version called top chop formulated for horses with laminitus. He doesn't look fat to me at all. I agree about the herbs, mine go nuts for corrianda, cabbage, cauliflour and celery.
With regards to him being hungry all the time I think all buns are, but having said that he should be pretty much constantly chewing on hay (eating a pile around about his own volume everyday as I understand it)
The neutering may help with the food aggression (however it worked the otherway with Toby so you can never be sure).

Oh dear I didnt realise about the broccoli, will cut that down to maybe twice a week, do you think that will be okay? I will only feed the readigrass as a treat. As for peppers he always gets green because they're the ones I dont like :lol: you dont happen to know if mangetout and green beans are okay do you?

And what exactly happened with your Toby's behaviour after neutering? I'm worried now - agression is half the reason I'm getting him done!:(
 
Rabbits are just like that - their digestive system is designed to graze all the time so are nearly always hungry. It's when they DON'T come charging out for food you want to worry. :)

Ahhh good, he's probably just trying to guilt me into giving him more food then :roll: I swear hes more dog than rabbbit sometimes the amount of begging he does!:lol:
 
I didn't think broccoli was high in calcium but I am willing to stand corrected! I stopped feeding it because we eat the florets and fed them the stalk but it seems that stalks of anything give mine gas.
 
Back
Top