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Feeding two rabbits when one is overweight?

UrbanBunny

Warren Scout
New bunny Basil turned up yesterday and he is really quite overweight (I'm going to attempt to weigh both buns in a minute).

He is a 2.5 year old, neutered dwarf lop and seems quite lazy/laid back. On the other hand Hilary is a 7 month old lionhead lop and very active.

Can anyone give me some hints about how to go about feeding these two because their needs are obviously very different?

I don't want Basil to lose weight too quickly and i'm hoping that chasing around after Hilary will shift some of the weight. He seems like a good hay eater which is good but he has quite small sticky poos in comparison to Hilary's. They have a selection in there at the moment (3 mini bales; one with rose petals, dandelion and chamomile) in the hope it'll improve his poos.

Are Pets at Home Rabbit Nuggets any good? His owner left me with the rest of the bag but I was thinking of feeding him a very small ration of Wagg Optimum instead (which is what Hilary has).
 
I have BB, a big 6kg frenchie with an appetite like a hoover, living with Joey, a 0.9kg nethie with a pretty poor appetite.

I feed them on different shelves in the shed, and have to slip extra food to Joey without BB realising, but if she gets a sniff that Joey is getting a morsel more than her she's like a bulldozer:lol::lol:

I'd recommend separating them for feed time initially, until the weight starts to reduce, then feed them together but scatter the food so they have to forage for it rather than put it in a pile.
 
I have BB, a big 6kg frenchie with an appetite like a hoover, living with Joey, a 0.9kg nethie with a pretty poor appetite.

I feed them on different shelves in the shed, and have to slip extra food to Joey without BB realising, but if she gets a sniff that Joey is getting a morsel more than her she's like a bulldozer:lol::lol:

I'd recommend separating them for feed time initially, until the weight starts to reduce, then feed them together but scatter the food so they have to forage for it rather than put it in a pile.



this
 
Thanks, right i'll feed Hilary by the fridge as usual (house buns) and Basil in the cage.

I don't know how much he was getting by way of pellets previously, but if I up his intake of hay and low sugar veg I was thinking of cutting them out altogether for him - would that be too drastic? I only feed H pellets as she's still growing.

Anyone know if the P@H pellets are any good?
 
Thanks, right i'll feed Hilary by the fridge as usual (house buns) and Basil in the cage.

I don't know how much he was getting by way of pellets previously, but if I up his intake of hay and low sugar veg I was thinking of cutting them out altogether for him - would that be too drastic? I only feed H pellets as she's still growing.

Anyone know if the P@H pellets are any good?

Yes i used to use the P@H pellets, and the bunnies loved them.
Excel and SS are also good brands :)
 
I don't see any reason why you shouldn't gradually change him over so they are both eating the same pellets. I feed Excel Lite ( recommended by my vet as more fibre) but I know some people aren't keen on Excel. I have a real problem with my 3 at feeding time (outdoor). I have to sit with them in the run, otherwise my little doe (who eats in a very genteel fashion) gets shoved out of her bowl when my big boys have finished theirs. The only thing one of them loves more than food is me!:)
 
we have this problem too

Buffy is totally food-focused and always has been. She used to steal from Bunster, her first husbun, and now even though they are both elderly and he is a bigger-framed rabbit, she steals also from Sausage. They both get 10-ish hours free-range time, so we don't let it worry us too much. They are upset if separated, and she becomes moody with him if she thinks he's getting something she isn't. Overall she has a pretty good life. We've cut down the pellets, and they have grass when free-raning, then hay in their hutch. Best we can do.
 
I allways feed my buns seperate.
In the shed they have a 2 store high cage which I sererate with a special made board at the top off the stairs.
In the house I seperate them by using en extra cage.

By seperating them I know exactly what they eat and how long they eat. One of my buns is a dutch and the other is a dwarf, so their needs are different aswell. After they finish their food I put them back together. I do this every morning and evening, and it really works here.
 
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