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Best feeding for (another) underweight pregnant doe?

silverrabbit

Mama Doe
OH called and said his friend had bought a hutch from an FB selling group as a hide for his bantams, only to find that the woman had left her rabbit inside :shock: when he was unloading hutch he obviously noticed bunny and called woman who said that the ad was for bunny too (though it didn't say so) and she "wanted rid" because she couldn't take "him" to her new place :( when he asked about food and if he should come back for it she said she didn't have any :?

OH's friend can't keep bunny as he has 5 dogs so he calls OH to ask if I could take "him" in (he's been to my house and knows I have bunnies). Cue a bit of trouble/stress as I just took in 2 rabbits (1 preggo), but as he didn't have food or hay I agreed for bunny to come here and I would try and rehome "him".

Bunny arrives and is SO thin. Hip bones are literally sticking out and there is a significant dip at the waist that is not healthy. Go to pick bunny up and think my face said it all.. was thinking severe bloat but loads of fresh poops in box so asked are you sure she said male bun? He said yeah, he's called Flash and is 7 months old...

Ummmmm... NOPE. Deffo girly bits and you can feel her tummy moving :cry: I don't know if her belly just feels bigger because she is so thin? What can I do food-wise? When I realised how skinny she was + bump I changed the food over from A&P to SS junior (what my giant gets mixed in as he needs more protein to keep weight on), plus she is stuffing her face with any hay I put in front of her.

I don't know how many pellets she should be getting, I don't think she is far off giving birth (if the other doe is over 2 weeks this one must be 3 or over by the feel). The SS packet says unlimited but she prob hasn't had SS before so don't want to upset her tummy :? My usual vet is back tomo and he is good with bunnies so can take her down but not sure if that is too risky?

Any advice appreciated xx
 
I would feed plenty of hay and introduce the pellets gradually building up to unlimited. As it's a completely new pellet plus all the other stress it's best not risk upsetting her gut. She'll need to put weight on gradually so feeding a big meal won't 'fix' things. I expect you'll find even with the babies, feeding her normally she'll still put weight on. Feeding the junior is an excellent idea as that will have extra protein. Alfalfa would be another option too.
 
Thanks Tamsin :wave:

She's munching T&R, plain timothy and normal baled, she loves all of it. Will try to find some Alfalfa hay tomo, I don't think my vet stocks it so will have to try P@H.

Can I feed her some of my home dried forage or will that be too rich atm? it's bramble & strawberry leaves, plantain and dandelion :)
 
oh jeeze poor thing :( How can people be so carelessly cruel!? :censored:

You might find that she'll struggle with her weight after having babies too, I guess it's a case of give her as much hay as she wants, slowly introduce pellets and other things. At this point she's going to gorge herself, so watch out for that too when introing new foods.
 
I would say the home dried forage would be great, things like bramble is really excellent for digestion as it's lots of fibre and nothing too rich. It's good for weaning babies too :)

It's good she's enjoying the hay, at least when they'll fill up on that you can worry a bit less about dry food.

You could always discuss with your vet whether they think bringing her in is a good idea. If she's pregnant you don't want to add to the stress on the other hand if she's not you want to investigate the big belly and a general health check doesn't hurt. If she's that big it might be decided for you by tomorrow anyway.
 
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