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Advice needed on weight gain

tabithakat64

tabithakat64

Mama Doe
Katniss has lost a bit of weight, she's eating well, her poos and wees are good and she seems very happy in herself.

The reasons I can think of are she's moulting very badly (the other two are nearly done), it's been really hot or she's using up more energy when free ranging. The other two are fine so I don't really want to change the feeding regime much but have upped the pellets a bit and am making sure she's eating more than her fair share. Obviously I will take her too the vets if she continues to loose weight or has any obvious issues. There's no wetness or lumps around her mouth and she's chewing normally so it shouldn't be her teeth should it?

What could I introduce as a treat for her that I wouldn't need to give the other two?
I was thinking maybe a couple of barley rings as they're good for weight gain but is there something else like a high fat fruit I could give a little of each day?
 
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Personally I would want to start with a Vet check rather than wait and see if the weightloss continues. Then once any potential health problems have been excluded I'd continue feeding her just extra amounts of the pellet feed she is used to. High carbohydrate/sugar foods have the potential of causing a lot of GI tract problems. I occasionally have fed a small amount of whole rolled oats to a very underweight Rabbit (due to chronic illness) but I tend to use these as a last resort because of the potential of making things worse by causing gut problems.

Redigrass has a high protein content so some of that, introduced very gradually, could be helpful. Or you could feed a Junior Rabbit Pellet which will have a higher protein content than the Adult/Mature Rabbit pellets.

What is her exact daily diet at the moment ?
 
They have had between the three of them a day three bunny sized blobs of hay (2 or 3 different types), forage, two large handfuls usually about 6 different items, two egg cups of burgess excel pellets (now upped to 3) two hay balls and hayracks full of grass. Willow, Apple or hawthorn twigs and a couple of spring green or kale leaves a day, a small bunch of fresh herbs or rose petals and a grape or piece of Apple or carrot each.
These are split into 3 feeds and any waste is removed at the next meal.
She's 9 months old and the other two are 8 months old and all of them are very active they have a large run with lots of toys and get several hours of free range time each day.
I have spoken to the vets who said to monitor her for any signs of ill health or changes in behaviour.
Either myself or my other half are working from home for the next two weeks so she can be checked on.
 
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tabithakat64 said:
They have had between the three of them a day three bunny sized blobs of hay (2 or 3 different types), forage, two large handfuls usually about 6 different items, two egg cups of burgess excel pellets (now upped to 3) two hay balls and hayracks full of grass. Willow, Apple or hawthorn twigs and a couple of spring green or kale leaves a day, a small bunch of fresh herbs or rose petals and a grape or piece of Apple or carrot each.
These are split into 3 feeds and any waste is removed at the next meal.
She's 9 months old and the other two are 8 months old and all of them are very active they have a large run with lots of toys and get several hours of free range time each day.
They have cool tiles, a cool pad and a frozen bottle of water to lay against as it's been so hot as well as a shade on their run.
I have spoken to the vets who said to monitor her for any signs of ill health or changes in behaviour.
Either myself or my other half are working from home for the next two weeks so she can be checked on.
Click to expand...

They have cool tiles, a cool pad and a frozen bottle of water to lay against as it's been so hot as well as a shade on their run.
 
I'd get her checked over too.
When I got Kyla from rescue she was underweight and not a good hay eater but she she always devoured pellets and greens so I didn't worry too much. But then I started to notice she was getting even thinner, took her to the vets and it turned out she had a spur - she had had a dental check at the vets in the rescue so it had occurred over a short period of time and there weren't any obvious signs. Fudge on the other hand stopped eating overnight when she had a spur so it depends on the rabbit! Of course it could be a number of other things too so it can never hurt to have it checked out.
 
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