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For those who weigh their rabbits - How much fluctuation is normal?

joey&boo

joey&boo

Wise Old Thumper
Hi all,

I've only recently bought digital baby scales so i can regularly weigh my rabbits.
At their vet check ups in July they all weighed less than at home. I assume this was a calibration thing over anything else, although a few months had lapsed where I may :lol: have placated them too regularly during bonding, with huge piles of forage.

Mouse weigh ins: end of July (@ vet): 2.8 k 22/10/15 3.2 k 5/11/2015 3.05 k 13/11/15 3.09 k

Joey end of july (@ vet) 2.4k 22/10/15 2.58 k 5/11/2015 2.60 13/11/2015 2.52

Boo end of july (@ vet) 2.5 k 22/10/15 2.66 k 5/11/2015 2.71 k 13/11/2015 2.57 k


So is this kind of weight variation normal please?
 
Those weights look reasonable to me - they all went up a bit and are all dropping back towards their original weight, so are all following the same trend - which would fit with your generous forage weeks. Different scales may also give different measurements (as you can see from yours and vet scales), so for consistency you should compare weights from the same source.

I only weigh mine regularly (ie every week or 2 weeks) if there are major health issues, so I expect fluctuations then. If they are otherwise healthy, I would weigh them maybe monthly. I get mine done at the vet when they go for their vaccinations, and this is recorded on the vaccination card so I have a baseline to compare any changes against and a useful record eg if I need to work out doses for EC treatment.
 
Thanks Shimmer, that's reassuring. Mouse is edging up though & she is the bunny who should be moving down a little in weight - I've never seen a rabbit spend so much time eating hay - forage & veg she has in the same quantity as my smaller & slimmer Joey & Boo. Such a greedy girl
 
I don't weigh my rabbits regularly. I do hold them almost daily whilst cuddling and so usually feel if there's an issue so I don't need to stick them on the scales unless I'm worried.

The only thing I would remark on with your weight chart (well not YOUR weight chart :oops:) is Mouse's weight is going up. If you feel she needs the bit extra for winter time, that's good. If not .. difficult to keep it stable when she's sharing with the others? Perhaps more 'stair duty' for her? ;)
 
MightyMax said:
I don't weigh my rabbits regularly. I do hold them almost daily whilst cuddling and so usually feel if there's an issue so I don't need to stick them on the scales unless I'm worried.

The only thing I would remark on with your weight chart (well not YOUR weight chart :oops:) is Mouse's weight is going up. If you feel she needs the bit extra for winter time, that's good. If not .. difficult to keep it stable when she's sharing with the others? Perhaps more 'stair duty' for her? ;)
Click to expand...

I can't get her interested in the stairs :) I have visions of me over encouraging her & ending up with broken something ! She is awake more often than Joey & Boo, troughing hay...which she lies down to eat!! (not always). I will start with reducing readigrass - I cut out the homemade bunny treats after the first weigh in. Bless her! she really does love her food (though Joey often snatches a fair bit of hers as is his duty)
 
joey&boo said:
I can't get her interested in the stairs :) I have visions of me over encouraging her & ending up with broken something ! She is awake more often than Joey & Boo, troughing hay...which she lies down to eat!! (not always). I will start with reducing readigrass - I cut out the homemade bunny treats after the first weigh in. Bless her! she really does love her food (though Joey often snatches a fair bit of hers as is his duty)
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A good hay-eating bunny is worth her weight in gold! You could vary the hays if you take away the readigrass? I find when I diet my boarders (they always say they are coming to my spa :lol:) it's the pellets I cut right down. It seems to make a difference over several weeks, no matter how much hay/veg/forage/readigrass they consume.

And for a rabbit, eating pellets is such a transient pleasure as they are gobbled up so fast!
 
:lol: they are on baled hay ...no variety on that count (although I have purchased a fancy bag of timothy hay for Mouse's birthday next week, which was the price of 2 bales)

If she isn't heading in the right direction at her next weigh in I'll have to cut the pellets out :(

i've just told her what you wrote & she said you're a meanie trying to deprive her of her beloved nuggets:lol:
 
joey&boo said:
:lol: they are on baled hay ...no variety on that count (although I have purchased a fancy bag of timothy hay for Mouse's birthday next week, which was the price of 2 bales)

If she isn't heading in the right direction at her next weigh in I'll have to cut the pellets out :(

i've just told her what you wrote & she said you're a meanie trying to deprive her of her beloved nuggets:lol:
Click to expand...

Now you and I know that's not true ;):lol:
 
MightyMax said:
Now you and I know that's not true ;):lol:
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Well I asked them all & this was their reply

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:lol::lol:
 
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