Another chunky Bun

I think it must be over winter they just seem to pile it on don't they (bit like us I guess ). Anyway, the vet says Ben is a bit chunky, nothing to worry about but would be better off if he lost a bit of weight.

So, exercise regime is being upped - no sitting in the bunny house just cos it is chilly out / drizzling a bit. I have just been on to PWSgreenline to get him a nice big run (and get a donation made to RR) so that he can run in the rain without me having to be out there ! Now I need to think about his food. I'm hoping this is where you guys can help.

The vet said to try super excel 'diet' or 'lite' or something. Do you know where I can get that ? My pet shop doesn't stock it. If not that, then is there another dry feed that is 'diet' that I can find more easily that I can wean him onto ? I have read in other threads here that I can reduce the dry food if I increase the veggies, but will that work with a bun that really doesn't eat much hay ? Will he not get the 'runs' ? Perhaps I need to find different hay that he will eat more of. Any suggestions here ? We have already tried the local pet shop one, the pets at home one, supaforage and pettex hay (which is the one he nibbles a bit of - we line his hutch with it).

Any other bunny mums with an overweight fussy eater ?!

hi the excel lite pets@home sells, giving less dried food and more vegs seems a better idea to me, i have had LOTS of buns that dont eat hay, and find that if you give a small handful about 25grams of dried in the morning, then a boul of veg at night with the rest of the dried food another 25 grams, it keep thems more hungry during the day so they tend to eat the hay and where they are bored all night they nibbly the hay then as well, but normally they will start to eat the hay after a couple of days of trying this method once they get used to the feeding times.

hay sweet meadow hay is a good one!!!

hope that helps

Hi, I have a porker bunny :lol: I have used the burgess lite for him and he's lost quite a lot of weight and munches more hay now.
Have you tried decreasing the amount of dried food he gets to see if that persuades him to eat more hay? Dried food isn't necessary if you feed him a variety of fresh veg. Lynda and Adele feed some of their bunnies no more than a handful or 2 a day. Pets at Home sells the lite food, did you ask your pet shop if they'd be able to order it in for you?

Good luck with it, the lite can be a bit hit or miss, I've spoken to some who said it worked with one but not the other.

Angela

I had a chunky bun too, he's now just about right though. I've always fed mine burgess super rabbit, and the exact amount it said on the back - but this is way too much for a bun, which is why Charlie got fat. They now eat about a third of the recommended daily amount, and then the rest of their diet is hay.

I also tried to increase his exercise - we chase him around quite a lot, or give the other bun a piece of vegetable and they run around after each other. I also bought a food ball - you know little ball with a hole in it to put treats in, I put fresh peas in it, Charlie nudges it around the room - he's got a bit wise lately though that the peas fall out if he does it slowly. It worked well for a while though and he seems to enjoy it.

good luck.

Bev x