Post on behalf of someone: how to gain back wt. after a lung infection

[Happy Hopping]

Post this on behalf of someone else local:

a person found a stray bun near the pond when the bun is at the age of 1, now 5 yr. old. Saw the bun in that wild area for over 1 mth., and decide to save her.

Then last yr., She was very sick with a lung infection, the same bacteria also caused bladder infection. it took months to fight the infection and 4 different antibiotics. But she lost a lot of weight and has some GI issues from all the medicine she had to take.

The vet could not even examine her, she was open mouth breathing and hyper ventilating. The Dr quickly gave her medicine to claim her down said she was in a lot of pain. The lung infection was very bad, you could see it on the x-ray.

The vet said in her 30 yr. of practice, it's rare a bun fully recovered from this. She is fully cured now

When I pet her, you can feel all the bones in her back. She just can't seem to gain her weight back since she was sick. I have her on the oxbow regular adult food pellets and free feed now cuz she's way too skinny.

The above is the conversation I have w/ another caring rabbit owner. The question is, now that the bun is fully cured, how do we get her to gain back the weight?

 

[InspectorMorse]

Is this Bunny spayed ? I ask as if not failure to gain weight/unexplained weightloss could be related to Uterine Adenocarcinoma

Increasing the protein intake can help weight gain. So feeding a Pellet designed for breeding and growing Rabbits would be an option. Also adding a small amount of Alfalfa hay. Not too much though as the high calcium levels in Alfalfa can cause issues with bladder sludge.

Any dietary change needs to be made slowly to minimise the risks of GI upsets.

Some people feed a small portion of whole rolled oats to aid weight gain. This increases carbohydrates though and for some Rabbits it can cause gut problems. If fed dry then only a very small amount of oats should be given at any one time as they will swell up once ingested and thus there is the potential of the Rabbit getting bloat.

Barley Rings are popular, but I have never fed them to any of my Rabbits. They are meant to help weight gain.

 

[Happy Hopping]

1) I'll find out from her if the bun is spay

2) it sounds like the safest option is just to use pellet for breeding / growing rabbits

do you have any brand name in preference?

 

[InspectorMorse]

1) I'll find out from her if the bun is spay

2) it sounds like the safest option is just to use pellet for breeding / growing rabbits

do you have any brand name in preference?

If the person is in the UK then there is Burgess Excel

https://www.burgesspetcare.com/shop/rabbit-food/excel-junior-dwarf-rabbit-nuggets-with-mint/

Supreme Science Selective

https://supremepetfoods.com/products/science-selective-junior-rabbit-food/

 

[Happy Hopping]

Jane, I have been thinking, perhaps her bun is currently on Oxbow, I wonder if she can keep Oxbow, and just add Supreme Sc. Selective, what do you think

or do you think she should switch out Oxbow slowly and stick to Sc Selective until the bun gain back the wt.?

 

[InspectorMorse]

Jane, I have been thinking, perhaps her bun is currently on Oxbow, I wonder if she can keep Oxbow, and just add Supreme Sc. Selective, what do you think

or do you think she should switch out Oxbow slowly and stick to Sc Selective until the bun gain back the wt.?

I’d slowly switch over to just SS. Or she could always stop at 50/50 and see if Bunny gains weight on that.
I’d not go to OTT on pellets though as Bunny won’t eat enough hay if she does that.

Readigrass has a high protein content. She could feed a small amount of that too. Better for dental attrition than just pellets.

https://wildaboutbunnies.co.uk/products/readigrass

 

[Happy Hopping]

okay, let's go w/ that. I'll let her know. Thanks again

 

[InspectorMorse]

okay, let's go w/ that. I'll let her know. Thanks again

No problem x

 

[bunny momma]

My Raven gets alfalfa. He tolerates it well. I tried mixing his adult pellets with pellets formulated for younger bunnies yet he picked out the adult ones to eat. Pellets meant for young or breeding bunnies are often alfalfa based, so make any change slowly.