My bunny is so thin.

Fifi the bunny was ill a few weeks ago,she stopped eating and we went to the vets and she was given an injection of antibiotics and antibiotics for me to give her. She is much better now and eating loads but my problem now is she lost a lot of weight when she stopped eating and since she's started to eat again she's not gained any weight back, she is so thin

My question is; what can I do to help her gain weight? I give her extra pellets, she has an unli tied supply of hay and she gets fruit and veg regularly.

What about critical care? It has all the vitamins and minerals in it and Doughnut's been ill and had diarrhea and lost a bit of weight. On just hay and some critical care in a week and once the diarrhea had stopped she had put on 0.04kg so is now 1.1kg. Pellets are fattening but I'm guessing the critical care is probably better but hopefully someone with more experience on this will come along and advise.

What was the cause of her illness ?

Ok, I'll see if I can get so e critical care. Where do you get it?

The vet said it was and infection, she was unsure what though. It was actually 2 injections she had so 3 different ones all together as the vet was treating her for a broad spectrum of infections.

You can buy it online. I've always been given it by the vets but this is more expensive.

Jane is a lot more experienced than me so she can advise if the critical care is a good line to take. It won't do any harm anyway.

I don't give Doughnut veg as she gets a gassy tummy so I normally stick to dill but don't think this is fattening.

Better to give your rabbit healthy stuff rather than fattening stuff like carrot which isn't as good for him, but like I say that's my opinion and Jane is good at advising!

It really depends WHY she has lost weight - for instance if she has had gut problems then you dont really want to increase the pellets in case they make things worse - you'd want to encourage hay eating instead.

If she is eating well again she should be gaining weight again slowly- if she isnt then you need to see the vet. There could be an underlying problem that needs addressing. I have learnt the hard way (after bad advice from a vet and struggling with Barney's weight for a year) that you need to find the cause of these problems, not just treat the symptoms.

Readigrass, and fresh grass, I find good for just boosting their weight a little, and of course it is more gentle on the tum than other methods, as it is still grass and plenty of fibre.

You could up the pellet ration a little, but as above it depends what her gut is like and why she lost weight in the first place. Profibre pellets are probiotic pellets and so can help if the gut is not working well to absorb the nutrients from food.


edit: chronic infection can also be a strain on the body and use up extra calories, so it may also be worth checking with your vet whether the infection has really cleared up.

what kind of infection was it and where was it?

The vet didn't say where just that it was a viral or bacterial infection.

Bunny-love said:

The vet didn't say where just that it was a viral or bacterial infection.

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How did the vet come to that conclusion, did they do any tests?

No, she just looked at her and came to that conclusion. I'm thinking I should look for another vet!

Bunny-love said:

No, she just looked at her and came to that conclusion. I'm thinking I should look for another vet!

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Well if the weightloss is still persisting then I would certainly be looking for the cause of it, and definitely looking at doing tests. For instance, I think white blood cell counts would tell you if there is an infection, as they should be high if there is an infection.

Not knowing your vet, their qualifications or how they have been in the past, I don't know whether you should look for another one or not.

Did your rabbit have her teeth checked? Is she eating hay well and does she have healthy poops?

Yeah, she had her teeth checked. She actually went for a check up a few weeks before she became ill and the vet said everything g looked good! The vet has been our family vet for the past 15 years and she has been very good, but it's only been dogs we have had up until now. Ill give the vet a call in the morning.

Something else you could try is the supreme vetcare weight management pellets. I've read some good things about them, helps rabbits to put weight on after an episode of being ill.

I'm going to slowly change Doughnut over to the vetcare digestion formula as she tends to get gas as eats too quickly so these take longer to eat and also have herbs which are good for bloat and digestion.

I'd recommend you find another vet if your current vet simply 'looked' at her and diagnosed an infection.

Perhaps put another thread in 'Rabbit Chat' asking for "Rabbit Savvy vet in <your area here>" and others will try and help.

A rabbit that loses weight unexpectedly needs to see a rabbit savvy vet if the issue persists.

GrahamL said:

I'd recommend you find another vet if your current vet simply 'looked' at her and diagnosed an infection.

Perhaps put another thread in 'Rabbit Chat' asking for "Rabbit Savvy vet in <your area here>" and others will try and help.

A rabbit that loses weight unexpectedly needs to see a rabbit savvy vet if the issue persists.

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Agreed. I was working on the assumption she's all in the clear now and just needs a bit of weight putting back on. If that's not the case then see a rabbit savvy vet.

cpayne said:

Agreed. I was working on the assumption she's all in the clear now and just needs a bit of weight putting back on. If that's not the case then see a rabbit savvy vet.

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Problem is, if she was in the all clear, and eating okay, then the weight would come on by itself, she wouldn't need feeding up, a healthy diet would do it. The fact that she isn't gaining weight points to the fact that there is still an unresolved issue.

I'm in a similar situation to you I need to put a little weight on a bun that has been/is unwell

I was looking at adding alfalfa hay and barley rings. But I would agree you probably want to find out the cause as adding more calcium into your buns diet could cause more problems

I bake Nismo bunny biscuits to help her loose weight x