Readigrass...

My vet has said that my fluffballs (pair of 2yo miniature lops. Boy/girl both neutered) are on the cusp of needing to lose weight and I should be careful about their food.

I think the problem is probably too many fenugreek crunchies (3-4 a week each) too many carroties (probably 10 a week each) and too much fresh veg and herbs.

But when the vet asked what they ate, she said she wasn't sure about readigrass - she'd not heard of it and thought that might be the problem.

They live in a shed with a hutch in it. The hutch is lined with a couple if inches of straw then an inch of regular hay. They also have a constantly topped up and regularly changed hayrack. And a 2ft square nestbox full of regular hay, a little alfalfa, a fair amount of readigrass, some herbal garden and some oxbow orchard grass.

And a corner litter tray which they use as a hayrack full of the same. Between changes they probably get daily topups equivalent to a quantity of regular hay the size of both of them, 4-5 handfuls of readigrass, a generous handful of orchard grass, a stingy handful of alfalfa and a generous pinch of herbal garden. They also get 50g of science selective each day to share (I weigh it out).

I assumed the problem was the veg and fresh herbs. (Two bunny bowls a day to share) but could it be the readigrass? Can you spot something else problematic in there?

Please help - I don't want to be hurting them trying to treat them well.

Do they get any pellets or veg daily?

Yes, sorry it wasn't very clearly laid out.

50g science selective to share.

One bunny bowl with leafy greens and carrot tops and one bunny bowl with coriander, parsley, mint and basil. Both to share.

I'm not sure how much 50g is, but I would feed no more than 2 egg cups a day per bun. I'd reduce that slowly to 1 egg cup per day if they're a bit porky. Maybe reduce the treats and veg too. I don't think the readigrass is fattening. I give about a handful a day per bun.

I would take away the crunchies and the carroties - maybe one a week at most. I'd also stop feeding alfalfa - that is high in protein and is renowned for helping buns put on weight.

I'd see how they are after that, they should go down to a more normal weight. However, if they don't you could feed less pellets and/or veg. A healthy bunny should be able to maintain its weight on just hay, the rest is optional really. Some bunnies are more prone to weight-gain than others - I have a lionhead who gets a handful of greens every other day, a handful of readigrass a day, and hay, only one or two pellets occasionally, and she's still a porker! The vets are happy with her health and weight though.

I wouldn't say readigrass is the issue, it is just dried grass!

Captain Helen said:

I'm not sure how much 50g is, but I would feed no more than 2 egg cups a day per bun. I'd reduce that slowly to 1 egg cup per day if they're a bit porky. Maybe reduce the treats and veg too. I don't think the readigrass is fattening. I give about a handful a day per bun.

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I agree with this. Not sure what 50g is but my lot get a small handful per two buns of pellets per day plus half a large leaf of greens

I don't own any egg cups (don't like boiled eggs), but I imagine 50g is about 2 eggcup fulls. No more than 2 and a half.

Egg cups might be easier than weighing it out though - perhaps I need to go to a charity shop and buy an eggcup...

Pix said:

I don't own any egg cups (don't like boiled eggs), but I imagine 50g is about 2 eggcup fulls. No more than 2 and a half.

Egg cups might be easier than weighing it out though - perhaps I need to go to a charity shop and buy an eggcup...

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Egg cups vary in size though. An average eggcup is roughly 2 tablespoons, you must have a tablespoon measure somewhere The RWAF recommend a tablespoon per kg of bodyweight.

Or just weigh what you are giving they always suggest too much on the bags

For healthy adults getting a bit porky I would do 10g per kg of rabbit per day.

You'd do better halfing the dry food, than the veggies. Although if you're feeding a lot of fruit or root veg, swapping for more leafy greens may help Veggies are mainly water and fibre, it tends to be the dry food that puts on weight.

nessar said:

I wouldn't say readigrass is the issue, it is just dried grass!

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That was my thought, and the reason for the post.

The vet didn't say 'put them on a diet' she just said 'they've gained from last time. If they put in more by their next vaccinations in 6 months you might need to cut down, but I thought if there's a problem it's better to try to rectify it early.

Ill try to cut down on the treats - I've been trying to do it for a while, but my hubby is such a soft-touch with them. All they have to do is sniffle at him and he hands them a carrotie. I bought the carroties because they're smaller than the fenugreeks so I thought he'd be over treating them less!!

Same with the veg. His bowlfuls are bigger than mine and he accuses me of being mean. I tend to give them extra readigrass as a treat (for some reason they like it more if they've seen it come out of the bag!!)

webble said:

Or just weigh what you are giving they always suggest too much on the bags

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The bag suggested about 200g. At their peak even they were young they were sharing 175g and I thought it was too much. I weigh out little 50g portions and put them in sandwich bags and keep them in a tin on a high shelf in the shed.

Tamsin said:

For healthy adults getting a bit porky I would do 10g per kg of rabbit per day.

You'd do better halfing the dry food, than the veggies. Although if you're feeding a lot of fruit or root veg, swapping for more leafy greens may help Veggies are mainly water and fibre, it tends to be the dry food that puts on weight.

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10g per kg bunny is 45g. Perhaps I'll start making the bags 5g lighter.

If this thread is telling me anything, it's that their dried food isn't massively generous...

Thank you for all your suggestions.

May start a food diary for them to see if I can spot something else. In the meantime I need to weigh out some more portions this week so I'll make them 40g and see if that helps.

I've told mr that treats are all to be hay based for a few weeks and that alfalfa is a once a week, Sunday night treat. Lets see how this goes!

There will have to be treats on Christmas Day though...

Are they getting enough exercise? I know my lot tend to nest and snuggle a lot at this time of year

webble said:

Are they getting enough exercise? I know my lot tend to nest and snuggle a lot at this time of year

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Possibly not, but I can't make them run about! There is quite a lot of snuggling and snoozing going on. But short of freaking them out to make then run around (which would not be nice) I'm not sure how I'd go about making them get more exercise.

They do have less free range time in the winter as we're only happy for them to do that when we're in and can keep an eye on them. But I'm on maternity in a couple of weeks so they might get more free range time then (if I can still get to their level to usher them back in!!)

Pix said:

Possibly not, but I can't make them run about! There is quite a lot of snuggling and snoozing going on. But short of freaking them out to make then run around (which would not be nice) I'm not sure how I'd go about making them get more exercise.

They do have less free range time in the winter as we're only happy for them to do that when we're in and can keep an eye on them. But I'm on maternity in a couple of weeks so they might get more free range time then (if I can still get to their level to usher them back in!!)

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Do they have a run that they go in daily? Could you attach it to the hutch so that they can exercise when they are at their most awake - i.e. dusk, dawn and nightime?

They have a run to which they have access from 6am to 10pm. I needs renovations before we'd be happy for them to have access overnight.

A treat ball is good for encouraging a bit of running about

Tamsin said:

A treat ball is good for encouraging a bit of running about

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Tried that - too lazy. They don't even really bother. Plus if I'm not giving them treats that won't get me very far!