Are my rabbits overweight?!?

I have had my 2 bunnies for a couple of years now. Sammy (the brown one) I got first. Then I got Patch (the white one) abot a year after. They are both rescue. Sammy I was told is a Dwarf lionhead lop or something, Patch I don't know. But how am I meant to know what weight they can be. About a year ago I took Sammy to the vet when she was ill and asked the vet, she said she is just a fluffy big rabbit, not overweight. But when I took Patch for an eye infection late last year, I was told he was bordering on overweight and not to let him get bigger. All the vets give different advice on what to feed so I am not convinced any of them know that much about rabbits. I used to feed them pets at home nuggets which they loved but they weren't eating much hay. The vet told me roughly how much of the nuggets to feed a day to make sure they weren't getting fat, but that was all the nuggets I was feeding them anyway. I haardly used to give any packet treats and now none at all. One vet said you can just feed them on hay and veg, another said you need the nuggets to make sure they are getting all they need. I tried cutting down the pellets but they would just wait until I came with them and still not eat much hay. I decided to cut out the pellets and this got them eating the hay. I now give them as much hay as they want, each half a carrot, a piece of brocolli and a cabbage leaf every day. They seem happy and healthy although they do go mad for their veg so not sure if this is enough for them or maybe they are just being greedy.
I weighed them today and Sammy is 3.6kg, Patch is 3.4kg. This seems heavy but not knowing what they are exactly, how do I know if this weight is ok?
The hay I was giving them was called Alfa King alfafa Timothy Hay, which I thought was the version that wasn't fattening, but recently I was told by a member of staff at Pets at home that it IS fattening. I am so confused, am I actually fattening them up rather than helping their weight? I am finishing my last few bags of this hay up (unless someone on here tells me to stop feeding it) and haven't bought more yet until I know what to buy. I actually sent back about 10 bags of it as it was horrible brown coloured and the bunnies wouldn't eat it.
I also give them grass from the garden every couple of days and a few dandelion leaves. I took photos of the bunnies seperately but not sure how to put them on herre, I will try and work it out. thanks for any advice
[/URL][/IMG] [/URL][/IMG]

As far as I'm aware, alfalfa hay shouldn't bed fed in large quantities after rabbits are fully grown.

However, if they switch to say Timothy or Ing's hay (mine have a mix of cheap Wilkos Timothy hay and Ing's hay from Hayforpets.co.uk) their diet sounds pretty good.

I would give the carrot maybe twice a week though due to be sugar. Maybe switch it for some spring greens?

Mine have a few pellets and some fibafirst sticks and unlimited hay. I think mine are a little podgy (purely going on how their bodies feel), so I'm in the process of cutting pellets right down.

It is difficult to tell on a pic, but I would say they do look a bit on the heavy side.

It's very difficult to gauge the weight of a bun just by looking at them because of all the fluff. All buns are different shapes and sizes, it's just about knowing what your buns are like.

Generally, you should be able to feel the ribs and spine by pressing down a little but not see it. You should be able to feel muscle along the ribs and spine (i.e not just the bone). I think 3.5kg is a bit heavy for mini lops (not 100% sure about that) but as you said, with them being crossbreeds it's hard to say. If you have to really press to feel their ribs or spine, then I would say they are overweight.

Alfalfa hay is fattening. I would feed ings, timothy or meadow hay. You can mix and match them, too. :thumb:

Mine have an eggcupful of burgess Excel pellets each once a day, plenty of leafy green veg plus forage, and a huge amount of hay. You should be able to just feel their spines. If you give too many pellets, they won't eat hay, which should be about 80-90 % of their diet. I don't give any shop bought treats. You could try a sample pack from HayforPets. Any reduction in pellets should be made very gradually. Timothyhay.co.uk also good hay.

Your bunnies do look a little overweight, carrot is high in sugar so only as a treat say once a week! It can take a long time for rabbits to lose weight, especially if they don't run about a lot. You could still give a tiny amount of pellets, rather than the daily carrot. also if you have room you could get a bale of farm hay

thanks for the replies. I will get a different hay and try it. It's a bit confusing because the hay I got says on it timothy hay, alfafa and alfa king, I thought they were different things. I will also cut back on the carrot as suggested. I'm going to weigh them again in a few weeks and make sure they aren't gaining weight and hopefully they will lose some!

I would get the sample packs from hay4pets as most buns either like the ings or the timothy and rye. You need to look out for timothy or meadow hay, these aren't fattening and should be 85-90% of their diet, with veg or pellets making up the rest of it. I would also cut the carrot out and just give a little bit to them a couple of times a week as a treat once their weight is down a bit.

Maybe ask the vets when you go next what would be a good weight for them, then you know what you are aiming for. The weight ranges for each breed is quite broad as it depends on their structure. Doughnut is a little mini lop and she now weighs 1.2kg, this is a good weight for her and my specialist says she has a tubby tummy and to keep her at this weight. Bigger mini lops would obviously need to weight more otherwise they may be a bit skinny.

If you stroke your rabbit down the spine you should be able to feel it but there should be padding!

Alfalfa hay is green if this helps in identifying it.

[/URL][/IMG]
thanks, I will ask the vet next time I go what they think the weight should be, it's just they all seem to tell me different things. I tried feeling their spines, which I can but not sure I am doing it right.
The photo on the left is the hay I have been giving them, the one on the right is one I was going to try. Is it ok to just do hay and veg, if I get the right hay and cut down the carrots? Some info seemed to suggest they need the nuggets too but I am not sure if this is just the shops trying to convince us to spend money on them! They seem happy and healthy without the nuggets.

Sammy&Patch said:

[/URL][/IMG]
thanks, I will ask the vet next time I go what they think the weight should be, it's just they all seem to tell me different things. I tried feeling their spines, which I can but not sure I am doing it right.
The photo on the left is the hay I have been giving them, the one on the right is one I was going to try. Is it ok to just do hay and veg, if I get the right hay and cut down the carrots? Some info seemed to suggest they need the nuggets too but I am not sure if this is just the shops trying to convince us to spend money on them! They seem happy and healthy without the nuggets.

Click to expand...

The alfafa kings hay is timothy hay, just more expensive and it is green, so that shouldn't be making them put on weight. You can continue to feed them that, maybe mix it in with the cheaper one. After having that they may turn their noses up at the pets for home hay. Doughnut in fact loves the wilkinsons timothy hay, I get it ordered into the store, she prefers that to the pets at home one. You can also get excel ones with different herbs in which some bunnies love too to encourage them to eat lots of hay.

Yes hay and veg is fine. You could introduce herbs as most buns love herbs, Doughnut loves dill and a lot love basil and coriander, you could substitute this for the high sugar carrot. Herbs are gentle on their stomach too.

Sammy&Patch said:

[/URL][/IMG]
thanks, I will ask the vet next time I go what they think the weight should be, it's just they all seem to tell me different things. I tried feeling their spines, which I can but not sure I am doing it right.
The photo on the left is the hay I have been giving them, the one on the right is one I was going to try. Is it ok to just do hay and veg, if I get the right hay and cut down the carrots? Some info seemed to suggest they need the nuggets too but I am not sure if this is just the shops trying to convince us to spend money on them! They seem happy and healthy without the nuggets.

Click to expand...

The hay on the left is fine - it's Timothy hay not alfalfa, the wording is confusing. It's like Western Timothy hay, which is also green. I give to mine a bit as a treat hay alongside their normal 'main' hay which forms the majority of their diet. I wouldn't advise cutting out pellets entirely, just limit to an eggcupful each, but others may disagree. I would be far more inclined to cut out the carrot and any shop-bought treats. Herbs make a good addition to the diet, and rabbits generally love them.

You could always feed pellets in the morning and herbs/veg in the evening. Its the amount which is given which will make them put on weight.

cpayne said:

You could always feed pellets in the morning and herbs/veg in the evening. Its the amount which is given which will make them put on weight.

Click to expand...

That's basically what I do, but the other way round: I get veg out of fridge when I get up and whilst it's having 10 mins to warm up I clean out the litter trays and make my coffee!

What's their accommodation like? Do they move about much or are they quite lazy?

They live indoors in a room to themselves and they also come into the hallway (like a second room). Sammy runs around quite a bit but Patch doesn't run around as much, unless he is running over to get some cabbage! In their room they have a double hutch and a single hutch, Sammy likes to jump onto the single hutch via a stool, Patch won't jump up there. They also have lots of wicker baskets and things to climb on and go inside and some tunnels to play in. They both go up to the top level of the double hutch at night time. We can't let them outside much as we have lots of seagulls that fly around and are agressive when they have their babies. We have let them out previous summers when we can watch them but they are very timid and are upset for a while after we have brought them back inside.
I have cut out carrot for last few days and got some spring greens for them.