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How much do you reckon rabbits metabolic rates vary?

joey&boo

Wise Old Thumper
I have four bunnies & they seem to be very different (increasingly as they get older) in how much food they "need"

Joey has never been greedy, he leaves nuggets & fresh forage in preference for hay pudding. Upstairs he is pretty active yet still he remains too chubby.
Boo I would guess is about right but eats much more. I've compared the rates at which they eat & its a very similar speed.

Downstairs Rudey eat likes a horse. Anything & everything. I think he's a little thin & his wife definitely is, so they get extras: fibre first, little chunks of fruit, home made treats. Rudey then gets extras for visiting me in the kitchen The bulk of their diet is still hay & forage.

So I'm pondering if rabbits metabolise food differently or if something else is going on ?
 
I have noticed that Dennis will finish forage earlier than custard and start tucking in to hay. I really don't know... custard is pellet free yet is a big custardy gurl. Dennis has lost weight the past year but the vet said he was over weight. I will be interested in what everybun thinks

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I think that the metabolic rates of rabbits will vary in a similar way to humans. In my experience, particularly of the Rexes, the rates also varied at different times of their lives. When Tan was around 7/8 years old, she found it difficult to maintain her weight, although seemingly to eat a similar amount of food as when younger, when she was bordering on the chubby side. Now that Tethra, her son is 8 1/2, he seems to be following the same model. He doesn't appear to eat less, but has lost his rounded tummy and his spine can be felt more easily. With each of them, the difference cannot be due to a different amount of exercise as both of them were more lively when younger.
 
Its almost like opposite rules apply- the less a bun exercises & the more they eat the slimmer they are
 
Even rabbits the same size may have different diet requirements. The exact combination and quantity of foods a rabbit requires daily to meet their energy and nutrient needs depends on several factors including their age, size, environment, and level of physical activity.
 
Lopsy's nominally more active, but generally skinnier, whereas Aboleth can be much lazier (chews more but runs less sort of thing) but is often a bit fatter over the haunches. They eat as good as the same amount of everything, but Lopsy's generally much fonder of sweet things :D I think there's no reason rabbits should all metabolise the same :)
 
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