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Obesity in Rabbits (and other Pets)- British Veterinary Association Policy Statement

I'm always checking for a 'pocket full of pens' :D Great link to the rabbit body condition thing that's also on The Rabbit House :)
 
I'm off to work so I haven't read it all yet but will do so tomorrow.

I think it is much more difficult to maintain weight with animals who share a living space and are fed together. I remember how I struggled when I had a group of six bunnies - five were an ideal weight but the sixth - a much smaller bun - was a constant worry to keep his weight up. I tried to smuggle in oats for him and him alone and hand feed him more fattening fruit and veg but inevitably another bun would appear and take it from him. Days when I wasn't at work were much easier but some of the week it was just impossible to stop the others eating having some of the more calorific food.

I know the study doesn't mention guinea pigs but Mr Chocolate Brownie is currently overweight because I worked so hard to stop Mr Salted Caramel's weight loss after his eye removal. He is now an ideal weight but Mr CB is still over what he should be and I am having to be mindful of this at feeding time - but it is not a quick fix.

I think there is a difference though with animals who are obese with ones who are a little over their ideal weight. None of mine are obese but they are not all at their optimum weight.

It's harder when you have an elderly animal too who exercises less. I am fortunate at the moment that Mr Apple Crumble (Very Old Piggy) is kept in an adjoining run to the other two piggies and they are not fed together, all my buns are youngish and all my cats are 'mature' so they have similar amounts of exercise.

I know I have a lot to learn though and am myself overweight. I am finding I have to be very careful with Benjamin as he is my only house bunny and lives in the kitchen. It is too easy to give him treats when I am cooking but, so far, he is just about the right weight for his size.
 
:lol: I love the subject of diet and surprised that not many have responded. I think it's especially important to take rabbits' diet seriously as it's easy to forget they digest their food twice and are adapted to gain the most nutrition from the least calorific food.
 
So 15% above ideal weight is considered obese for bunnies. So this is why last year my vet said "I really don't want Joey to gain any more weight" he was 2.8 but recently declared fine at 2.6. 200g seems nothing but as a percentage of body weight it must be a lot (I can't do math).

I am getting better at not having overweight bunnies. In the early days FHB was always having a polite word about them being too chubby. I don't think its always easy getting it right, owned bunnies for over 25 years & I still rely on vet assessment as my baseline. Its even harder to judge with bunnies like Mouse as she has little muscle & feels scrawny until you pick her up - she can have a tummy at times. Boo feels really solid - i think she is quite muscly
 
I find the problem with bunnies is that it's difficult to tell just by looking at them if they're at a good weight. Sometimes when my two are sitting in certain positions I think, oh my goodness they're really porky I need to put them on a diet. Then an hour later they'll be in a different position and I'll think, oh my goodness they look really scrawny, I need to fatten them up!

That's why I'm constantly poking and prodding them to feel their spine and ribs to reassure myself. No wonder they don't like me, it must be annoying to keep getting poked in the ribs!

Snoopy's weight remains pretty consistent. At practically every weigh in he's been 2.7 kilos, although it did go up to 2.8 once. Fudgie fluctuates more, usually going between 1.8 and 1.9 kilos, which I think is a bigger difference for smaller bunnies.

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Scrappy's Little Helper said:
I find the problem with bunnies is that it's difficult to tell just by looking at them if they're at a good weight. Sometimes when my two are sitting in certain positions I think, oh my goodness they're really porky I need to put them on a diet. Then an hour later they'll be in a different position and I'll think, oh my goodness they look really scrawny, I need to fatten them up!

That's why I'm constantly poking and prodding them to feel their spine and ribs to reassure myself. No wonder they don't like me, it must be annoying to keep getting poked in the ribs!

Snoopy's weight remains pretty consistent. At practically every weigh in he's been 2.7 kilos, although it did go up to 2.8 once. Fudgie fluctuates more, usually going between 1.8 and 1.9 kilos, which I think is a bigger difference for smaller bunnies.

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Stop poking your rabbits:lol: You're doing a good job keeping them at consistent weights. It is true they look very different dependent upon position
 
I find it varies with the weather too in outdoor buns. Flopsy looks enormous but when I pick her up it is mostly fur. She has grown a really thick winter coat. Benjamin, who is indoor, hasn't and looks the same as he did in the summer. My outdoor buns have a hutch as a base (the doors are never closed) so that they can keep warm in the colder weather but they never use it, preferring to stay outside in their run so I guess Flopsy needs her insulation. She looks like a huge ball of fluff :love:
 
Rhianna said:
I find it varies with the weather too in outdoor buns. Flopsy looks enormous but when I pick her up it is mostly fur. She has grown a really thick winter coat. Benjamin, who is indoor, hasn't and looks the same as he did in the summer. My outdoor buns have a hutch as a base (the doors are never closed) so that they can keep warm in the colder weather but they never use it, preferring to stay outside in their run so I guess Flopsy needs her insulation. She looks like a huge ball of fluff :love:
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Chibbs is basically a ball of fluff with teeny tiny legs poking out :lol: She looks like a muntjac XD

J&B, Joey is 'ideal' at 2.6, yes? So if he puts on 260g that's 10% of his bodyweight. 15% is 390g if I've done that correctly.

As a comparison, on the BMI my just-below-average ideal is about 50kg, 15% above that would be 7.5kg, which just puts me in overweight :)
 
keletkezes said:
Chibbs is basically a ball of fluff with teeny tiny legs poking out :lol: She looks like a muntjac XD

J&B, Joey is 'ideal' at 2.6, yes? So if he puts on 260g that's 10% of his bodyweight. 15% is 390g if I've done that correctly.

As a comparison, on the BMI my just-below-average ideal is about 50kg, 15% above that would be 7.5kg, which just puts me in overweight :)
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thats helpful - thank you. So he was overweight but not quite obese (he was obese in his first year with us then, but was bas back in the days of one vac a year so prob not seen by a vet when he was bad). I think I'd be mortified if a vet used the word obese with regard to one of my rabbits, chubby or overweight doesn't sound as bad
 
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