Helping Rabbits to Gain Weight

[MisterRex]

I've got two Rex-type rabbits, they're just over 1 year old. However they're both badly underweight, so much that you can very easily feel their spine poking. They have heaps of veg and hay every day, and they're both kept outdoors in a little three-storey hutch with a sheltered run area, but despite the feeding they're incredibly skinny. I actually cried today when I picked one of them up and felt how skinny he is, I feel so awful.
Nothing medically is wrong with them, and they are small rabbits in general, but they're just very skinny. They have plenty of energy and have no problem clearing the fence to their run which is over a metre tall, plus they're very cheerful/cheeky and sociable still...i'm just worried about how skinny they are.

Are there any foods I can give them to help them gain weight? I've started giving them much more hay and a little of some fruits that they like, aside from pellets/dry foods what else can be given to plump 'em up a little bit?

**Don't get me wrong, they don't look underweight and their fur is in great condition but the moment you pick them up they're incredibly skinny.... for a domesticated rabbit, they really shouldn't be so thin....

 

[Leo Walker]

They all seem to love that and wolf it down! Are you feeding any pellets? if not thats the first place to start. What about the small bags of "flavoured" hay that you can get?

 

[webble]

How much do they actually weigh? A mini Rex should be just under 2kg and a standard around 2.5. Being able to feel their bones isn't necessarily a bad thing and might not mean they are underweight. As Rex are prone to sore hocks and heart issues they are better at the lower end of the weight scale anyway

A small amount of porridge made with water may help with weight gain but I would weigh them and discuss with your vet first. Similar to horses the majority of a rabbits diet should be fibre based such as hay.

ETA the guidelines on pellets of the amount to feed are usually way too high. A small handful per rabbit per day is plenty. If you want to enrich their diet as above different types of hay are good, grass, hawthorn and apple branch are all good additions to diet. Make sure they are chemical free though and introduce any new food in small quantities first.

 

[MisterRex]

They're not on pellets currently, my mum refuses to buy it since when she had a rabbit her vet told her to never feed rabbits pellets (despite these rabbits being mine... :/ ), howevere her rabbit was always on the chunky side and mine are, as mentioned, incredibly lean so if it will help then i'll be taking a walk down to the nearest pet shop with my pocket money asap...
They really love their food so i'm grateful that getting them to eat isn't the problem. I just feel terrible for letting them get so thin. Although they probably don't mind since it makes it easier for them to slip through gaps in the fence and chew up the strawberry patch

 

[MisterRex]

Haven't weighed them yet, i'll have to get back to you tomorrow since I try not to bother them at night. In comparison to all the other rabbits i've kept, they just feel so small and their bones feel so sharp/protuding.
We will get some advice from the vet, I was just hoping to find some tips from other people that can help in the long run. They have so much hay they might as well be horses.

 

[webble]

Rex are a much leaner breed than say a dwarf lop so it could be that they are perfectly healthy and correct for them

 

[MisterRex]

Went to ask my mum quickly, they're rex x lop crosses, and look much more like lops than rex's.
I only have one picture of them from just under a year ago, now they do look slimmer than in the picture...

 

[Pinkvboots]

They need hay or grass and a constant supply just feeding them vegatables is not enough.

 

[chillipup]

Check their teeth MR, sometimes with particular breeds of rabbits, their teeth grow incredibly fast, so much so that they can have a problem with eating and digestion. Some will require their teeth clipping by a vet at very regular intervals, sometimes every 6 weeks. Get your vet to give them a whole body health check over, including the teeth and follow any necessary advice.

 

[MisterRex]

They have unlimited hay, i said that in my firs lt post.

 

[MisterRex]

Their teeth haven't been properly checked for a little while so I'll have that done. I know rabbits aren't open about their health so if something is wrong it's hard to tell (at least at first).
They do have a wooden block and a willow grass tube they love destroying so that should give them something to file their teeth down more but like you said, might need clipping.

 

[Auslander]

Are they getting any grass? My sons rabbit drops a bit of weight over the winter when he doesn't get much grass, but as soon as it starts growing, he plumps up quickly. He is out 24/7 (in a secure run, with hutch) and has hay, pellets, veg and the odd chewstick

 

[MisterRex]

They're not getting any grass currently, in the summer they definitely will. I actually hadn't thought of that, since the first winter I'd had them they were still very young so i wouldn't be sure if they'd dropped weight in winter more so than the rest of the year.
Now that the weather's better and the grass isn't completely destroyed they'll be able to come out more, hopefully.

 

[Pinkvboots]

They have unlimited hay, i said that in my firs lt post.

sorry I must have missed that I would get them out on the grass as it will be coming through now and will help them gain weight, my guinea pig always dropped off a bit in winter due to not getting grass.

 

[MisterRex]

Okay, definitely be getting them out onto the grass then! They'll be very pleased

 

[webble]

You can buy small bags of redigrass from most pet shops or animal feed stores. Again introduce slowly or you will end up with mucky bottoms