Weight

Question
Hello,
I recently bought a young female dutch rabbit from a well known breeder. She is very sweet, and we've been battling an upper repertory infection with very good results. My problem now is, I would like to put a bit more weight on her. She's about 12-14 weeks now, and about 2 pounds. She gets un limited templeton brand pellets and a little oatmeal as well as lots and lots of alfalfa hay. She is VERY active and gets to run around about three hours a day. I know that she shouldn't be getting any extras other then hay and pellets until she's about 6 months, so what could I give her to gain some weight?

Answer
Dear Samantha,

It's quite normal for a growing bunny who's very active to be very slim.  As long as she's not bony, I would not force the weight issue.  Just keep giving her unlimited, good-quality pellets for healthy growth, and slowly switch her from alfalfa hay to timothy or other grass hay.

Her weight sounds normal for her age and breed, to me.  Once she stops growing, she will begin to fill out.  And then you might have the opposite problem!  For tips on healthy diet, please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

and for all the best information on her care, refer to:

www.rabbit.org/

Hope this helps.

Dana