Obese Rabbit

Question
I have a 4-year old dutch rabbit who is considered Obese. She gets one 1/8 cup timothy based pellets twice a day. And 2 cups fresh greens containing *Crunchy Romaine, Tender Greenleaf, and Sweet butter lettuce* They do get between a fourth and half a store bought treat. And also get as much timothy hay as they want. My question to you is what am I suppose to feed her? What kind of greens? How much greens? How much pellets? What kind of pellets? I just need to get her weight down; I want her to have energy and to be happy!   

Concerned rabbit owner

-Steph

Answer
Hi,

if she has a narrowing taper (when looked at from above) from her hips to her shoulders, she is probably okay.  If her shoulders are about as large as her hips, has a big dewlap and she has a sausage kind of look to her, she is overweight.

Cut the pellets in half.  1/16 cup in am, 1/16 cup in pm.

Greens: no more than 1/2 cup of greens per 5 pounds body weight, per day.  

Make sure there are no extras like nuts or seeds or corn or fruit in with the pellets.  These are fatty.

If you are giving her sugary/high calorie treats, replace it with a better one.  One carrot coin slice.  One regular cheerio, with or without a dab of petromalt on it.

She should be eating hay more than anything.  This is what keeps her lean.  Rabbits do not get fat eating hay, she can have as much as she wants.  

Often when they are fed other things they like better they will not eat as much hay as they should, and just wait for you to give them something they like better.

Diet is important, but she also needs exercise.  As she loses weight, she will feel better and will enjoy running around more, it will become easier and less of a strain to do it.  Get on the floor with her.  If you give her pellets when she is out in an exercise area, put them in a treat ball (pet supply store) and make her work to get the pellets out.  You fill up the treat ball with the pellets, and then can control how big the opening is so only a few can come out if she rolls it a certain way.  It gives her exercise.

check out the House Rabbit Society web site (www.rabbit.org) and search for articles on "nutrition" and "overweight".

Lee