How to Make a Rabbit Gain Weight Fast

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How to Make a Rabbit Gain Weight Fast

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Knowing the process that makes a rabbit gain weight fast is essential for animal husbandry. A healthy and well-nourished rabbit will be more productive when used for farming or breeding purposes. In this article, we will outline the steps how to make a rabbit gain weight fast. You can improve your furry friend’s health by following these tips while also ensuring that it reaches its full potential. Let’s get started!

How to Make a Rabbit Gain Weight Fast

Rabbits are usually relatively thin when they are in the process of growing. They will start to put on weight once they reach maturity, but you might see signs of malnutrition and other health problems.

Why Need Weight Gain?

There are many reasons why a rabbit might need to gain weight.

  • Anorexia: the lack of eating and not getting the nutrition they need.
  • A rabbit can become anorexic for several reasons, such as:

Disease (such as liver or kidney disease)  can make it hard for them to eat or digest food, resulting in malnutrition and weight loss. They may also have problems with their teeth that make it harder to chew and swallow food; this is most often seen in rabbits who also have dental disease and may be due to pain.

Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE): HGE is a sudden onset, a life-threatening condition that causes vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and often severe pain in the abdomen.

Surgery: to prevent obesity in rabbits undergoing surgery or for weight loss (if needed) afterward.

Metabolic problems, for example, in rabbits with liver disease or kidney disease.

Neutering/spaying:

  • Female rabbits may eat less after they are spayed when compared to if they were not spayed at all. If the rabbit lives with a neutered male, she may be threatened by him and stop eating to try to lose weight.
  • Males that are neutered will put on weight because the testicles produce testosterone which keeps them from gaining weight. Without the testicles, they don’t have this defense against putting weight on and thus need help keeping their weight down after being neutered.

Pain: Anorexia can also be seen in bunnies who experience pain because of an injury or disease.  

Pet rabbits are affected by the emotions and energy of their owners (and other animals in the house). They may stop eating if they sense anxiety or depression in their owner, or if their owner has a loss of appetite due to stress.

Female Rabbits  May Eat Less After

A Stepwise Guide on How to Make a Rabbit Gain Weight Fast

Step 1: Free Feeding Pellets.

Rabbits are hardy animals, but those who care for them should know a few things about proper rabbit nutrition. First, the bulk of a rabbit’s diet should be hay and water – pellets provide little nutritional value and should only make up a small percentage of your rabbit’s diet.

How many pellets your bunny eats depends on the type of pellets you give it. Higher quality pellets will have fewer total calories than cheaper feed that is often composed chiefly of filler ingredients. So, in addition to the frequency with which you feed rabbits pellets, you also need to determine how much they eat at each feeding.

The recommended portion size for an adult indoor rabbit is 1/8 cup per five pounds of body weight daily. If you’re free-feeding, you can use this formula to determine how much your bunny eats per day: body weight (in pounds) x .02 ounces. A free-fed five-pound rabbit would eat approximately one ounce of pellets per day.

If your bunny is not gaining weight, you should give it less pellets and more hay. You can also try feeding it higher calorie treats, but only a little bit at a time, as too many treats will make your bunny obese.

Step 2: Treats

If you’re trying to help your rabbit gain weight, you should know that treats can be its best friend. How much and what kinds of treats you feed your rabbit depends on how old it is – babies are only fed specially-made milk formulas until they reach the age of three weeks, so they will need extra calories from treats before this time is up.

Adult rabbits can have small amounts of dried fruit or cereal bits as snacks between meals if their diet is deficient in calories. However, treats should not make up more than 10 percent of your bunny’s total daily food intake at any given time. In addition to the proper diet, rabbits need a constant supply of fresh water, which can be provided through an automatic watering bowl or water bottle. A fresh water bottle should be filled daily, as well as being cleaned out every day to remove any dirt or mold that might have formed inside it. Water bottles are most convenient for rabbits who live outdoors, since there is less risk of them getting tipped over and spill all their water.

All treats should be removed after 24 hours – uneaten fresh foods risk causing a deadly bout of gastroenteritis. Likewise, never feed your bunny citrus fruits or vegetables because they can cause diarrhea.

Make a Vegetables

Step 3: Rolled Oates

Rolled oats are a cheap and easily-accessible staple in a bunny’s diet – mix small portions into your rabbit’s ordinary pellets. For example, if you’re free-feeding, then add about 1/8 cup of rolled oats for every 8 ounces of pellets that the animal eats daily.

This increases the overall number of calories that your bun consumes and can be helpful if it isn’t gaining weight fast enough to suit you after two weeks. However, too many rolled oats will result in obesity, and an overly rich diet can cause gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea and even death, among other things.

Treats should make up no more than 10 percent of your bunny’s total food intake at any given time.

Step 4: Supplement

A rabbit can quickly become malnourished, especially if old and has digestion problems. A rabbit that isn’t in good health will not be able to eat enough hay and pellets to gain weight healthily. Therefore, supplementing becomes essential when feeding an ill or weak bunny.

A supplement should contain all of the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals necessary for proper growth and development, such as vitamin C, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, sodium selenite, folic acid, copper sulfate, pentahydrate, cobalt carbonate, and zinc sulfate monohydrate.

Step 5: Critical Care

Rabbits that become sick or old need special care and attention when fed. They should be given Critical Care, a specially formulated nutrient mix for ill and geriatric rabbits.

Critical Care comes in two flavors: Extreme Care and Small Animal formula. Both formulas contain the same nutrients, but the extreme one has higher protein levels preferred for adult rabbits who may not gain weight properly.

Extreme care is available online and at your local pet store, while small animal formulas can be ordered online.

Step 6: Baby Bunny Pellets

While adult rabbits should be given different foods from baby or young bunnies, the formula for these pellets is the same. How much you feed your bunny depends on its weight and whether it is being weaned from milk.

If your rabbit’s current food intake isn’t enough, supplement it with small portions of pellets to equal out its calorie intake. How much will depend on how many pellets it eats at present – increase the amount if needed but never let an adult go hungry.

Rabbit's Current Food

As always, make sure that you do not overfeed – obese rabbits are prone to various health problems like heat stroke (especially when summer comes around) and joint stress, leading to early arthritis. Carrot sticks, fresh greens, and other healthy treats are also fine to supplement your bunny’s diet.

Step 7: Black Oil Sunflower Seeds

You can also provide your rabbit with sunflower seeds to Make a Rabbit Gain Weight Fast. These are important in your bunny’s diet because they are rich in Vitamin E. Eating foods high in vitamin E helps protect your pet from conditions like insulin resistance, chronic kidney disease, and liver disease.  Ensure that you only feed them the black oil version of sunflower seeds, not striped white.

Sunflower seeds are a great source of protein and fats, two things that increase your rabbit’s calorie intake. It would be best if you fed these seeds sparingly – while they have high healthy nutrients, too much fat can lead to obesity. The treat should not be more than a teaspoon per 5 pounds.

Step 8: Get a Vet

A good veterinarian will make sure that everything goes smoothly and won’t hesitate to run tests if there is something wrong with your pet’s health. Getting regular check-ups for your rabbit is essential to Making a Rabbit Gain Weight Fast. Not only does this help maintain its well-being, but it also helps catch diseases like cancer early on before they become fatal.

If you do not know the way to make a rabbit gain weight fast, ask your veterinarian for advice. They will make sure that you are doing everything right, and if not, they will tell you how to make a rabbit gain weight fast by suggesting alternative methods.

Make a Rabbit Gain Weight Fast

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Conclusion

We hope you have gone through the article on how to make a rabbit gain weight fast. The key to a healthy and happy rabbit is giving them the right food. So if you want your bunny to grow up big and strong, we’ve got all the answers for what they should eat, how often they should be fed, and more!