Rabbit’s are very good at efficiently making use of the nutrition out of their food.
They have digestive systems that enable them to make use of all the food that they can.
This means that if a rabbit becomes underweight, it is usually because of another issue that is maybe affecting their health.
So if your bunny is not at the correct weight then the first port of call is to seek out a rabbit friendly veterinary surgeon to get them checked out.
If you have already sought out this route and treatment has been granted for your rabbit then there are some other ways to help your bunny gain weight.
How can I fatten my rabbit up?
Here are some things you can do to help your rabbit gain weight.
- Increase the calorie intake that they are consuming. Pick higher calorie variety of foods that they normally consume.
- Introduce oats into their diet. A good food for rabbits to have to increase weight are oats. Mix them in with some sunflower seed kernels and maybe add some apple or some pear for flavor variety. Sunflower seeds contain Vitamin E and fats that will benefit your bunny.Feeding small amounts of banana and other fruits is good for weight gain for bunnies. Not too much though.
- Introduce Readigrass into their diet. Readigrass is a very good food that is high in protein.
- Make sure they have unlimited hay. Feeding them hay is very good bunnies at best of the times, but another reason why hay is good for them is that it is great for preventing diseases. Unlimited amounts of hay can be given to your bunny every day and will help with preventing hairballs clogging up their throats as well. Try mixing some different varieties such as Alfalfa which is usually used for younger rabbits to help them increase in weight. But don’t use too much though.
Introduce food slowly to your bunny over a period of between 7-10 days. Rabbits cant be introduced to too many foods otherwise their stomach’s will not be able to handle it.
By introducing above methods, you should see some movement in their weight. Of course, if your veterinary surgeon advises a different course of action then it is best to follow that first.
These are merely helpful foods that will increase weight if there are no underlying health issues.