# how to make my bun gain weight



## SamanthaYelof (Dec 12, 2015)

Hey everyone, sadly Bunny is going into surgery 12/22 to get a mass on his inside cheek removed. He's lost weight due to it and needs to put some on asap. He has criticare but HATES it. Ive tried mixing it with everything under the sun and it breaks my heart to syringe feed him. My vet said feed him what I can as much as he wants and just watch his poops to make sure he doesnt get the runs. Ive heard of people feeding organic oats to bunnies that are underweight, is this safe? Can I do this just to pack on some pounds then stop after surgery? I gave my bunny one and he ate it instantly. 

Are there any other high calorie bunny safe foods I can add?

Thankyou! !!


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## flemishwhite (Dec 12, 2015)

Some of pellet formulas are high in calories. They include molasses. Some of the high calorie pellet mixes also include nuts, seeds, and fruit pieces. My understanding is that these high calorie pellet mixes are not to be used for long periods of time for your pet bunny, because of their high calorie content...for a skinny bunny this could be a good way to fatten them up. From what I know, bunnies are to be fed timothy, oat hay and selected greens. (This diet is for home pet bunnies..commercial rabbit owners pretty much have to use pellets because of the expense.) If you're buying pellets, look at the ingredients. If your bunny is getting hay, greens, and hand outs of sweet treats...apple, banana, cherry, etc., you want to buy pellets that are a supplemental back up and pellets that don't contain sweet things...just basically ground up grasses and grass seeds.


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## ravenmoore36 (Dec 14, 2015)

My baby has lost massive amount in weight. She had evu niculi(excuse spelling) She weighs 1.8kg she should be 2.5kg. Im giving her critical care food supplement....bunny porridge from the vets.


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## 3bunmom (Dec 14, 2015)

Try canned pumpkin and/or sweet potato. Rabbits usually like these better than critical care.

As to bunny with e cunjiculi, you are treating with panacur?

Also, they can lose appetite just if the gut isn't stimulated-- often fresh herbs like parsley and mint and certainly dandelion greens stimulate appetite. If bunny hasn't eaten in a while vet can prescribe metachlopramine to stimulate stomach contraction


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## squidpop (Dec 14, 2015)

SamanthaYelof said:


> Hey everyone, sadly Bunny is going into surgery 12/22 to get a mass on his inside cheek removed. He's lost weight due to it and needs to put some on asap. He has criticare but HATES it. Ive tried mixing it with everything under the sun and it breaks my heart to syringe feed him. My vet said feed him what I can as much as he wants and just watch his poops to make sure he doesnt get the runs. Ive heard of people feeding organic oats to bunnies that are underweight, is this safe? Can I do this just to pack on some pounds then stop after surgery? I gave my bunny one and he ate it instantly.
> 
> Are there any other high calorie bunny safe foods I can add?
> 
> Thankyou! !!



From what I understand, the only reason say rabbit shouldn't eat oats is they are too fattening, so if your rabbit isn't eating and wants the oats, I would feed oats. I would also give a small amount like 1/2 teaspoon of flax seeds, which is the only treat my rabbits like even better than oats, flax seeds have some good nutritional value, omega oils and vitamin E, selenium and are also very fattening and used by many breeders to add condition. Hay is really important for keeping fibre moving through their system so if your rabbit isn't liking hay right now a good substitute would be some nice long fresh grass if you can find some-- grass has more fibre than lettuce or greens and thats good to keep his gut healthy. Is he eating any 
hay? (side note on oats I have heard of a random story where a rabbit seems to have wolfed down oats so fast it choked- but I think chances of that are pretty slim..


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## ravenmoore36 (Dec 15, 2015)

Yeah shes had panacur and septrin. Cross fingers she is clear for now. Our vet is very good but didnt recognise ecuniculi. Cant help wondering if caught sooner she wouldnt have the permanent damsge she has.


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## Azerane (Dec 15, 2015)

You can feed oats to help put on weight, I would probably give about 1 teaspoon daily. Otherwise, if he's still eating other things, his pellet amount can be increased a little. If he's not eating pellets because of the pain, you can add a little water to them to soften them up and he may eat them on his own that way.


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## ravenmoore36 (Dec 15, 2015)

Unfortunately she absolutely hates them tried but no gi. Pees and poos very liberally all over them. Have been told peanut butter good. What do you think?


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## Azerane (Dec 16, 2015)

I wouldn't recommend peanut butter at all. While not toxic, and likely it would put on weight, there's a good chance of disrupting their gut flora balance and causing runny poops or other digestive issues. Not worth the risk in my opinion.


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## ravenmoore36 (Feb 20, 2016)

Im having weight gain issues too. Vet told me to try cooked pulses...chickpeas lentils butterbeans. Peanut butter can disrupt the normal gut functions i was told.


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## amandaaaa_xxo (Feb 20, 2016)

You're never meant to feed oats to a rabbit. Sure it may say that it is 'safe' on the internet but then again, the Internet is very opinionated by rabbit owners. I had a similar issue with my rabbit. He lost 230grams in 7 weeks because he was sick with dental problems. Post his dental surgery the doctor told me to feed him small slices of banana or apples or one piece of a sultana to make him gain weight. Not too much so they don't have runny stool or health complications because it is high in sugar. They gain weight easily from bananas especially though. 

Oats are very high in carbohydrates for a rabbits digestive system. Oats may be high fibre for us but not for our herbivorous rabbits, who's far better able to completely digest cellulose ("dietary fibre").


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## Watermelons (Feb 20, 2016)

Amanda, oats are highly recommended by many breeders and rabbit experts for weight gain.
Banana will not help with weight gain and neither will apple. They are more likely to loose weight given extra of those fruit because the excess sugar can cause diarrhea.


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## ravenmoore36 (Feb 21, 2016)

I was told by a lagamorph specialist oats were fine in small quantities. I also note that some of the bunny treats i buy contain small portions of oats!!!!


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## amandaaaa_xxo (Feb 21, 2016)

Okay. Well I was just quoting what the vet doctor told me. I was told by Dr. Gerry Skinner (aka the rabbit doctor, whom operated on my rabbit) that oats are a big no no. I mean, surely a surgeon and a rabbit raiser with more than 20 years experience with rabbit health wouldn't give me false information?


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## amandaaaa_xxo (Feb 21, 2016)

But then again, everyone has been told various information from rabbit experts. I'm just passing on what was told to me  but thanks for your insight


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## ravenmoore36 (Feb 21, 2016)

I was told by an exoctics bunny specialist.....luna has been catergorised as an exotic....as long as the oats are cooked they are fine. My girl has hers boiled up in calcium free unsweetend rice milk which i allow to cool before she has them


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## Watermelons (Feb 21, 2016)

No..... not cooked either....
Plain old rolled oats.
Even flax seed.
Youre not filling their bowl with it....


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## amandaaaa_xxo (Feb 21, 2016)

Just to clarify, the oats that are given to the rabbits, are they the oats WE eat? So for example, Macro Rolled Oatd? Or Macro Unstablised Oats? Or are they oats specifically designed for rabbits?


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## Watermelons (Feb 21, 2016)

I am really not sure what you're trying to figure out.... This has been a well discussed topic on this forum for years. It is common knowledge oats are safe and good for weight gain.
Oats are oats. Oats are bunny safe. There isn't a farmer growing a special bunny variety of oats. Some oats are processed differently so don't be feeding quick oats or overly processed junk. Oats are good for putting weight on rabbits. Banana and apple are not good for putting weight on rabbits.


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## majorv (Feb 22, 2016)

Plain old fashioned rolled oats are okay to give rabbits. As with anything, moderation is key to not having gut issues. We get them at the grocery store but you can also get them at a feed store.


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## JBun (Feb 24, 2016)

I have had oats cause mucky bum issues for some of my rabbits, so it just depends on the rabbit. Generally it is better to not give rabbits any foods that contain excess sugars/carbs if they aren't needed, as this has the potential to upset the microbial balance in the gut. However, some rabbits tolerate carbs in their diet better than others and if there are no signs of oats causing digestive upset and/or mushy poop, they can be helpful for rabbits that need foods to help them gain some weight. But like majorv mentioned, moderation is important, as is proper introduction into the rabbits current diet.


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## flemishwhite (Feb 27, 2016)

I read all the posts. I now have experience feeding three rabbits on oat hay. They just love it. They like to chew it and they like to eat the oar kernels. 

When talking about feeding rabbits, keep in mind they have two stomachs. One stomach is like ours..its at the end of the esophagus and it joins onto the small intestine. The rabbit's second stomach is at the juncture of the small intestine and the large intestine...it's the Cecum. In humans, it's a vestigle organ know to us as the appendix. The Cecum is a very important stomach for rabbits. It's where the rabbit's vegetarian cellulose food gets transformed to glucose. The bacteria in the Cecum feed themselves with this glucose and the excess glucose these bacteria make goes to feed the bunny. 

My experience feeding house pet rabbits is that they know instinctively how to eat. I've seen situations where I've feed my rabbit banana slices/apple slices to where she didn't want to eat any more, but then she would aggressively start eating greens (carrot tops, etc). The fruit was food for her first stomach and for hunger that could certainly satiate her. But this food was digested in her first stomach. She had an instinctive urge to eat greens to feed the symbiotic bacteria in her second stomach. These symbiotic bacteria, that transform cellulose to glucose are essential for a rabbits life. The rabbit had an instinctive urge to eat food that will feed these bacteria. 

Our past rabbit Bunny, and our now two Flemmish girls, have all the food they want to eat. Fresh green veggies are in their food bowls, rabbit pellets, oat hay in their litter boxes for chomping, and pretty much fruit slices as they want...our only reluctance with feeding them fruit is that we don't want them to get too fat. No problem with diarrehia. 
..................................
Haven't fed to the Flemmish yet, but Bunny liked bing cherries, unsalted almond slices, guava's, unsalted peanuts.


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## ravenmoore36 (Feb 28, 2016)

My guys love blue berries


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## flemishwhite (Mar 1, 2016)

I think the oat thing has pretty much been belabored. But just two quick last comments (from me). The oats I've been feeding my rabbits or the last 12 years are the same oat hay that people buy to feed their horses. It is abrasive and will help control rabbit tooth growth. Also, I planted some of the oat seeds and later harvested some large green stalks of oats with kernal blossums. Bunny, just really loved eating his stuff.


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## Siskellery (Oct 6, 2020)

I would try oats in small amounts to make sure they dont cause issues. I have a bun that is a little under weight and ive been feeding oats. She is doing great and she loves them!


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## Blue eyes (Oct 6, 2020)

Siskellery said:


> I would try oats in small amounts to make sure they dont cause issues. I have a bun that is a little under weight and ive been feeding oats. She is doing great and she loves them!


This is a 4 1/2 year old thread. Please be sure to check the dates before reviving an old thread.


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## Siskellery (Oct 6, 2020)

oh haha sorry!


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## Kellyann (Oct 9, 2020)

I eat cooked organic oats that have some quinoa and flaxseed in them. When I first got Alfie I thought it would be ok to give him about 1/2 tsp in the morning with 1/2 a blueberry so we could share breakfast. He quickly became overweight and I had to stop! But for about 4 months(he was a baby) they never caused any problems other than the weight gain. I do give him an original , unsweetened Cherrio about twice a week. Alf is supposed to eat 2 tbsp of pellets a day but he gets three, if you check the nutritional values Oxbow pellets are higher in fiber and protein than critical care and have slightly more calories or almost the same.
Oxbow pellets
2.8 kcals per gram
Fiber 25%
Critical Care 
2.6 kcals per gram. 
Fiber 21%
Alf prefers to eat pellets over being force fed. Good luck.


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