How to help the runt catch up

[Mrr]

I recently bought a group of ~20 ish rabbits from a guy who was getting out of rabbit farming, and one of the does came with a litter of 8. I weaned them yesterday (they're around 7-8 weeks) and while adding toys and chew sticks to their new enclosure, I noticed that the runt of the litter is significantly skinnier than the rest. When I run my hand down his back his spine is a lot more pronounced than the others, and when feeling his rump I can feel the hips/pelvis jutting out. I'm considering moving him to his own separate enclosure and upping his pellet intake to help him put on some weight a little bit, because his skinny-ness kind of bothers me and I worry about him being so small compared to the others.

Any thoughts?

 

[Zass]

Underweight kits are sometimes just dehydrated. You might try an electrolyte drink.

If it's not that, it might just be failure to thrive.
If you are raising for meat or show, my serious advice is to not invest too much into a struggling kit.
They tend to be the worst possible choices for future brood stock, and the feed to weight ratio on them it often quite terrible. It'll likely take weeks of extra care and feed to get him to where the others already are.
Instead of nursing them along, I usually just process any non thriving kits along with the rest, and accept a somewhat smaller carcass.

If they are pets, then yeah, separating or putting the kit in with just one companion might be a good idea.

 

[Marinea]

On the whole, I agree with Zass. Zass is wise

However, if you want to try, I would recommend separating the kit and adding some plain uncooked oats to its pellets.

 

[MaggieJ]

Excellent advice from both Zass and Marinea.

If you do try separating the kit, I strongly suggest giving it one of its siblings for a companion, preferably one that reasonably calm. The stress of being in a large litter can slow down growth in a runt, but you need to consider that suddenly being alone may be stressful too. The oatmeal should help the runt some, but don't expect too much from it.

 

[Mrr]

Thanks guys! He is one of our meat rabbits, not a pet, but I can't help but want to help him out. I usually try not to get attached - it helps that I'm severely allergic to rabbits, but I have a soft spot for the underdog (case in point, I have a three legged dog and two brain damaged cats at home). I might move him into a spare hutch once we cull our current batch this week along with his sister, who I am keeping for breeding, to keep him company. Hopefully less competition for food and adding a bit of oats will help him to thrive a bit more. Would it be irresponsible of me to sell him as a pet once I get some weight on him?

 

[Rainey]

Don't leave him caged with his sister for too long--those aren't really the genetics you want to continue in your herd.

 

[Mrr]

Oh no, don't worry. I only meant for a week or two. She's going to be put in her own hutch shortly after.. Its just a bit of shuffling everyone around this week

 

[Zass]

I'm sure it's fine to sell him as a pet, so long as he's in good health. Doted on runts are often very sweet rabbits.

 

[Mrr]

Update.. When I flipped him over to check that he is in fact a "he", I noticed very soft poop smeared all around his bum. Is this something that I should be worried about?

 

[Zass]

Update.. When I flipped him over to check that he is in fact a "he", I noticed very soft poop smeared all around his bum. Is this something that I should be worried about?

I'd be a bit worried for him, and the rest of the litter. Soft smeary poo in a kit that age can mean any number of things, none of which are particularly good.
Diarrhea and dehydration go hand in hand for rabbits though, so back to what I started off with saying about the electrolytes. If you decide to give him some, be careful, as electrolyte drinks with too much sugar can cause problems of their own. Mainly issues with bacterial overgrowth in the intestines.
Make sure whatever grass hay or pellets they are getting is very dry and good quality.
Weedy hay(depending on which weeds they are) or hay that has been stored somewhere humid can cause trouble. A feed switch can cause trouble too.
You did mention just getting them.

Do you know if you are feeding the same pellets their previous owner was using?

No matter what the cause,
a good pro-biotic like benebac for small animals can help, along with feeding certain high tannin plants to help alleviate diahrea, like willow, plantain, shepherds purse, or the leaves from almost any edible member of the rose family.(raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, etc.)

For my own meat buns, if something goes wrong with the kits, I usually go with just the troubleshooting and plants. Those are free, and it's usually enough. If a fryer just kept going downhill, I'd probably process early and cut my losses.
I understand why not everyone would do the same.
Obviously I didn't start that ruthless either, since if I did, I wouldn't have a clue as to how to treat them now.

 

[MaggieJ]

My protocol for any rabbit showing signs of diarrhea:

1. Remove pelleted feed and stop feeding any random greens or treats.
2. Instead give good clean hay and kitchen oatmeal -- the large-flake, old-fashioned kind.
3. Lots of fresh water in a crock as well as a bottle. Electrolytes if the rabbit is dehydrated.
4. Feed any or all of the following "regulator" plants:
- the leaves of raspberry, blackberry or strawberry
- the above-ground parts of certain lawn weeds: any of the plantains and also shepherd's purse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_lanceolata
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_ovata
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsella_ ... a-pastoris

If the problem is simply that the rabbit is having problems adjusting to only solid foods or perhaps the type of pellets being fed, these measures should clear up the diarrhea fast.

 

[Mrr]

Thank you so much you guys. I've started him on an electrolyte drink and oats, and have placed him in his own hutch with his sister. He seems a lot happier, and much more active! I also haven't noticed any liquid poop, so I think it might be working Hopefully I can get him healthy enough to find him a good home in a few weeks!