Overweight Junior

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

I have a 4-5 month old Doe that I'm taking to a show next in two weeks, she was looking a little big so I weighed her and she's 2 LBS 4 OZ, which is a little higher than even an adult Netherland should be
She (and all the rabbits) have unlimited pellets (I've never had a rabbit get overweight from eating too much, and she never even empties the food bowl) and technically 'unlimited' hay that's refilled every two days (I'm currently using both Timothy and Alfalfa (I think))
I guess I could try limiting her pellets but I've never done that before and if that's not the issue then I wouldn't want anything bad to happen and I'm sure I could limit down how much hay she gets

I wouldn't be so worried about this normally but the entries for the show have already been turned it and I entered her as a Junior

 

[eco2pia]

I doubt she will lose enough in a week to make weight (unless she is really close), but I would evaluate her body condition and go from there. Is her frame bigger or is she carrying extra padding over her ribs, spine and hip bones, relative to her littermates?

If it is the former, then she is just not meeting breed standard, and there is nothing to do for it but admit she isn't quite what you hoped. If she is a little pudgy you can taper her feed by reducing her pellets significantly. It still might not help for this show, but may help for the next one.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

I doubt she will lose enough in a week to make weight (unless she is really close), but I would evaluate her body condition and go from there. Is her frame bigger or is she carrying extra padding over her ribs, spine and hip bones, relative to her littermates?

I'll check later today if I remember, and she has no Littermates


Also my bad, I meant in two weeks not next weekend

 

[Alaska Satin]

I have a 4-5 month old Doe that I'm taking to a show next weekend, she was looking a little big so I weighed her and she's 2 LBS 4 OZ, which is a little higher than even an adult Netherland should be
She (and all the rabbits) have unlimited pellets (I've never had a rabbit get overweight from eating too much, and she never even empties the food bowl) and technically 'unlimited' hay that's refilled every two days (I'm currently using both Timothy and Alfalfa (I think))
I guess I could try limiting her pellets but I've never done that before and if that's not the issue then I wouldn't want anything bad to happen and I'm sure I could limit down how much hay she gets

I wouldn't be so worried about this normally but the entries for the show have already been turned it and I entered her as a Junior

You should be able to change her entry information to have her compete as a Senior. (Not all breeds allow this but the Netherland Dwarf SOP does.) It's up to the show committee, but usually you can change things like that before the show starts, while there is still time for the show secretary to change the class lists. It's worth asking.

If that's not allowed, the other option may be to scratch her, and then enter her in the correct class as a day-of-show entry. Most shows charge a nominal fee for scratches, and a higher price for day-of entries.

Limiting hay won't do any good; limiting pellets will reduce her weight, but having a healthy dwarf drop 1/4 pound is fairly extreme. She sounds like she may be a false dwarf, and if that's so, no matter how much you limit her feed she'll still be too big. False dwarf does, if they are otherwise well-typed, can make very good brood does, but they burn out on their show career pretty early!

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

We're planning on trying to chang her entry at the show

Is she carrying extra padding over her ribs, spine and hip bones

Doesn't seem that way

 

[Julie Stade]

You should be able to change her entry information to have her compete as a Senior. (Not all breeds allow this but the Netherland Dwarf SOP does.) It's up to the show committee, but usually you can change things like that before the show starts, while there is still time for the show secretary to change the class lists. It's worth asking.

That's what we had to do for a bunch of our Rex juniors for the Kansas State Fair this year since entries were due well in advance. They'd gained faster than we'd predicted after that, so we had to move about 10 of them from the Jr to the Sr class right at the changes deadline since they'd hit senior weight territory already at 5 1/2 months. It was a good lesson for us to be more diligent in our weight monitoring records. Now, I keep my scale out all the time, and track weights on a highly visible chart in the rabbitry as well instead of just on the computer program in the house.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Now it's a week before the show
Been giving her only half the bowl and I've came to it empty for a few times, and either the thing I use to weigh them is broken (well I mean it is pretty old) or she gained pounds
Not as worried now since we're gunna try and get it fixed + she's not the pretty in the first place anyway
Definitely starting to look like her mother though Might made a good brood Doe if we find a Buck to even her stuff out