Proper Weight Gains

[BoxerMom]

I got all my rabbits about 3 weeks ago, they were all 6 months old at the time. I weighed them and charted it, and then bred the two does to the buck. It's been two weeks since I weighted them and though I can't feel anything in the does' bellies, I am pretty sure they are pregnant. I weighed them today and one had a 2lb 1oz gain and the other had a 3lb 3oz gain. The buck however, only gained 1oz. Just for reference, the buck is checkered giant and the does are new zealand/giant chin.

I expected the does to have a significant weight gain (which I think they did) but I expected the buck to gain at least a little bit,as they are getting better feed than they were with the breeder I got them from. They have access to pellets at all times and I feed pretty heavily on fresh greens, and they also get alfalfa hay.

So I am wondering if the buck should have gained more, or if at 6 months he reached a plateau and will gain weight more slowly from here on out?

 

[MaggieJ]

I don't weigh my rabbits much, but I tend to think it is a good thing that the buck had only a very small weight gain. By six months he should have attained most of his adult size and since bucks are notorious for getting fat and lazy, slow weight gain should be a good thing.

Rabbits fed a lot of greens and hay will not get as fat as rabbits fed only pellets. They feel full faster on the natural foods and tend to eat only what they need. Slower weight gain, but more of it is meat instead of fat.

 

[BoxerMom]

Thanks! Just what I needed to know! Boy do I have a lot to learn

 

[MaggieJ]

The weight gains for the does seem very high, even for pregnant rabbits. It's difficult for me to make recommendations about what is appropriate when feeding pellets, since we haven't used them for years, but if they were mine, I'd be easing back the pellets a bit and feeding them more hay and greens as well. I don't know what an appropriate weight gain is for pregnant rabbits, but 2-3 pounds in three weeks sounds very high to me.

Does tend to accumulate internal fat that can interfere with pregnancy if excessive. I'm wondering if free feeding them the pellets may be encouraging them to overeat. Some rabbits are piggies!

I'm hoping someone else will chime in on this topic, because I know I am not the best source of advice in this particular area.

 

[BoxerMom]

Hmmm maybe I should take out the pellets. I was worried the pregnancy didn't take so when I weighed them and saw the weight gain I thought it was a good indicator that they were pregnant. Now they might just be fat and here I've probably done more bad than good!

 

[MaggieJ]

Not necessarily. I wouldn't take the pellets out completely, just cut them back a bit. They may be pregnant but I wouldn't think pregnancy would account for more than a pound in weight gain.

Run your hand down their spines. Can you feel the vertabrae at all? If the vertabrae are prominent, almost sharp, the rabbit is on the thin side. If you can just feel them, chances are the rabbit is just right. If you can't really feel the bones at all, the rabbit has a layer of fat there and is too heavy.

Some rabbits eat out of boredom. You could give them some toys: a pill container with a few pebbles in it, pinecones, a wire ball cat toy. Rabbits enjoy flinging things around and making a racket.

 

[BoxerMom]

Styxx, my buck, is on the skinny side, which is why I was hoping he would gain a little more weight. I checked Rio and Hollis, the does, and I can feel their spines, but just barely. Their feeder is nearly out of pellets so I didn't add any or take any away. They love throwing around my son's old baby rattles, and I took your suggestions and put some small rocks into old pill bottles and they seem to like that. They do get 1-2 new sticks every day to chew on, and I think I will go buy some cat toys.

Thanks for the advice!

Oh, something else - as of right now I have my does in the same hutch. They were always fine until a few days ago when I noticed they had a few small bite marks on the ears. Is it safe to assume the increased aggression is due to pregnancy? I do plan on separating them, I just have to wait for DH to get off work so we can build another 2 hutches, which will probably be Wednesday.

 

[MaggieJ]

Does do get territorial with maturity and pregnancy... Nature's way of spreading them out a bit so they can raise their young. They will likely be okay for a few days, but keep an eye on them. If you can, put a barrier made of cage wire or even chicken wire between them to prevent serious injury. Even small bites can result in infection and abscesses.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Most of what I have read and been told is not to free feed pellets until after they kindle. I gave my does 6oz of pellets per day, along with free feed hay and greens. Once they kindled, I added free feed pellets and Calf Manna twice daily.