Is my Rabbit too Fat? And other things…
Don’t worry, Scamp hasn’t been over indulging; he’s been helping me by modelling for an article on bunny weight. Have you ever seen the photoshoped pictures of models where they airbrush out the lumps and bumps, and drop them two dress sizes? Well it was Scamp’s turn! Here is the original:
And here is the ‘photoshoped’ version with the too fat and too thin versions added:
If you want to read the whole article it’s here: Is my Rabbit too fat or too thin? Monitoring your rabbits Weight
There are a few things I’ve been meaning to mention. First is a competition running on another site I manage for free seeds to grow your rabbit some dandelion, carrot and broccoli – good healthy snacks! Enter the competition here – also handy if your looking for bunny boarding.
Finally, I think this is one that most of you will have heard of, but I just wanted to add a plug for the Make Mine Chocolate Easter campaign. The are organising an amnesty with pet shops to discourage sales of rabbits over the Easter period as well as plugging rabbit welfare in general. They have some very snazzy posters you can put up to help get the message across. Anything that helps rabbit welfare, whilst encouraging the eating of chocolate gets thumbs up from me!
Oops, nearly forgot. I added little bookmarking icons to each post too, just in case you want to email, print or post something to social network.
Tags: grow-your-own, rabbit-welfare, Scamp
So, I’m curious. I always thought of Scamp as a little on the thin side. Was he the perfect bunny on the spectrum?
The original picture is the centre Scamp on the row of five (and the big picture). His weight is very stable and he passed his bunny MOT about a month ago 🙂 He’s leaner looking (and longer limbed) because he’s a wild bun. Hopefully the angles in the picture are a good representation for general reference though. He does look skinny when he’s moulting (even though he doesn’t drop weight), I waited ages for him to finish so I could take the picture – he looked like a shaved racehorse!
Some breeds are naturally more chunky looking than others, not fat but broader across the shoulders and more square all-round, lops and lop crosses in particular but some other breeds too. Also rabbits bred to have a dense coat can look overweight until you feel them. I didn’t realise until I got Scamp how stumpy a lot of domestic rabbits are in the hind legs compared with how a rabbit is naturally, which probably gives them a chunkier look too.
I think a lot of pet rabbits tend towards being slightly overweight. It’s less of an issue with well fed buns that get lots of exercise but if you chat with a vet about it they see a lot of slightly podgy bunnies.
I read this earlier and had to go out, but during the day I kept laughing (to myself) over the fat Scamp. Sometimes I wonder if Amelia is a bit over weight, but she is built kind of long and low……she doesn’t seem to have excessive rolls.
I was just wondering what breed of rabbit scamp is. Thanks
Hi there, Scamp is a European Rabbit, that’s the wild rabbit our domestic rabbits are descended from. He was orphaned and I hand reared him 🙂
Here’s the ideal wieghts of pet rabbits:
Britannia Petite: Under 2 ½ lbs.
Netherland Dwarf: Under 2 ½ lbs.
Himalayan: 2 ½ – 4 ½ lbs.
Dwarf Hotot: Under 3 lbs.
Polish: Under 3 ½ lbs.
Mini Rex: 3 – 4 ½ lbs.
Mini Satin: 3 ¼ – 4 ¾ lbs.
Jersey Wooly – Under 3 ½ lbs.
Dutch: 3 ½ – 5 ½ lbs.
Amercian Fuzzy Lop: Under 4 lbs.
Holland Lop: Under 4 lbs.
Thrianta: 4 – 6 lbs.
Florida White: 4 – 6 lbs.
Tan: 4 – 6 lbs.
Silver: 4 – 7 lbs.
Havana: 4 ½ – 6 ½ lbs.
Mini Lop: 4 ½ to 6 ½ lbs.
English Angora: 5 – 7 ½ lbs.
Standard Chinchilla: 5 – 7 ½ lbs.
English Spot: 5 – 8 lbs.
Lilac: 5 ½ – 8 lbs.
French Angora: 7 ½ – 10 ½ lbs.
Belgian Hare: 6 – 9 ½ lbs.
Silver Marten: 6 – 9 ½ lbs.
Harlequin: 6 ½ – 9 ½ lbs.
Satin Angora: 6 ½ – 9 ½ lbs.
Rhinelander: 6 ½ – 10 lbs.
American Sable: 7-10 lbs.
Rex: 7 ½ – 10 ½ lbs.
Californian: 8 – 10 ½ lbs.
Creme D’Argent: 8 – 11 lbs.
Blanc de Hotot: 8 – 11 lbs.
Palomino: 8 – 11 lbs.
Beveren: 8 – 12 lbs.
Satin: 8 ½ – 11 lbs.
Cinnamon: 8 ½ – 11 lbs.
Silver Fox: 9 – 12 lbs.
New Zealand: 9 – 12 lbs.
American Chinchilla: 9 – 12 lbs.
Champagne D’Argent: 9 – 12 lbs.
English Lop: 9 lbs. and over
Giant Angora: 9 ½ lbs. and over
French Lop: 10 ½ lbs. and over
Checkered Giant: 11 lbs. and over
Giant Chinchilla: 12 – 16 lbs.
Flemish Giant: 13 lbs. and over