How fast should a young rabbit grow?

[OverthinkingBun]

My bunny is about five months old, and is smaller than I thought she would be.  She only weighs 2.8 pounds, and isn’t growing very quickly.  Since I found her as a stray, I don’t know what breed she is, but she appears to be a Harlequin mix (at the rabbit shelter, they guessed Harlequin/Dutch), and I read that they should be bigger than that.  Do you think I should be worried?  She’s been to the vet once for a checkup and parasite check, and got a clean bill of health.  It seems silly to bring her back to the vet and just say “she’s little.”  She eats and poops fine, but it seems like she doesn’t eat quite as much as she used to.  

I’m attaching a picture, in case anyone wants to guess her breed

[Boston's Mama]

Vienna marked harlequin is the colour ( Vienna marked comes from the white marking on her nose , harlequin from the colour )
But that is not nessasarily her breed … harlequin IS a breed however the colouring is not limited to that breed. For instance holland lops come in harlequin colour too
You may not see much more growth as smaller breeds do not grow much from 10weeks – 6months ( full grown )
Larger breeds grow till a year old ( ie flemish giants )

How old did your vet guess her to be when you found her?
Do you know her weight?

If she is a small breed 1.75-4lbs full grown is expected and fine ( a Dutch can be 1.75lbs upwards )

She is def a mix but it would just be a guess anything anyone can come up with – weight full grown is best indicator of what COULD be in the mix

[Boston's Mama]

My boy ( in profile pic ) was 1.75lbs at 9weeks and 3lbs full grown so only grew a further just over a pound

[joea64]

My own two buns (also see profile picture) are Polish, the smallest non-dwarf breed. Panda is getting on to 14 months, and her son Fernando coming up on 8 months. They’ve both topped out at somewhere between 3 and 4 pounds which is normal adult weight for the Polish breed…hmmm, actually, I think they’ve been looking a bit on the plump side lately, but it’s hard to tell with Polish because they always look plump and round, perfect little furballs, in good health!

[Deleted User]

They reach their adult “size” fairly quickly. I think for the most part, since they are considered adult at ~6 months, they should be near their target weight by then. I think my dutch is 3.5lbs. 3-5lbs is the normal range. She is actually looking a little chubby lately, I think because when I switch her into my other buns area she scavenges up alfalfa hay that he left behind. I’ve had to stop putting the alfalfa in his litter box and serve it in a bowl instead, since she is an absolute alfalfa fiend!!

Each bunny is different, and she might just be on the smaller size! A good reference for her weight is the feel of her bones. You should be able to feel her spine and hip bones easily, but they should feel padded, not sharp. If they feel sharp and that there is only a very thin layer of “padding”, then she could stand to gain some weight!
  
If you feel she needs to put on some more weight, you could offer her some alfalfa hay She is so pretty by the way!!! I LOOOVE the white on the booplesnoot!

[Wick & Fable]

There may be a smidgen of Netherland Dwarf somewhere— her eyes are quite large, and her weight is slightly more than an ND, but being mixed may account for that weight increase. Wick is ~10mo and is about 2lb.

It’s difficult to gauge from the picture, but she looks a bit skinny. What’s her feeding schedule and what food do you give her? It could just be her build is more lean. Netherlands are known for their literal spherical shape/weight distribution, so I may be biased.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[OverthinkingBun]

Thanks for your helpful replies! It’s reassuring, since my bunny did have a growth spurt and then leveled out quickly. I do think it would be good if she put on more weight, so I will try to weigh her regularly and feel her bones and see how she does. But she’s on a pretty high calorie diet already, I think. She gets all the alfalfa hay and alfalfa-based pellets she wants (all day) and a little salad of greens in the morning. (Our vet confirmed that this was appropriate for her age and body condition, but I’m planning on switching her to timothy sometime) Sometimes she gets a bit more of the greens as a treat later in the day. It seems like she has gradually been eating a little less – is that normal? She has a lot of energy and is very playful.  

The poor thing was only about five weeks old when I found her, so I worry that she got a rough start in life. Her name is Polly Oliver, and she can look kind of spherical when she wants to!  I guess she will have to stay a mystery rabbit

[joea64]

Polly Oliver as in “Sweet Polly Oliver”, eh? She certainly looks the part. I’d start transitioning her to timothy in about a month from now, seeing that she’s about five months old, as well as continue to slowly accustom her to greens. I don’t know myself how much buns are supposed to eat per day as young’uns as opposed to adults, but if she’s only eating a little less but chowing down with undiminished enthusiasm, I wouldn’t worry overmuch.

[Deleted User]

As long as she still has her appetite and she is consistently eating hay, I would say she’s just fine! I have a 4 month old mini lop and I have noticed that in the last month he doesn’t eat as many pellets as he used to, and I cut down his portion but he still doesn’t eat it all in one go like he used to. He still eats plenty hay and gets excited about veggies.

[OverthinkingBun]

Posted By joea64 on 9/01/2017 6:21 AM

Polly Oliver as in “Sweet Polly Oliver”, eh? She certainly looks the part. I’d start transitioning her to timothy in about a month from now, seeing that she’s about five months old, as well as continue to slowly accustom her to greens. I don’t know myself how much buns are supposed to eat per day as young’uns as opposed to adults, but if she’s only eating a little less but chowing down with undiminished enthusiasm, I wouldn’t worry overmuch.

Yep, Sweet Polly Oliver is her full name  You are the first one who got that one – usually it’s “why would you name a rabbit that?”  But I didn’t know her sex at first, and then they guessed boy, and then she turned out to be a girl, so you see, it’s perfect.  Plus she’s very sweet.  

Thanks for your advice, everyone!  She has lost a little more weight, unfortunately, and feels bonier to me, so I am worried.  I’m taking her to the vet tomorrow to see what they think, because I won’t feel comfortable switching her to timothy if she is already losing weight on alfalfa.  She just finished a major binky session so I don’t think she is in too much distress, but I want her to be healthy.  Please wish us luck…

[Fluffykins]

Oh let us know how she goes. Best wishes to you.

[joea64]

Posted By OverthinkingBun on 9/12/2017 11:26 PM

Posted By joea64 on 9/01/2017 6:21 AM

Polly Oliver as in “Sweet Polly Oliver”, eh? She certainly looks the part. I’d start transitioning her to timothy in about a month from now, seeing that she’s about five months old, as well as continue to slowly accustom her to greens. I don’t know myself how much buns are supposed to eat per day as young’uns as opposed to adults, but if she’s only eating a little less but chowing down with undiminished enthusiasm, I wouldn’t worry overmuch.

Yep, Sweet Polly Oliver is her full name  You are the first one who got that one – usually it’s “why would you name a rabbit that?”  But I didn’t know her sex at first, and then they guessed boy, and then she turned out to be a girl, so you see, it’s perfect.  Plus she’s very sweet.  

Thanks for your advice, everyone!  She has lost a little more weight, unfortunately, and feels bonier to me, so I am worried.  I’m taking her to the vet tomorrow to see what they think, because I won’t feel comfortable switching her to timothy if she is already losing weight on alfalfa.  She just finished a major binky session so I don’t think she is in too much distress, but I want her to be healthy.  Please wish us luck…

Good luck! If she’s eating, drinking and toileting normally overall, and especially if she’s happy with life (as in binkying a lot!), there’s probably nothing to worry about, but it never hurts to be sure. I think a healthy rabbit should feel just a little touch bony under her fur – you should be able to feel her backbone, for instance. I’d go ahead and start offering her a little bit of timothy or another grass hay with high fiber, since she’s getting close to when she should start the switchover anyway. How is she doing with other foods?

[OverthinkingBun]

Thanks! The vet took a look and didn’t find anything obviously wrong, but thinks she’s a little too thin. On his advice, I’m keeping her on high energy foods, and taking away all her paper and cardboard toys for now (sad bun, but she has started eating them rather than just shredding them), and am going to continue monitoring her weight at home (I have a small scale). I’m also going to try a wider variety of vegetables to try and find some more than she prefers.

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