Rabbit Web Discussion Board

Hello,
I\'m hoping someone with mini-lop experience can answer a question for us. Our 2 mini-lop does competed in our first ARBA show last fall and the judge said that the hips were narrow. Mini-lops should be like a basketball when they stack on the show table and the hips should be more rounded. The judge siad the shoulders were great and their heads were true to type, just the hips were an issue.

Now, our question is whether or not we can feed them to improve their shape? We feed them Pfau\'s pellets (produced here in Montana), free hay, and fresh veggies often (we try for daily, but in the winter they\'re harder to stay on top of since the garden is under snow).

Are there commercial pellets that anyone can recommend or custom feeding mixtures we could work on ourselves? Or, are we going to have to \"breed hips into them\"?

\"Narrow hips\" usually refers to a type issue. It means that the skelatal structure if the hips is more narrow that one would want. If this is the case then selective breeding is the only way to correct it for future babies. If the judge saus the rabbit is \"hippy\" due to poor flesh condition tihs can usually be remedies fairly easily. Oats are a great way to inprove flesh condition. If you add just a bit of cracked oats (cracked are easier to digest than rolled) to the feed or in a seperate container it can help very quickly.

I hope this help

Amanda<))><
Treasure STreet Rabbitry

I no longer raise minilops but,narrow hips cannot be fixed with feed.be sure to breed your does to a buck with very good hips.bluebird

See if you can get a good buck that has nice hips. Or hold back any babies showing promising hips.

Also, id be careful when feeding a veggie diet. Rabbits do not condition well on it. Also, i would take a look at the feed too. Whats the protein and fiber percentages?