How much should weight fluctuate?

[momenteller]

Hi there. I've had my black velvet Luna since January of this year. She was on a Manna Pro mix at the breeders house, and I slowly transitioned her to Oxbow. During the transition, she seemed to be eating more of her old feed rather than the Oxbow, which led me to believe that she liked it better. However, since I had my other chin on Oxbow, and I was hoping to bond the two, I continued the switch and she ultimately made the adjustment okay. I think. For her first few months here, she seemed like perhaps she had lost a little weight but at the time I didn't have a scale. I have been weighing her every few weeks since April and her weight has not had the steady increase I was hoping for:

4/2-- 652g
4/24- 647g
6/2-- 657g
6/20- 643g

Is this normal to fluctuate like this? I've heard that blacks take longer to fill out, but I was hoping her weight would at least head in the right direction. She will be a year old next month. She is free-fed pellets and loose timmy hay, with an occasional pile of orchard grass or alfalfa block thrown in.

I know Oxbow is a good feed, but should I be trying other feeds to see if she thrives more? Or could it be that she'll maintain a 650g weight +/- 15 grams?

 

[tunes]

10-15 gm is not a big deal, IMO. Some chins will vary that much in weight just from morning to evening. As long as she doesn't keep dropping, she's fine.

 

[Cuddlebug]

That looks like normal fluctuation to me. She may have reached her full growth, but then again, I have had some chins appear to level out for a while and then start gaining again after a few months. I wouldn't change her feed.

 

[Jazicat]

Edgar stopped gaining around seven months and it now almost 10 months. His all time high was 626g but we didn't weigh him for a while he dropped back down to 600g which almost got us to the vets but there was no sign of illness. We are weighing him every other night and he is maintaining around 600g.

Edgar has always eaten MannaPro Show and I still buy his from his breeder. Otherwise my chins diet is the same as yours except for the treats that I give Edgar may differ. Since I don't think either of us use them in excess I'd say that it's just the individual nature of Edgar and Luna. They may just be on the smaller side but in my mind still perfect. After all I know that our goal is the same for our chins too and that's just for them to be happy.