Badly need advice on food for a picky rabbit

Badly need advice on food for rabbits.

One of our bunnies, a very old fellow, has gut stasis and potentially a bacterial infection (the vet thinks that's what caused it)

Basically, he's all but stopped eating and his gut is slowing down, he's lost condition very quickly, and being and old guy he didn't have heaps to begin with.

He's on baytril and maxalon twice a day. And we're trying to syringe feed him. The vet said 75mls a day absolutely minimum.

Up until now, he was eating about a third of a cob of corn (his favorite food that we know of), and a little bit of silver beet, plus a few blades of grass. He had a nibble on some slices of pear and another nibble on some carrot. We're not seeing any droppings in his hutch and this is the third day he's been on the medicine.

The past two days we've been able to feed him ok, but today he just wasn't coping, I'm waiting for the vet to call me back. He started biting everything in sight and shaking. Normally he settles down after a few minutes with his head covered but today he was a wreck.

What I need is advice from anyone who's had to deal with anything like that on how to keep him calm, and what kinds of foods he might like.

We've tried;
Carrot
Broccoli
Silverbeet
Pears
Pineapple
Dry bread (with jam on it)
Fresh grass
White clover hay
Apple
Corn on the cob
Lettuce
Cabbage
Pureed carrot, broccoli and kumara
Pureed pineapple and pear
His medicine in jam

For calming him down;
Wrapped him in a towel and let him sit for about ten minutes before feeding him
Taking breaks between mouthfuls
Letting him out of the towel to sniff around and wander for a bit before I feed him (it worked yesterday but not today)
I'm not very experienced with bunnies as ours have always been pretty healthy and easy to care for. The big problem is while this guy was hand reared he's always hated being handled, and gets really distressed.

Any ideas, even if they seem really basic would be appreciated.

Hi Rave...

I have recently gone/going through something very similar.. and it was probably one of the most stressful situations I think I've ever gone through with a pet, so well done!. it's very challenging..but it has taught me an incredible lot..

I'm sure you will get a lot of very supportive and helpful replies I don't know how I could of coped without this forum and everyone here, but I just saw your post and wanted to respond.. (though I will have more to say) I am sure there are a lot more answers to come also...

I won't go into the whole saga here, I wrote it down in another post..it sort of sprouted out from here..

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=167841


but Has your bun been given any pain relief?.. that's really important!

and what made a huge difference to my bun was sub-q fluids it really really made a difference to my bun, a huge difference..obviously yourself and the vet will know your buns medical history etc and if for any reason that wouldn't be appropiate but he probably wont want to eat if he's uncomftable or experiencing pain, tummy cramps etc..my bun was shivering too but that subsided after he had and effictive dose of pain killer and sub-cutaneous fluids. and .the his level of comfort seemed to stabilise, and his brightness came back... and we went from there.. but it can take a while for them to recover, and can require intensive nursing.. and dietry changes.. and if he stops eating all together Syringe feeding until his interest picks up again..

though you need to be sure there is no physical obsctruction..

I am going to reply again to your post.. but I would quickly ask your vet about pain med and fluids..

in the meantime, try and keep him hydrated an if you can mash up some pellets with warm water and shringe tiny amounts every 3-4 hours even if he doesn't like, you may already be past the stage of trying to tempt him with different foods etc..

but it's quite likely your elderly bun may need additional support besides just maxalon and baytril.. if he's fully stopped eating.. *don't meant to add stress* but it's only really from my experience with ours just recently. I realised how complex they are.. and the sooner they get all the right kind of support, the better..they can recover.. same for their owners too eh, it can be very stressful..

I can only speak from our own experience, and from what I've read but I think once a bun has entered stasis you probably dealing with more than just a picky bun.. though I have read that some will still eat certain things..

I found that with ours his appetite just kind of ran out...you did great getting him to the vet, but I would certainly enquire about pain relief and fluids, and also cut out all the sugary stuff as his bacteria in his stomach will already be inbalanced and the anti biotic will de-stabilise it further..

it would be worth getting some avipro, or fibreplex for him too to assist his good bacteria.. just PM me if you want to, but you will get a lot of support from here, it's an amazing place.


M

Thank you so much for the advice. I'm in New zealand so I don't think the brand names will be the same. Smooch isn't exactly mine, he belongs to my younger sister, but he and his brothers just arrived at our place one day and we've all kinda looked after them ever since. I'm organising the stuff for Smooch because my sister is in highschool and doesn't have the time, and since I work freelance I can shuffle work around.

I've been trying to get hold of a vet today but nobody seems to be there. I'll keep trying.

Smooch is very, very, very old, so they may be concerned about pain releif affecting his heart, but at this point I would rather take the risk than let him suffer, we have a number of unusually old animals and the understanding between all of us is if it's a choice between a risk with a chance to get better or suffering, we take the risk, they've had long lives, and they deserve a better end than holding back would give them.

Both our bunnies normally eat almost entirely greens. They're on grass but we cut fresh grass for them too in the mornings, at the very least they get a carrot each with broccoli, cabbage and usually a chunk of apple and they almost always have silverbeet (it grows rampant in our garden so they get both red and white all the time) They get corn bought specially for them, but that's usually only once or twice a week, they go through a cob each in a couple of hours, it's a toy for them as well (they shredded rope toys we got for them). They also get white clover hay, but until today we were under the impression it wasn't as good as grass so we only have it to them in winter when the grass was growing slowly. They both have a couple of big handfuls now. They don't like pellets, and they've always avoided them, we tried a number of brands, but they tend to just ignore them unless they've eaten everything else.

He's kinda picking at the food we give him, he's gone downhill since yesterday but he's still much better than he was three days ago,

We tried him on pineaple juice (we just buy fresh pineapple and blend it) and he absolutely hated it.

I've bought some V8 (a pure vegetable juice), some baby food a rabbit breeder recommended, as well as some natural yoghurt and some wheetbix (she also recommended that).

We've got parsley growing in the garden so I'll give him some of that. I'm gonna ring the vets again and book him in for tomorrow. He's such an old rabbit they may not have wanted to sedate him unless absolutely neccessary.

I've been syringe feeding him behind the teeth, nobody told me how to do it but I've fed birds by syringe and always used the side of the mouth, I figured it'd be similar with him. A couple of articles tell me that's the right thing to do, I'm hoping it is. One thing I'm worried about is that in pulling his lip up all the time to get the syringe in, I might be hurting his lip or gums, which would explain why he freaked out. I tried to find an eyedropper with some kind of soft tip but no luck.

Hi Rave,

it sounds like your doing everything you can, age does add different variables to the equasion so I understand what your saying..and it sounds like they have a great life with you and a true bunny haven and you've done really well to get them to such a grand olde age

I think I would probably agree with you on taking the risk of pain releif too.. and to try and ease any suffering, though you will know the history of your bun.. you will have to see what your vet says and your own intuition etc..

I'm still trying to get the hang of syringe feeding.. like I said it can be very challenging.. but let us know what the vet says when you discuss it with him. the only soft type of syringe that comes to mind is the plunger thingy in the infacol bottle, but I don't know what the equivalent would be in New Zealand.

keeping him hydrated, and something in his tum seem like the most important things to do until you can get hold of the vet..and then hopefully pain relief.. though obviously you will need a presciption for the pain reilef..

Let us know...

regarding food, I know as mine started getting pickier and picker.. he would still nibble some grated carrot and the occasional peice of kale..

M

I spoke to one of the vets I know quite well, she said that he may be on the way out.

I've lined up all the various things people have suggested and I'm giving him 5-10 mls via syringe every half hour or so and monitoring his condition each time I go out.

It's ironic, right now I must be satan as far as he's concerned. I don't think I've been bitten so much in my life, not even by the cat when it's time for a tablet.

If he makes it through the night, we'll make a decision on the morning. It isn't my decision to make... but I might have to.

Sorry to hear that your rabbit is poorly.

If it was me, I would avoid natural yogurt because it's dairy and try him with grated carrot or apple. Also, have you tried putting thinly sliced food in front of him and then leaving him for a little while? Sometimes, rabbits will eat on their own if they feel less 'observed' particularly if you have been syringe feeding him (of course you're still going to have to do this if he won't eat on his own).

I would try to get pain relief for him, rabbits won't eat if they have a tummy ache and it may be worth asking your vet for a sub-cut to stop him dehydrating.

Is he a lone bunny or does he have a companion? If so, let him hang out with them, it will help to calm him down.

Lots of vibes

FC x

Try soaking some of the food pellets in water to make them soggy, I don't know why but sometimes they like it

FriskyClover said:

Sorry to hear that your rabbit is poorly.

If it was me, I would avoid natural yogurt because it's dairy and try him with grated carrot or apple. Also, have you tried putting thinly sliced food in front of him and then leaving him for a little while? Sometimes, rabbits will eat on their own if they feel less 'observed' particularly if you have been syringe feeding him (of course you're still going to have to do this if he won't eat on his own).

I would try to get pain relief for him, rabbits won't eat if they have a tummy ache and it may be worth asking your vet for a sub-cut to stop him dehydrating.

Is he a lone bunny or does he have a companion? If so, let him hang out with them, it will help to calm him down.

Lots of vibes

FC x

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The vets aren't being too helpful as far as pain relief is concerned, but I'm gonna try and find a specialist tomorrow.

He started pooping this evening, and he's started munching on the hay - not lots, but it's a start.

We've decided that if he's worse in the morning and the vets have no other options then we'll call it a day. If he's the same or better we'll still take him in and get him thoroughly checked over and nail down exactly what to do with him, and get an order of exactly what stuff is most important, and get that in first. I'm trying to find a specialist for him, but there aren't any listed. I'm gonna ring some breeders in the morning and ask them. I tried to get pain releif from the vet earlier today but they just said there was only one option and it wouldn't last the night and it had to be administered by a vet, but leaving him at the vets would finish him off. So I've been watching him closely and apart from biting the hell out of me he seems happier. We have another bunny, normally their hutches are side by side, since they seem to like each other's company. The other bunny is at least four, he was full grown when he decided that we looked like a good place to settle. In between wrestling matches with Smooch I lay on the grass next to them and watched, Toby, the other bunny, makes me think of a wood chipper the way grass and hay just kinda dissapears into his mouth.

All the animals we have mean so much to me, it's good to get feedback from people who don't just give up. I've had some fairly nasty comments from people. No one's told me to eat him at least.

Good to hear he is pooping and eating a bit. Once mine start eating again after stasis, I tend to stop syringe feeding but it can take a couple of days for them to get back to normal.

Hope things continue to improve and that you find a good vet.

FC x

Your bun should have a diet compose of 90% hay, especially the stem of the hay. If your bun doesn't eat hay, he has no fiber, and I had 1 of my bridge bun like that, soft poos and GI stasis due to the lack of fiber. So to deal with it,

- Get some blackberry or raspberry, smash it via juicer. You need about 6 oz. Get some hay stem, cut the stem in 1 mm length, mixed it w/ the blackberry. Put the mixture in a 35 ml syringe and force feed your bun.

Sometimes, just holding a bundle of hay to the bun, he could eat it

Dandelions have a reputation as an appetite stimulant and are worth a try. They're a bit thin on the ground with the cold weather but are starting to pop up again now

Hope you get him to a good vet soon.

He's on the way to the vets in about half an hour. I'm going to get him some pain releif. It looks like he had a go at some of the pellets I soaked in water and left out for him, not heaps is gone, but some, so I'm gonna put out some fresh stuff for him. I just got about five mls of vegetable juice and crushed pellets into him by syringe. I haven't seen any more poop, but the pellets in his hutch are gone, I'm hoping it's because he's eaten them. I've left him a little bit of silverbeet and some grass. The weather's really nasty right now so that's sort of hampering things. He got stressed out on me again when I was feeding him. I'm really hopingt the pain releif will relax him enough to let him eat.

I spoke to a woman from a nearby university who consults on rabbit dealings, I'm gonna get my vet to ring her and see if they can come up with anything between them. He's still fighting hard so I hope that's a good sign.

Hope the little guy is okay. Get the vet to also check his teeth thoroughly, if there is a problem in his mouth it would stop him eating. Keep fighting bun bun.

Yep, I'm going to be asking for a complete checkup, for the vet to ring up a lecturer at a university and for pain relief. He's a strong bunny, there's no denying that.