Recovery food

Hi I posted earlier today about my poorly bun, Bojangles. I have taken him to the vet and he does have a problem with his teeth. I have to say that the vet was quite accusing that he doesn't think he has just become ill and I am upset because honestly until yesterday Bojangles had no issue eating his pellets or hard treats.

Anyway he has said I have to risk aneasthetic as he is unlikely too survive without getting his teeth sorted.

He has given me some recovery food and said I should hand feed him, but it just looks like dust. Can anyone advise how to feed him this? Can I mix it with a little water?

It's going to be a very hard night knowing that he is at such risk tomorrow being 7 and having aneasthetic but I know I have to give him every chance!

Grateful for any suggestions as how to feed him this food.

Thanks

Hi Louise,

Yes, you can either mix it with water or I was told that Pineapple juice is good as it has certain enzymes in it which help.

See if your rabbit will eat it off of a treat or something he normally likes, if not you will need to syringe feed him. When syringe feeding make sure you don't do it too quickly as this could cause your rabbit to choke.

Sounds like your vet isn't very approachable or helpful, is there not anywhere else you could take your bun, a vet should be somebody you should be able to ask for help when you need it, not a lecture to make you feel bad.

Hope Bojangles gets better, sending lots of vibes x

I agree, perhaps a different vet will be a little more compassionate, however, I expect your vet is right and that he does need a dental - but try not to worry, these are quite straightforward with a good vet and he should be fine.

Is your bun eating by himself at all at the moment? If he's quite lively and active then syringe feeding him could make him rather stressed out, syringe feeding is usually reserved for buns who are not eating by themselves and therefore need assistance.

I would try offering your bun lots of fresh tasty hay, dandelions, perhaps some hand picked grass (as long as your bun is used to it!) and perhaps some strong scented herbs like thyme, basil, mint etc to encourage him to eat by himself -you need to try and encourage your bun to self-eat as much as possible. Perhaps a little grated carrot or whatever is his favourite weed/vegetable? You can also soften his pellets in warm water and see if he will eat those.
I would personally make it up with water and either offer on a plate or syringe feed.

If he really isn't eating by himself then you make up the recovery (instructions on the back) until it is the consistency of thick cream and use a syringe 1ml (cut the tip off to make the hole wider and use a nail file to sand any sharp edges down) and syringe just half a little syringe at a time giving him time to chew and swallow each mouthful. The instructions will tell you how much he needs but I tend to do around 10-20ml every 2-5 hours depending on how often you feed him, so perhaps 8ml -10ml every 2 hours? It is usually a question of how much they will take. You can add sugar free baby fruit purees to the mix a little to encourage bunny to eat it, but again watch the sugar content. Mashed banana often mixes quite well.

Did the vet give your rabbit some pain relief in the mean time and some fluids by injection under the skin? Is your bun passing droppings ok today? If your bun isn't eating then it is likely he isn't drinking in which case he will need fluids. Pain relief is essential if he has tooth issues causing him discomfort alone and especially if he has had a little gastric stasis as well. Good luck

Hi

Thanks for your replies. I've been in tears worrying that someone thinks I don't care about my animals.

Bojangles has eaten a little today, I know because he has pooed and peed. His poos today have been tiny and so that is why I was originally thinking he was constipated.

He doesn't really like hay, but I will try him with some kale and basil.

I suppose I'm mad at myself too as he really was eating fine until yesterday and I wish I had been able to see something sooner.

I took the opportunity to move vet when I moved house as I wasn't happy with how my last vet seemed to treat the rabbits with less concern than other animals.

I will look for another vet but as they are going to do Bo's teeth tomorrow I think I should stick with that one just now.

He got no pain relief or fluids, athough I think he is drinking ok. The recovery food has been decanted into a plastic bag so there are no instructions on it.

I appreciate you saying the dental work should go fine, it's just really due to his age I'm worried.

I'll go and make him a bowl of 'bits' to see what he'll have.

Thanks again for your help, it's really appreciated at this time.

Lol, he is pooing on me as we speak!

daisylou said:

Hi

Thanks for your replies. I've been in tears worrying that someone thinks I don't care about my animals.

Bojangles has eaten a little today, I know because he has pooed and peed. His poos today have been tiny and so that is why I was originally thinking he was constipated.

He doesn't really like hay, but I will try him with some kale and basil.

I suppose I'm mad at myself too as he really was eating fine until yesterday and I wish I had been able to see something sooner.

I took the opportunity to move vet when I moved house as I wasn't happy with how my last vet seemed to treat the rabbits with less concern than other animals.

I will look for another vet but as they are going to do Bo's teeth tomorrow I think I should stick with that one just now.

He got no pain relief or fluids, athough I think he is drinking ok. The recovery food has been decanted into a plastic bag so there are no instructions on it.

I appreciate you saying the dental work should go fine, it's just really due to his age I'm worried.

I'll go and make him a bowl of 'bits' to see what he'll have.

Thanks again for your help, it's really appreciated at this time.

Lol, he is pooing on me as we speak!

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Don't feel bad. Very often these sorts of teeth issues are spurs on the molar teeth and can only be seen by a vet using an otoscope. The only clue you would have had would have been difficulty eating or drooling around the mouth for example...there are a few others. Regular vet checks can pick up molar spurs early, often before they cause these sorts of issues. It sounds like your last vet didn't spot them, although they can grow in a matter of weeks. I expect his distate for hay may be contributory - adequate dental wear is really only achieved with a high hay/grass diet. At 7 yrs old he is likely to have age related changes to the muscles in his face as well which will alter his bite and if he was prone to these spurs in the first place genetically then he will get them as he gets older. I know there are lots of 7yr old bunnies on this forum who have undergone GA's and ops with no probs at all so really try not to worry. Yes there is an increased risk but hopefully the vet will monitor him closely whilst he is under and give lots of pain relief post-operatively - this is really important, for several days after a dental.
If once his dental has been done you can encourage him to eat more hay then you might find the spurs grow back a little slower and he shouldn't need dentals too regularly. Hay, hay and more hay really will help this condition loads.

How useless for him to give you recovery mix with no instructions!! :shock: He sounds like a really thoughtful vet! :roll: Okay, no worries, just mix it with wtaer until you can get it syrupy - although when syringe feeding some buns chew it better if it is slightly crunchier - but it will need to be mixed with enough water to make sure it doesn't swell up in his tummy and dehydrate him any further. Not giving your bun pain relief in the meantime in my opinion isn't very good practice - your bun needs to eat lots today and tonight so his tummy is full before his Op, so just keep encouraging him as best you can.

It's great he's doing droppings. The reason they are small will be because he hasn't been eating properly and so his tummy will have gone into ileus (slow down) it will likely be quite dehydrated in his guts too - therefore any droppings passed will be small and dehydrated. You must keep him eating to keep him pooping! If when you syringe feed the recovery mix he is quite compliant then you could also try syringing very slowly some oral fluids too, just be very careful. Cooled boiled water or a herbal tea bag stewed and cooled makes quite an appetising syringe fluid for buns. I've just got my bun through gastric stasis and he really enjoyed nettle and fennel tea by syringe! Important to just do a little at a time so he doesn't aspirate.

p.s. if you wash and serve his veggies/leaves still dripping wet then this will get some extra hydration in him too.

Best of luck for Bojangles dental tomorrow :wave:

I find it impossible to mix recovery food to the correct consistency using water and it clogs up in the syringe...so I tend to mix it with a little vegetable baby food instead (one without potato) and feed it through a large 60ml syringe...it flows through easily, like icing a cake!

Good luck

Thanks everyone. Bojangles was as strong and brave as a lion today and is home eating well, loving being back with Bluebelle and is a tooth or 2 less. I was so relieved when I made the call and found out he was fine. We're a happy family again