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Old bunny still not eating well

Hi everyone :D!

I posted a few weeks ago about my nine year old bunny who had virtually stopped eating and got lots of great advice - thank you!

Well, she had a dental check under sedation just over a week ago and the vet said her teeth were pretty good. He clipped/filed a couple of tiny sharp edges just in case, gave her a thorough check all over and she came home.

She seems pretty well in herself (lively, good shiny coat etc) but she's still refusing a lot of food. She won't touch her pellets at all but has a few things she'll eat lots of - celery, parsley, grass, raw mushroom, sunflower seeds (I know these aren't recommended for buns but she's a touch skinny and we're just desperate to get her eating), alfalfa treats (these are quite hard so I don't think she really has a problem with hard foods) and bread. To be honest, I'm not sure if she's eating hay because I give her loads for nesting and can't tell whether she's eating it too. She also doesn't seem to be drinking water at all.

Ever since she first stopped eating we've been syringe feeding her about 30ml a day in three sessions with pellets mushed with warm water and banana/apple/live yoghurt. She acepts this quite readily. We've also been giving her a bit of water by syringe.

We just don't seem to be able to get her eating normally again. We thought maybe she was sinply full up/not thirsty because we were feeding her so we tried reducing the syringe feeding, but this seemed to make her worse.

I suppose my question is, how long should we continue syringe feeding her if she seems otherwise well and whether a bun would be ok not eating pellets at all and just having grass/hay/vegs. I'm happy to take her back to the vet of course.

Is there any chance this could be because she's missing her friend Miffy, who died in January? I've had no luck at all bonding her with my other bunny Manny. He's desperate to be friends and wouldn't hurt a flea, but she HATES him!

Pfew! Sorry this is so long - hope some one can be bothered to trawl through!

Anna x
 
She may be desperate for some company if she lost a friend earlier this year. Is there someone on this forum who lives near to you who would be able to bond your two bunnies for you on neutral territory. If you were nearer to us, I would offer to have them for a few days to try and bond them for you.

Janice
 
Thanks Janice

We do try to put her together with Manny a few times a week, either in the kitchen or the garden. Sometimes she'll be okay for a while and even let him groom her but then she'll go for him for no real reason. Usually it's just a lunge and a tuft of fur but they once had a real scuffle, which resulted in her getting a nasty scratch on her ear so we're nervous of leaving them together unless we're right there.

When we went away recently both bunnies stayed at a friends house. They travelled in the basket together ok and played loose in her lounge when we first arrived. But as soon as they settled a bit the fighting started again!

We had real trouble getting her to bnd with our other rabbit Miffy, but she eventually accepted her when we moved house and they had a new garden/hutch together. We took a risk and it worked out that time!

Anna x
 
Hiya. As well as the Dental did your vet give your Bun a thorough check over? Was a full blood profile suggested (Haematology/Biochemistry) to check the functioning of the Liver/Kidney etc? Is she a spayed Bun? If not has your Vet had a feel of Buns Tum to see if her Uterus feels abnormal? Has she LOST weight recently ? If she were my Bun I would take her back to the Vet and ask if a blood profile might be the next step?She may well still be missing her partner so perhaps having her as an indoor Bun where she can be amongst people if pairing her with another Bun is not an option. You could try missing out the syringe feed for a day and observe if she eats more on her own. Personally I do not think rabbits should eat mushrooms (some can be toxic to a bun) or yoghurt(it contains milk and rabbits are Lactose intollerant-Lactose being a sugar found in milk). Will she eat Porridge Oats? My skinny buns love them. You can feed them dry or soaked in a bit of water. Grated Apple and Carrot is also popular with a Bun who has a poor appetite. Vitamin B can stimulate the appetite so maybe you could ask your Vet about your Bun having a Vit B injection. Hope you are able to get her eating more sonn. Jane and Buns xx
 
Are your bunnies both neutered? It is far easier to bond neutered bunnies than ones where the female is not done.

When you pair up you should aim to do the whole thing as one unit as opposed to keep splitting them, it just delays the process. If they are just doing a simple lunge at each other with some fur pulling it is better to leave them to it to sort out who is boss. It is something that they have to sort out, otherwise they will never bond.

It is when they are circling each other and up on 2 legs that you need to separate them for a matter of a minute or two, then let them go again, they will calm down.

With pairing up you either get the pitched battles which will settle down with separating them for a few minutes. The lets ignore each other with the odd lunge from one saying give me some attention or the lets instantly like each other and groom. The key is neutral territory and haivng enough time in a session to get them sorted. Short 20 minute sessions from my experience usually means it will take you ages to get them properly paired up. You need to be brave.

Cheryl wrote a very good bit about pairing up which is worth a read http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/tam/viewtopic.php?t=10221&highlight=rabbit+bonding

Hope this helps

Janice
 
Hi Jane

Hope isn't neutered but the vet did examine her belly and din't feel anything suspicious. She hasn't had blood tests for liver/kidney problems but the vet did say to bring her back in if we're worried.

She's always been a fairly bony bunny - when she puts on weight it all goes on her tummy - but she's not too bad at the moment considering.

I'l try her on porridge oats and try cutting out the syringe feeds again after the weekend and if she doesn't improve I'll take her back to the vet's.

She won't touch grated apple/carrot!

She does spend a lots of time in the house and garden with us - she's with us at least 5 hours a day, often more. She loves to be outside though - when we keep her in overnight she knows something's up!

Thanks for all your advice! I only gave her the yoghurt when she was on antibiotics, but all my buns have always had the odd white button mushroom - can even those be toxic?

Anna x
 
Thanks Janice

Manny's neutered but Hope isn't and she's too old to risk it now I think.

The scuffles start when Hope lunges at Manny and grabs a mouthful of fur. Sometimes Manny backs off but when he doesn't they end up rolling, biting and kicking and we feel we have to step in to avoid one of them getting badly hurt. I've never seen them go up on two legs though.

I will make time to try out the neutral territory for as long as it takes theory - wonder if any B&Bs or holiday cottages would take us with two bad bunnies ... any excuse for a holiday!

Now I really better do some work!

Anna x
 
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