tips for syringe feeding

[xSmeffy123x]

Hi all, hope everyone is OK... just asking for more tips on how to syringe feed my fiesty rabbit polly who doesn't like being picked up at the best of times.
My vet suspects GI stasis and has given me tonight to give her high fibre food (oxbow) and see whether anything gets moving before taking her back tommorow.

She is a wriggly buggar and I am really concerned about he whole thing... my other bun has had a ga dental today and is having treatment for an abscess =( this is stressful!

Thank you

 

[RedFraggle]

I would try wrapping your bun in a warm towel to stop them wriggling. Do you have someone who can help you? You may need more than one pair of hands. Good luck!

 

[molly35]

Yes wrapping in towel is good, and another pair of hands is always helpful.

 

[bunny babe]

If it is Oxbow Critical Care I have found that mine like the taste of this so I tend to waft it under there nose and once they get a smell I squeeze a little on their mouth, they lick it and then will take readily from the syringe after a couple of gos. I know this is not always the case though but I have been lucky so far.

Also try giving it on a spoon, again put some on their mouth so they lick off and get a tase for it.

If all else fails the bunny burrito technique with bunny wrapped in a towel.

 

[Tonya]

Oh I feel like I am a pro at this after all the syringe feeding I did with Chrissy.Or probably she is just a good bunny. I normally use the tiniest syringes of 1 ml with their top removed. I normally feed Chrissy lying down on the bed, or in a half-sitting position, and I put her on my chest.Like this she is not picked up like a baby but she is still under control. I gently keep her head in my hand, between my thumb and my other fingers,without squeezing her, just to be able to feel it if she gets hyper ****** off. Normally when I feed her like this she is ok and does not move a lot, but I do a break after every 2 syringes, so that she can swallow everything fine and clean herself. Every bunny is different, but since Chrissy doesn't like to be picked up and carried around this is an ok way to make her eat, so I hope it will work for you.

 

[Coineanach]

If it is Oxbow Critical Care I have found that mine like the taste of this so I tend to waft it under there nose and once they get a smell I squeeze a little on their mouth, they lick it and then will take readily from the syringe after a couple of gos. I know this is not always the case though but I have been lucky so far.

Also try giving it on a spoon, again put some on their mouth so they lick off and get a tase for it.

If all else fails the bunny burrito technique with bunny wrapped in a towel.

Funnily enough one of mine hated Oxbow but wolfed down Fibreplex, which I have heard that many bunnies don't like!

Agree with all the comments on thread. If you can manage to get her to take it without picking her up or towelling her that's the ideal situation as it is less stressful, not that it happens much! Really picky rabbits can have a little bit of pinapple juice or ribena added to the mix to make it more appealing, pineapple is also good for the gut but I would check with your vet before giving anything new.

If you are really having problems, I did have a nightmare of a bun who needed syringe fed meds twice a day. She would not sit still and ripped her way through towels we wrapped her in :shock: I knelt on the carpet (for grip) and squished bun gently but firmly between my thighs. You then lean over from the back of the rabbit, I find a nose rub at this point goes down well. The point is to make them feel safe and secure but also not give them space to kick or escape, you may end up with a few nips on the thighs to begin with but they do settle. Poke the syringe in the side of the mouth and wait until they start chewing, then syringe in very slowly to avoid them aspirating in the food. You end up with a battered syringe but if they're chewing, they're swallowing!

Good luck and I hope you don't have any problems, lots of members syringe their buns with only minimal disruption

 

[bunny babe]

There are a couple of Oxbow Critical Care, so 2 different flavours. The green one smells of aniseed and is thicker and harder to push out the syringe. I use the Fine blend one which is nice and smooth. Could be worth trying both if they don't like the flavour of one.

You could also put it in a saucer to see if they will lap it up.

 

[Tonya]

yeah...and prepare a lot of syringes...as one of the members up said, they are destroying them!

 

[xSmeffy123x]

Thank you for your advice! today is going a bit better than yesterday.. I have tried the towel thing which is helping her abit thanks for that lol at the bunny burrito (might try he knee thing next time hough wriggly buggar!)... I have given her fibreplex too which she loves! She has the aniseed smelling oxbow which I admit doesn't smell great and she ate around 10mls reluctantly whilst having a good chew on the syringe... she is starting to eat her wagg optimum and wolfed down some parsley yay =)
My boyfriend can only help me during the pm feeds so Polly and I look forward to a great morning wake up...

All in all she is on zantac and emipred with fibreplex and oxbow 0_o thanks again this is all new to me and looking after my dental bun is hard work too =)

 

[bunny babe]

Maybe see if you can get a sachet of the fine blend, it is not as strong smelling and much easier to syringe. Glad it has gone better today. Always good to have critical care in the first aid kit

 

[xSmeffy123x]

Thanks yeah I will look into the fine blend now, I have never been so happy to see bun poop before.... they are small but it's better than nothing =)

 

[xSmeffy123x]

Polly has eaten 30g of wagg optimum during the night and there are a small cluster of little poos(5 or 6)... Am i wrong to expect more? Considering she had some last night aswell as emipred zantac fibreplex and oxbow(7mls)