Hi,

A lot of does will be feeling very sore after their spay (it’s major surgery for a bun) and will not want to eat. It takes 24-48 hours for them to feel comfortable enough to eat. Were your bunnies given any pain relief at the vets and to take home?? They really need to be given pain meds in order to feel well enough to begin eating again. Your vet will probably give a shot of metoclopramide to try and stimulate the guts and can also give you some to take home and administer every 8 hours.

You can mash down some pellets with warm water and try syringe feeding, as well as giving warm water via syringe. Are the buns drinking?
Tempt them with anything that you think they might eat…mashed banana, apple, herbs such as Parsley and basil, canned baby food, pumpkin…. If they won’t eat you will have to force feed. They need to have food moving constantly through their guts to keep everything working. Most of the time a bun will recover after a day or so and start eating on their own, but one of my bunnies was spayed last week and refused to eat for three days. I kept her topped up with pain relief, gut stimulants and zantac and got her eating eventually but I was tearing my hair out!!

Sounds to me like they don’t understand bunnies at all….. a rabbit more than any other animal needs pain relief!!! I suggest you advise your vet to do some further reading up (in not so quite a rude way). It  really angers me when I hear about vets saying this because anyone who knew anything about rabbits would know that they have to be eating straight away, and a rabbit in pain is not going to want to eat, in fact that pain is more than enough to send them into  gut stasis. Don’t worry though, this is common practice at most vets and you were right to ask. When you go back to the vet insist they are given some metacam, if the vet refuses take them elsewhere. TRy not to worry, i’m sure they will be fine it just takes some longer than others to recover. Get hold of some syringes from the vets and if they still aren’t eating you need to syringe feed.

That is terrible of them not to offer pain meds for your bunny! My girl got a shot before we left, then I had 6 syringes so I had one for each day. (to squirt in her mouth, not to inject thank God) The first 3 days she was pathethic and you could tell she would feel much better after the meds.

By day 6 and 7 it was a wrestling match because she felt so much better, I think I wound up wearing dose number 7.

Even when my boy got neutered, I was given 2 days worth of meds.

Please ask them for it, it will make such a difference.

((((hugs)))) Kathy

oh how frustrating!  I’m thinking if it’s still possible, the earlier option is better if the girls haven’t been eating.  when you get to the vet demand for pain meds.  the only thing that worries me about saying that to you is wondering if the vet knows correct pain meds & dosage for buns.  definitely talk straight to the vet about this & not a vet tech to be sure it’s not a misunderstanding (some vet techs may not know rabbits & give you the standard cat / dog answer).  i’ve not heard of giving a shot to stimulate appetite, but then i haven’t been through the spay process before. 

I feel you FergieJen. It’s extremely frustrating when you have a vet who agrees to take bunnies but really doesn’t know much about them. In these cases you have to do some research on some good sites and talk to knowledgeable folks (like this forum!) and go to the vet armed with info and suggestions.

I have to very much applaud you for being new to bunnies but still getting the females spayed. Spaying and neutering rabbits reduces much uneeded bunny suffering. Two big bunny paws up!!!

The only shot I know of to stimulate appetite is B-12 but really that won’t help if they are in pain.

The first 24 hours they are extremely groggy though so they won’t eat. Definitely ask for pain meds – they may not need them all but it’s good to have them if you need them – most vets give metacam which you can give orally – see if your vet will prescribe this.

What is B-12 if you don’t mind me asking? We use metoclopramide here to stimulate guts, and also give zantac to calm the stomach as well as metacam.

good luck!  working vet visits around a full time job can sure be a juggling act.  hopefully the girls will be eating & pooping soon ((((((vibes))))))

Welcome Fegiejen! Please keep us posted on how this goes! Sorry your first posts had to be during a stressful time!

I’m not sure if someone mentioned it already but if you can get ahold of meds from your vet, what’s typically given is Metacam, so if they don’t know what to give, you can ask!!

Hey!! I found you! Let me know how today goes at the vet’s and what the quote for their spay/neuter.
Hopefully after tommorow Riley will be better, poor lil man.

Welcome to Binky Bunny – Fegiejen! I am very glad to hear you rescued them and also got the two girls spayed.
Bunnies are very sensitive to pain and when they’re in pain they don’t want to eat. I think calling to your vet is a great idea, since they likely could benefit from some metacam.

I am not sure what time it is there – but perhaps call the vet first and see when they can fit the bunnies in?

If you do need to assist feed them, please let us know and we can provide you with more info on how to do that.

sending lots of good wishes, please let us know how they’re doing.

How pretty they are! Glad you found a vet too – the goo that promotes bacteria sounds like Benebac. Will be interested in what the appetite stimulant that she prescribed is.

Keep us updated!

i’m glad you’re getting some pain meds for the buns.  verrrry cute pics of your furry crew   i especially love the last pic.  had a great loud giggle at the up-turned wittle paws

phew!  i never knew how much you could be excited over poo until i had a bunny   glad they’re getting better.

YAY!!!   WELCOME HERE!!!

i’m so glad you were kind enough to take these buns in and alter them!  you’re in the running for bunny slave of the year!

how cool that your regular vet has a bunny specialist.  see, it shows that it never hurts to call around and see who will see buns.  they are a very popular hosue pet, so i think more vets are realizing they need to know how to care for them.  of course, it’s up to you… but i would consider calling the first vet and telling them what happened.  they need to know that you had problems, and they might hopefully revise their pain med policy.

those pics are so precious!  we have a member here kokaneeandkahlua that has a brown colored Rupert too!!!

Yippee Great to hear!!

I know, my boyfriend thinks I”m crazy when I’m picking through their litter boxes or updating him on poo statuses LOL Poo *IS* imporantant hehe

Poos ARE important! I’m ALWAYS checking the litterboxes for nice round firm poos. You’ve got to be a bunny lover to understand! LOL!