Need help – new bunny mum

[Bunnies&Piggies]

Hi all, I very recently rescued a Netherland Dwarf from a very sad situation. She was being neglected, only being fed unhealthy veggies, unlimited nuggets and only very small amounts of hay. She’s two years old.

She’s been with us for around two weeks now and she seems to be settling in well but is refusing to eat hay. We’ve lowered her nuggets to two tablespoons a day and half a cup of veggies twice a day to try and encourage her to eat more. But sadly, she’s very emaciated. Her hip bones are very prominent, her spine is pronounced and her abdomen is becoming concaved.
We have a vet appointment for her on Friday but I am torn about whether to start critical care for her until then or not. And how can we start to get her eating hay after two years of not?!

I’d hate for her to lose the fight because her previous owners didn’t care enough. She’s so loving and so sweet. From day one she was giving me kisses and following me around. I’d love any advice right now so please.

[DanaNM]

Thank you for rescuing her!

For now I would focus on making sure she’s eating, even if it’s too many pellets. Adding critical care seems like a good idea to make sure she’s getting the nutrition she needs. For a rabbit that was eating unlimited pellets, being that thin is concerning. She could have a dental issue which is preventing her from eating hay, so it would be best to wait till she’s been assessed by the vet before worrying too much about her hay consumption. Nethies are prone to dental issues, so be sure the vet does a very thorough dental exam (I would request x-rays).

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bunnies&Piggies]

Honestly, we wouldn’t want to buy a bunny anyway given how many are abandoned by their owners or neglected.

I have now started her on critical care until we get her to the vets. I have been concerned about her dental health after doing lots of research beforehand but she seems to be fine with her veggies and nuggets. She’s already a picky eater with her veggies, not really liking too much variety 🤦🏻‍♀️ it’s certainly a learning curve from our rescue Guinea pigs!!!

I’ll be sure to keep you posted on her appointment on Friday. Wish us luck 🍀

[DanaNM]

Good luck!  It is tempting to try to fix everything at once, but steady and gradual changes are the way to go. Many buns with dental issues will still eat veggies and pellets (and may be picky about veggies), but not hay, since hay requires the most chewing. Hopefully she likes the critical care. If she doesn’t I would try another brand of recovery food, there are a few available now. All four buns love Emeraid (the sustain herbivore variety) even though only one of them likes critical care. Two of my four also like the Sherwood brand recovery food.   🙂

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

Good luck and thank you for rescuing this bun!

I totally agree with everything Dana has said. Supplementing her with CC or other recovery food will be great until you get her to the vet. It has good fiber and she needs the energy. Since she’s only 2 chances are good she doesnt have really awful dental problems, if it’s about molar spurs, they can be burred.

The difference between guinea pig and rabbit care seem mainly to be a) rabbits don’t need extra vitamin C, they synthesise it themselves b) piggies can tolerate a lot more fresh vegetables per day c) piggies don’t do at all well without other piggies, whereas rabbits can live happily if they get lots of human company, even if most rabbits do like a rabbit friend.

It’s important to spay a girl rabbit for health reasons, but I think that holds true for girl piggies too.

I have never had guinea pigs, but I have a dear BB friend who has two adorable rescue piggies that we often talk about😊

[Bunnies&Piggies]

Thank you so much for your advice guys. She’s had two doses of critical care but seems to despise it. Even going as far as pulling out her fur so we held off on her third dose to see if she cools off. I feel so cruel… I will try other brands of critical care and see if she prefers any of them.

We are hoping to get her spayed as soon as possible but we know that it’s even more risk with her being so underweight. Hoping and praying that she does better soon and can learn what it’s like to really be loved because she’s definitely going to be having my full attention all day every day! Luckily I don’t work so she won’t be short of companionship.

We’ve actually got three male piggies who are rescues also! Our original two were rescued from a school with similar issues, malnourished, underweight and no love but are now happy and chunky! Even recently became a group of three which we were so very proud of them for after rescuing another baby boy.

[DanaNM]

Aww I love piggies!

You might try making critical care “cookies” to see if she will eat it that way. Some buns don’t like “mush” but will eat the cookies. You basically just make the CC into a very thick paste, and then dry in the oven at very low temp (or a food dehydrator) for an hour or so. Here’s a recipe: http://chinchilla-resources.com/chinchilla-resources/critical-care-cookies.asp

Since she is eating I don’t think it’s necessary to force the issue. You can offer extra pellets in the meantime. Oats can also be good for putting on weight, but I would wait to see what the vet says since you have an appointment for her soon.

Is it possible she is older than 2? One way to tell whether a bun is young or old is to look at their back feet. In a young bunny the back feet will sort of point out (so the heels are more narrow than the toes). In a senior they often start to become more parallel due to arthritis.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bunnies&Piggies]

Her heels are quite narrow. I never knew you could tell their general age by their back legs!

We have decided to go slow with her critical care as she is eating small amounts and use it more as a top-up for her until she’s seen. I feel so useless to her! Thank you for the advice with the critical care cookies, she may enjoy them more since she does enjoy the Excel treats when she’s been in a stressful situation. I’ve ordered a second box of recovery food in case she really dislikes the oxbow one too so she has a choice.

We’ll also add an extra tablespoon of nuggets for her while she’s reluctant to eat. We did read about giving her rolled oats in water to help her gain some weight so maybe we could try that after we’ve had a checkup.

I feel so silly worrying about her, she’s just so sweet and cheeky and loves to be loved. I want to do what’s best for her

[BZOO]

When I needed to put a little weight on Walter, I gave him oats, some “homemade” CC (his regular pellets put thru the blender) and a daub of banana baby food.  He loved it!

Hope to pics…what’s her name?

My first bun, when I was 6, was a PEW, Tiny Tim.  My first piggy was also a PEW, Gina (I couldn’t pronounce Guinea).

[Bunnies&Piggies]

Her name is Angel but we’re thinking of renaming her Thumper because she’s always thumping her feet for more cuddles 🥰

thank you for the advice on the cc!!! We’re going to stop by a purchase some bananas before her vet visit to see if she’ll take them with her cc. She’s not usually a fan of bananas but we’ll try anything at this point.

[Bam]

If she doesnt like banana, pear might do the trick 😃 Most baby foods however have banana or mango because naturally sweet, but some have pear too. It varies what fruit a bun really goes for, I have one now who is completely obsessed with apples.

Wonderful that she seems to want pets so soon!

[Wick & Fable]

Jumping in without context, but if banana won’t do the trick, some rabbits enjoy CC with canned pumpkin mixed in (make sure it’s the 100% pumpkin version; not one with other things added intended for pie or something).

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Bunnies&Piggies]

Little update for you. Sorry for the delay, life!

She had a full vet check on Friday, there didn’t seem to be any issues with her teeth at all and she was otherwise healthy besides being very underweight.
I have since learnt that she was not in fact on a heavy nugget diet but rather given excessive amounts of cabbage and carrots daily which has probably not helped her with her weightloss issues and refusing hay.

Her vet gave us some instructions on changing her feeding times to try and encourage her to eat more hay which does seem to be working slowly. She’s still not eating a huge quantity but is certainly a step in the right direction!!! She has another appointment in 4 weeks to make sure she is gaining weight properly and to make a decision on if she’s healthy enough for her spaying surgery.

[DanaNM]

Ah, that makes much more sense! Every bun I’ve seen who was fed only pellets was very overweight, so I was confused before. Poor baby, she’s lucky to have you!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bunnies&Piggies]

Thank you so much for your help. I was so worried and didn’t know if I should be doing more for her at the time so I seriously appreciate you helping me out. And the advice of trying different CC worked a charm, we’ve found one she really likes which will be really handy if she ever gets sick again. Hopefully she’ll not have to use it for a long time now!!!

She’s stolen my heart 🥹 I’m hoping that once she’s had her spay surgery she can really start living a happy and healthy life with all the cuddles she wants!

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