New bunny not eating much

[Moonlightbunny66]

We got our new bunny home yesterday, he hasn’t been eating much. I was told he ate some Timothy hay in the carrier on the way here, but now he just picks it up and drops it like he’s moving it around. He chewed it a few times but I’m not sure if he actually ate it. He’s 6 months old and came from a meat farm, to the vet for a couple days, then to us.

We got nice quality alfalfa pellets which I don’t think he’s eaten. We also tried putting a couple Timothy pellets in which I don’t think he’s eaten either. We gave him some pellets from a farm feed store (since that’s what he’s used to) and he ate a few this morning. I’m not sure if he was fed hay at the farm he came from. He’s been drinking from the water bowl, though. He has alfalfa hay (since we think if he got hay it would’ve been that kind), Timothy hay, orchard grass hay, oat hay, and farm hay that has different types in it. I also gave him an alfalfa hay cube, I don’t know if he chewed it yet. He has peed a few times and pooped a few mushy poops, and some more runny poops. We should be getting a call from the vet tonight, so we will ask them what else we can try then.

We’re avoiding lettuce for a few days right now because he was fed some at the vet and had wet poops. He was also fed critical care which could’ve also contributed to that, so I’m not sure I want to try feeding him that either.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to help him eat hay? I put some in some cardboard tubes, he just moved one so he could lay down.

I feel like there were posts a while ago on people rescuing rabbits that weren’t fed hay. I was hoping someone could share something that helped.

[DanaNM]

Poor little guy has been through a lot. 🙁

If he isn’t eating much at all on his own, you should syringe feed him some critical care (or offer some on a plate, he might eat it willingly). I’m guessing all of the changes in diet have upset his tummy a bit and he’s probably stressed from his ordeal. It’s good he’s drinking though!

I think you are doing all the right things by offering all the hay types. If he came from a meat farming situation he was likely fed alfalfa pellets (similar to the ones you got from the feed store) and possibly nothing else. So I would continue to keep the alfalfa pellets and all the hay available for now. Once he has adjusted to your home you can focus on improving his diet.

Since he might be quite scared still, I would syringe feed him and then leave him alone for 4-6 hours (try not to hover). If he still hasn’t started eating on his own, then keep syringe feeding and give the vet a call and see what they think.

. . . 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.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thank you DanaNM. The vet said to syringe feed him too. I tried doing it calmly first without handling him and he was just stressed from not being able to get back into his enclosure, so he bit the syringe and I squeezed maybe half or over half a mL in his mouth. That’s all I could do without handling him, I tried wrapping him up but he’s too difficult to restrict. So I got my dad to wrap him up and hold him and I squeezed 3 or 4 mL in his mouth before we let him go. He was breathing really hard from stress, I could hear it in his nose. He kept biting and chewing the towel and got my dad a couple times but surprisingly didn’t break the skin.

The vet suggested a 60mL syringe, the biggest we have is 12mL and it gets stuck too much. I even tried using Simethicone before to loosen it a bit but it still kept getting stuck when I tried squeezing it out. We’ll have to look for a 60mL syringe tomorrow to get more in him quicker. I see people saying to cut the tip of the syringe and sand it down but that makes me worried about tiny pieces of plastic getting in his mouth, and I don’t think vets do that.

It is really difficult because the poor bunny probably barely got any interaction at the farm. Then at the vet he had to get tests done and syringe fed to be healthy. It will probably take a while for him to trust us now if we have to keep syringe feeding him. He is very curious and comes up to us when we put food in for him, though. We’ll see how he’s doing tomorrow. I just don’t want him to be sick from not eating enough. He is really adorable and looks a little similar to Muffin, but brown. He’s a Flemish giant.

[LBJ10]

My guess is that he is super scared and stressed because of his ordeal. Since he came from a meat farm, he probably hasn’t had “positive” human contact… if any at all. To be honest, I wouldn’t force the syringe feeding. It will just stress him out more. Hold off on syringe feeding for a little bit and try putting him in an enclosure in a quiet area. Put blankets or cardboard up so he can’t see out. Leave food and hay in there with him. He may start nibbling after he feels more secure.

[DanaNM]

Agree with LBJ10, more stress is prob not going to help at this point. A calm, quiet, and small-ish space will help.

I will say that if you do need to syringe again (like if he fully stops eating or pooping), I wouldn’t recommend holding him, as that contributes to it being stressful. My preferred way (and they way my vet showed me) is to put the bunny on a towel on a table and use the C-grip to hold their head. I have them facing away from me, so if they try to back up they back up into me. I use a 12 mL syringe but I make the CC pretty watery, like pancake batter consistency.

He very well might eat overnight when it’s quiet and dark.

(also awwww a Flemie!!)

. . . 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.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thank you guys. I really wanted to leave syringe feeding as the last thing to try because it’s so stressful, but the vet was also concerned he would get sick with no food going through him. And yeah the stress is why we stopped after only a few mL. The vet also had to wrap him up and syringe it to him.

Yeah I didn’t want him to be held either but he would not sit still on the floor, even while restricting the space. I don’t know if we would be able to get him on a table safely. ): I can look around tomorrow and see if it’s possible. What is the c-grip? I haven’t been able to be shown syringe feeding by my vet because of covid, I’ve just watched videos and read some tips. With Muffin, I just sat beside him and held his head straight and put the syringe in the side of his mouth and let him chew and swallow a little bit at a time. He was very weak, though. It makes me really sad to think about it.

We’re keeping him in a room that only my dad goes in to work. It’s mostly quiet, other than anyone walking through the hallway. There’s also a blanket over his enclosure, I don’t want to completely cover it because it’s already a bit warm in that room from reptile heat lamps. He kept flattening his cardboard hidey house so we’ll have to look for some kind of plastic tub and cut holes big enough for him, then sand it down. Would this work as a hidey house? He just gets curious and puts his paws on top of the cardboard and knocks it down, he’s heavy.

We also need flooring for him and I see you guys recommending vinyl sheets? He seems to be just peeing in the litter box right now though. Maybe I could get away with blankets and mats without him peeing everywhere.

Thank you.

[DanaNM]

How’s he doing today? Is he eating a bit more?  The fact that he’s exploring and was fighting the syringe is a good sign.

To do the C-grip, you use your non-dominant hand to hold the bun’s head, so your fingers are under their jaw and your thumb is over the top of the skull. Then you would use your dominant hand to feed from the side. With this grip you are holding bone, so it’s very secure.

Wick demonstrates it in this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N12eJ5vdo4w&list=PLn9xVcGXrVa5t-XUXErt_cTmjBPRKPnGZ&index=2&ab_channel=CT

I use this method of syringe feeding (also shows the c grip again): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iGZVYVm5Bg&list=PLn9xVcGXrVa5t-XUXErt_cTmjBPRKPnGZ&index=4&ab_channel=petcareveterinary

You can still wrap the bun in a towel if you need to, I just think with a large rabbit it would be more secure to have them on a table so they aren’t struggling to escape or run away.

At the shelter they use a lot of plastic laundry baskets for hides. You can cut out entry holes and sand them down, the bunnies seem to really like them.

. . . 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.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

DanaNM thank you. He’s still not really eating on his own. He’s still curious, moves around, grooms himself, and drinks water. We syringe fed him around 20 or 25mL earlier before letting him go. It’s still stressful for him. I’ll try that technique next time, thank you.

[Moonlightbunny66]

We were able to get most of his feeding in him by putting him on the bathroom counter. We already had him in a carrier while rearranging his space, so I pulled him out of it and got him on the towel and wrapped him up and held his head, covering his eyes. I got my dad to syringe feed him while I held the bunny’s back end against me (he doesn’t have an official name yet). He ate maybe one and a half pieces of hay since this. We will likely feed him again tonight.

He seems to like peeing in his litter box, so we put down foam mats, a plastic shower curtain, and blankets as his flooring. We’ll see how he does with that. He’s quite well behaved for a 6 month old unneutered rabbit. Even while syringe feeding and he’s stressed and shoving us away, he doesn’t want to bite us. He’s gotten my dad a couple times without breaking skin while feeding him but he just chews whatever is under his mouth when he’s stressed. I’m convinced that Flemish giants are a very gentle breed.

I watched the videos you shared DanaNM, and a few others. Thank you.

[DanaNM]

He sounds like a lovely rabbit, it is great that you are able to rescue a rabbit that would have been doomed… even though the circumstances around it are so unfortunate. 🙁

 

. . . 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.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thanks DanaNM. He is very sweet. He was doing little binkys earlier. I don’t think he was ever given an area much bigger than his body. He comes up to me and I can rub his head with my finger but he doesn’t understand that kind of attention yet.

We did another feeding for night, we got maybe 20-30mL in him, I’m not sure. He was very stressed. He pooped little tiny dry poops while we were feeding him. I also think his pee smells like burnt hair. I don’t know if that means anything other than him not being neutered yet.

The vet thinks he should get checked out if he’s still not eating much on his own or pooping enough soon, to make sure there’s not some other issue. I’m just not sure yet since I know the stress of big changes is probably at least contributing to it, if not causing it. I don’t want to add more stress by driving him to a vet, but he needs to be healthy. We’ll see if he improves in the next few days.

[pinkiemarie]

Any good news today?

 

When I got my girl Clover she came out of a different situation but there were enough similarities with your boy. She was outside in a hutch with about 4 other rabbits and she didn’t have any Experf indoors and although she was handled regularly for nail trims and that sort of thing she wasn’t socialized with humans. She was extremely frightened in the house at first and refused to eat more than a tiny bit at a time and I got very concerned about her too. Luckily she kept pooping bit they were tiny little poops like the ones you’re describing. Since you’ve had him a few days now can you try a really small amount of greens and a little treat like a slice of carrot? We don’t want to upset his stomach but he might respond well trip something extra tasty. After 4 or 5 days my girl voluntarily began eating more so I’m hoping your guy does too. I will say she was very fat and I imagine your rabbit is too, and having all that extra fat makes them able to go longer without eating from a purely metabolic standpoint so he probably doesn’t feel extremely hungry even though we know it’s critical for him to eat!

[DanaNM]

I agree with pinkiemarie, I think just keep up what you’re doing and try not to send him back to the vet unless things get worse. Small poops are good! I also think some very tempting greens (like cilantro) might be a good thing to try.

. . . 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.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thanks guys. Pinkiemarie good to know yours started eating more, maybe he will start soon too. I did two feedings today already, I got maybe 30 mL the first time and around 60mL the second time. I plan on doing one more today. He seems to pee in the towel every time we syringe feed him. He also makes a couple little poops in the towel while we feed him. The vet did say he is a bit overweight. I’m sorry your bunny went through that. The transition from an unhealthy life to a healthy life seems to be very difficult for a bunny. He’s still not pooping much. We offered a basil leaf and some parsley today. He sniffed both, he bit the parsley but I don’t think he ate it yet.

I already made an appointment for him on Tuesday at a vet about 30 minutes away from us. They told me I can call and tell them if anything changes, though. I’m hoping he will start eating more by then, so we don’t have to take him. If anything, maybe they could give us ideas on tempting him to eat, or at least get a good full feeding into him quicker than us. Or maybe even give us some medicine to help his digestive system or appetite.

I can see if we have some cilantro. I’m not sure about giving anything sugary yet, since I don’t think he was fed any fresh food before he left the farm.

The first feeding today, it looked like he started breathing with his mouth open a bit so I stopped and put him back in the carrier and took him to his pen. I’m not sure if he aspirated or was just stressed. I’m thinking it was just stress, he gets a bit warm wrapped in the towel getting stressed out as well. I wish he knew that we’re just trying to help him.

[Moonlightbunny66]

He ate some parsley. 🙂 We’ll have to keep giving him a little bit of that everyday now. And maybe we could put some in his hay and on some romaine lettuce eventually.

[pinkiemarie]

That’s a good idea, he might nibble on the hay while he’s digging around looking for the good stuff 😀

[LBJ10]

That’s wonderful! Glad to hear he’s showing some interest in things.

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thanks guys!

[DanaNM]

Yes that’s very exciting!

. . . 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.  

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