Syringe Feeding Troubles

[Malia]

Well, my 7 week old bunny Jett has been on treatment for Coccidia and it’s affected his appetite. He’s not eating. He was at the vet all day yesterday and they said he ate well but since he’s been home he’s not interested in his pellets or hay.

They sent me home with Critical Care. The first feeding was fine. He seemed to like it. But since then it’s been a huge disaster. Jett won’t have it. He kicks, he struggles, he squeaks, he tries to leap off any surface. I think he would jump from the top of the Sears tower. I’m supposed to do 20 CCs every 8 hours but it’s impossible. I stayed home from work today to try to do 10 CCs every 4 hours but it’s still not working out well.

I’ve tried bunny burrito but I don’t think it’s good. I don’t have him tight enough. I can keep him from backing up but blocking with my body and having him between my legs. But the issue is that he shoots forward and I haven’t been successful in stopping that. He wiggles so much when I hold his head.

Is he too young to try to mix it in baby food?

So far today all he’s interested in are his favorite treats. I can use a small piece to lure him onto the blanket and then he’s happy for a moment until it’s syringe feeding time and he’s off. Any suggestions? I called the vet and they said he was jumpy with them too. They offered to have me come back for a lesson or they can keep him and do it but I worry about stressing him out so I don’t know.

He just did the most adorable flop. Haha, he’s so cute and also sooooooooooo difficult!

[Luna]

Maybe it’s the feeling of restraint that is making him squirmy? Do you think he might let you syringe feed him without holding him or not using the burrito method? It would make him feel less stressed, and that could be enough to entice him to try eating from the syringe again.

[Malia]

I haven’t really tried that. It’s certainly worth a try!

[Luna]

If that doesn’t work, try squirting as much critical care as will fit on his treats or see if he will even just lick it up from a plate.

[Malia]

Well I managed to burrito him on a high surface, I gave him his Baycox and then when it came to Critical Care, he struggled and kicked and was about to leap off so I put him down. I tried using one of his cookies, he was so excited about the cookie until I squirted the Critical Care on it and he hopped away, kicking his legs at me. He really hates the stuff.

[Luna]

Well at least he took the Baycox . How long for did the vet say that he needs to be given critical care?

[Muchelle]

Vet told me a lot of rabbits don’t appreciate the taste of CC so it’s not unusual that he’s avoiding ingesting it at all costs. I’ve found that if prepared with lukewarm water, the aroma of hay comes out and it is a tiny bit more accepted by my bun.
As for personal experience, the bunny burrito scares/stresses my bun more than simply picking him up and holding him in my lap to feed/med him. My preferred method is to have his back against my chest while supporting his butt with my thighs and my hand firmly wrapping his chest. It takes some practice to get the syringe in the mouth at the right angle, but I see he stresses less (cause I’m quicker that way).

Another method that the vet techs taught me is to keep him on the table (or on the floor) and have his butt against me, but I’ve never mastered that position

[Wick & Fable]

Hey Malia! Is the CC your pet provided the apple/banana kind? Wick slurped that stuff up like a crazy bun bun.

I agree with Luna that perhaps Jett is being primed to not like it because getting into position may be freaking him out a tad. Once you get him in the best position, perhaps try keeping him there and just petting/pampering him during it. Keep your voice calm if he starts to freak out, put the syringe down, and pet him. Rinse and repeat until Jett is perhaps a bit more calm with the approaching syringe.

If he liked it the first time, he may be more comfortable eating it after he’s tasted a bit, so it’ll be really important to get him to taste it in as least a stressful scenario as possible. I know it’s difficult when they’re kicking and flailing, but it’s important Jett gets the nutrients needed to heal. Since you know Jett has a tendency to dash forward, mentally prepare yourself to keep your hand still around him so he can’t move forward or backwards. Like I said in a post before, just because you have your hand around his neck, doesn’t mean you’re choking your rabbit. Their jaw-bone and shoulder-blade bones naturally create a gap that you can use to your advantage, instead of squeezing the neck to get a hold. Ideally, the rabbit shouldn’t be able to move forward because they can’t squeeze their shoulders through your hand. I find that hold is easiest to get Wick to take his medications if he’s being more fussy than usual.

The soup-iness of the critical care mattered with Wick sometimes (and also with me, because if I made it too watery, I’d get it everywhere, haha), so maybe look at how much water you’re putting in. I went thick-pancake batter texture. Also sometimes Wick wasn’t into the syringe, so he’d lick it off my hand instead.

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.

[Malia]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I did order the apple banana kind to see how he’d like that. The vet told me to use it until he started eating normally again. Luckily, he’s been eating more since last night!

[Wick & Fable]

Great! I do want to note that there was a phase where the CC was prepped really thick so it could just be plopped on the plate and Wick would eat it off. Although it wasn’t confirmed, I suspect this is what caused him to have a bit of gas/smaller poops later on, so that was immediately stopped. Make sure the CC is always liquidy so it can travel through the gut effectively!

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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