My rabbit wont eat or drink

thanks very much for your help and advice guys! frank has had his pellets in a syringe and he has been nibbling hay a bit aswell so fingers crossed it may kick start his appetite. The pro biotic is named avipro, not vipro that was a typo error. lol.

Iv seen a few vets now and all but one have been great and full of all the right info. It does seem a good idea to find a bunny savvy vet so if anyone has any recommendations for the bournemouth area. that would be great.

Thanks again guys. will keep you posted

Nathan and laura

Here's a picture of frank & Betty

Frank is on the left. Bless him.

Just logged back on to see how Frank was doing and very pleased to see he has eaten something

Avipro is what they give to make them eat so it could be working as well.

Oh let's hope he keep's up the good work and keep's eating

Mrbroom wrote:Here's a picture of frank & Betty

Frank is on the left. Bless him.

Oh Bless them both they are gorgeous...Little and Large

That is good news that Frank is starting to eat on his own - non-eating bunnies are such a worry. Hopefully his eating will soon be back to normal. I find fresh herbs are good for kick-starting eating and dried forage is also good with my buns.

I usually keep some jars of baby food in to use as a syringe feed when mixed with softened pellets.

Fingers crossed that Frank continues to do well.

So glad to hear that Frank is picking up.

Stasis is awful because it can flare up so suddenly and if established, can be really stubborn to deal with. The usual treatment is a gut stimulent (usually metaclopramide), a pain killer and sometimes a antibiotic. That often nips the problem in the bud early.

However, getting water and food into the bun is critical. I always found that my buns would take soaked pellets especially if the problem was started by sore teeth (which I know wasn't the case here). They are so much easier to chew for a bun that just isn't very interested in food.

Definitely trying to find a bun savvy vet is really important as not all vets are as knowledgeable about rabbits as you would think.

If you check in the Rabbit Care section, you will find lots of articles giving advice about bunny problems and I have attached a link to the GI Stasis section which has a really helpful Flowchart to help you know how serious your bun's problem may be and what you can do to help.

https://happyhoppers.forumotion.co.uk/t14490-gastro-intestinal-stasis-causes-symptoms-treatment

I am so glad to hear he has picked up. Good luck with the feeds and sending vibes to him that he starts to eat and drink independently, and hugs to you. It must be such a worrying time

How is Frank today?

I hope he's feeling better!

Hiya.

Frank has perked right up. Still not quite himself but certainly alot better. We have taken little betty to be spayed today and spoken to the vet regarding frank. I must admit that they do seem very rabbit savvy. They deal with lots of bunnies every day. He's had his mushy pellet and eaten some carrot and hay. His poops are also more regular and a better size.

Very very happy he seems on the up, and thanks again for all your help and advice.

I have a few other questions for you guys, In the hope that we can prevent this happening in the future. Im thinking that we perhaps have there diet a bit wrong?

At the moment we are feeding a bowl full of pellets and filling it every time we see it empty, they always have fresh (timothy hay) and we feed them broccoli, carrots and carrot tops, kale, rocket, and sometimes some baby sweetcorn.

We dont feed them set ammounts per day so i was wondering if you guys would be kind enough to give us a guide from experience with your own bunnies? Also one of our rabbits is very greedy (betty) how do we make sure frank is getting the food he needs without her pigging out?

Guide is an egg cup full of pellets per day rest of diet should consist of mainly hay with some veg. I used to feed mine a bowl of pellets a day though.

I hope Frank is all better today!

gentl wrote:I hope Frank is all better today!

Thank you very much for the card. My other half says she will print it and put it on his cage.

I'm glad to hear that be is better

I agree with Velvet Tears, an egg cup of pellets per day per rabbit is the recommended amount (or a shot glass in our case ) But because you have been feeding them pretty much unlimited, I don't think you shouldn't just reduce it to an egg cup immediately. I would think you should reduce it gradually so you don't cause stomach upsets.

The vast majority of a rabbits diet, as much as 90%, should be a good quality hay (a variety of hay is even better!). There are lots of places online that you can buy it and we'd be more than happy to let you know where to start looking if you want some pointers

My two get veg daily but they don't get much at all. I give them 2 kinds at a time. Usually carrot tops and kale or carrot tops and broccoli of broccoli and kale. Can you see a pattern emerging? They don't like very much and I've tried loads of different stuff!

Ask all the questing you need to, we're more than happy to help

Eta, I have a greedy bun too! Junior eats too quick and Molly likes to take her time. I've found 2 ways to get round this, 1. Watch them eat and intervene when necessary. 2. Put their pellets in a treat ball (can be bought online also, think we got ours from eBay) They get exercise and food at the same time. Win win

Thumper2001 wrote:I'm glad to hear that be is better

I agree with Velvet Tears, an egg cup of pellets per day per rabbit is the recommended amount (or a shot glass in our case ) But because you have been feeding them pretty much unlimited, I don't think you shouldn't just reduce it to an egg cup immediately. I would think you should reduce it gradually so you don't cause stomach upsets.

The vast majority of a rabbits diet, as much as 90%, should be a good quality hay (a variety of hay is even better!). There are lots of places online that you can buy it and we'd be more than happy to let you know where to start looking if you want some pointers

My two get veg daily but they don't get much at all. I give them 2 kinds at a time. Usually carrot tops and kale or carrot tops and broccoli of broccoli and kale. Can you see a pattern emerging? They don't like very much and I've tried loads of different stuff!

Ask all the questing you need to, we're more than happy to help

Eta, I have a greedy bun too! Junior eats too quick and Molly likes to take her time. I've found 2 ways to get round this, 1. Watch them eat and intervene when necessary. 2. Put their pellets in a treat ball (can be bought online also, think we got ours from eBay) They get exercise and food at the same time. Win win

Timothy hay does look the best we can see through the shops. Is there a better option online? Had a good look at the PDF on this site, regarding feeding and saved a copy so that gives me a good base to learn from, seems that its different for every bunny and the key is to watch them carefully. Great tip on the pellets,we shall try that. Were using pets at homes own pellet at the moment,are these ok to use or should i seek better quality? Thanks again

Timothy is good, my two love it! They eat that and excel Herbage like its going out of fashion. They also like burns green oat hay.

I'm not exactly an expert on hay myself, I've only had Molly and Junior since March and Thumper was a bunny who didn't like hay I buy the green oat hay from The Hay Experts, if you google them, you will find them

Hopefully someone with better hay knowledge than me can help you out some more.

Thumper ate pets at home pellets most of her life and she was absolutely fine on it, I have no complaints about it either. I only switched her over to excel because I felt she would benefit from the pellets they do for mature buns. (I don't think p@h do mature ones I never noticed them in our store anyway!)

If you do decide to change pellets, do it gradually, changing 10% per day

Hope this helps

I'm so pleased Frank is making a recovery

They are both stunning, too - you need to put some full-size piccies on for us

Because he is so fluffy I am wondering if he has ingested a lot of fur - most buns seem to be going through a moult at the moment. Do you brush him?

Hay - we have farm hay by the bale, which is intended to be cheap bedding hay but we actually love it - the thicker and stalkier, the better. We also have Ings from Hay For Pets as a 'treat' hay, then occasional bags of herby hays from Vita Verde or Excel. Wilkinsons do a small bag of Dandelion and Green Oat Hay which I go bonkers for

You will be doing your buns the biggest favour ever by cutting their pellets right down (slowly, as has been said) and getting them to eat lots and lots and lots of hay. Veg - we have about a cupful between two of us, and that is mostly herbs - coriander, basil, parsley, mint, dill. We also get tiny bits of mange tout, baby sweetcorn, broccoli, cauliflower leaves and cauliflower but not all the same day (unless Hudad does our veg, then we get loads of everything )

I'd cut the carrots right down - a small piece once or twice a week at most. It's full of sugar and can upset buns tums. Also broccoli you need to be a tiny bit conservative with as it can cause gassiness. Don't give them loads of veg, but vary it a bit from day to day. When introducing any new food, including veg, do it gradually - a little tiny bit then keep an eye on their poops.

Great news that Frank is feeling better

Sparky has given some great advice re food and hay. As with Sparky's two foots, I buy farm hay by the bale for putting in litter trays and then more expensive stuff for using in hay racks. They currently have rye hay in the litter trays which is very stalky but which they love.

If you wanted to try the buns on different types of hay to find out which they may prefer can I suggest this

http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/edibles/hay-grasses.html?hay_type=11

All mine love dried forage too, for example this, which you can mix into hay

http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/burns-meadow-mix.html

The Hay Experts is a wonderful place to stock up on food, treats and toys Be careful not to get too carried away though!

[quote="Sparky"]I'm so pleased Frank is making a recovery

They are both stunning, too - you need to put some full-size piccies on for us

Because he is so fluffy I am wondering if he has ingested a lot of fur - most buns seem to be going through a moult at the moment. Do you brush him?

Hay - we have farm hay by the bale, which is intended to be cheap bedding hay but we actually love it - the thicker and stalkier, the better. We also have Ings from Hay For Pets as a 'treat' hay, then occasional bags of herby hays from Vita Verde or Excel. Wilkinsons do a small bag of Dandelion and Green Oat Hay which I go bonkers for

You will be doing your buns the biggest favour ever by cutting their pellets right down (slowly, as has been said) and getting them to eat lots and lots and lots of hay. Veg - we have about a cupful between two of us, and that is mostly herbs - coriander, basil, parsley, mint, dill. We also get tiny bits of mange tout, baby sweetcorn, broccoli, cauliflower leaves and cauliflower but not all the same day (unless Hudad does our veg, then we get loads of everything )

Got quite a few pics of the bunnies. How do i go about uploading more full size pics? He has just started a moult, so the brushing will begin now. If im honest we havent been brushing him daily as its been hard to keep him still (without a fight) now we understand the seriousness of ingesting fur, we will be ruthless. He is a hairy little thing. Iv found some better looking pellets with a much higher fiber quantity, oxbow bunny basics T which is made from timothy hay. Sounds much better than the ones were using now.

The herb idea is great as they do seem to love them. I'll have to start growing my own stuff just for them.

This should help

https://happyhoppers.forumotion.co.uk/t14-how-to-post-images

Sixer wrote:Great news that Frank is feeling better

Sparky has given some great advice re food and hay. As with Sparky's two foots, I buy farm hay by the bale for putting in litter trays and then more expensive stuff for using in hay racks. They currently have rye hay in the litter trays which is very stalky but which they love.

If you wanted to try the buns on different types of hay to find out which they may prefer can I suggest this

http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/edibles/hay-grasses.html?hay_type=11

All mine love dried forage too, for example this, which you can mix into hay

http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/burns-meadow-mix.html

The Hay Experts is a wonderful place to stock up on food, treats and toys Be careful not to get too carried away though!

I didnt realise there were so many choices! The bunnies are going to be spoilt for choice. Think i may go for the variety pack and see how they like different ones. These bunnies are so so spoilt. I think they eat better then we do!

I use the Oxbow Bunny Basics T - the adult pellets. I can recommend them highly.

In fact they are very very cheap to buy from here right now, although I see they are out of stock again. Maybe because I have ordered six bags but the 4.5kg size normally costs me £15-£16.

https://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/products-Oxbow-Bunny-Basics-Adult-Rabbit-Food_HB5355.htm

Mrbroom wrote:If im honest we havent been brushing him daily as its been hard to keep him still (without a fight)

I give Mojo a handful of Readigrass to keep him quiet whilst he has his daily groom. It doesn't have to be Readigrass though, it could be any of his favourite noms that will keep him still (and aren't bad for him to have every day). If you're investing in some herbs these might be good, or you could give him his greens/pellets whilst you do it if he loves them as much as my two do

Don't make the mistake of picking him up to brush him - us lot take to it a lot more kindly if we're left on the floor (preferably with something nommy, as FluffSlave says) and brushed. We put up with that for much longer before hopping off, because we know we can when we want to.

We have a mixture of Science Selective and Burgess Excel pellets. Humum prefers the SS but gives us a mix so there are two things our tummies are used to having instead of just one. But there are 14 of us, so she has to buy food a couple of sacks at a time anyway...


Oh, and be careful on The Hay Experts. The first time my Humum went on there, this happened:

Sparky, were you on the internet again!

I get my hay from our local equine country shop. It sells big bales of hay and my buns absolutely adore it. It smells really 'green' and fresh and not dry and dusty like a lot of the stuff you get in major suppliers. Also, I know it comes from about 40 miles away.

Buns should have the majority of their food from hay because they need the fibre to keep their gut healthy and functioning correction, and also to wear down their ever growing teeth.

I give each of my buns a litter tray full of hay in the morning sprinkled with a small handful of pellets. They get some veggies at bedtime - usually a couple of different things. In the summer, I also give them dandelions, grass, etc. They also like apple branches and leaves.