Injured juvenille--need advice!

Once of the 8 week olds got its forearm caught between the feeder and outer wire--the fur/skin is pulled back to the armpit. It can hop around and the arm isn't broken, but what should I do with her?

I will try to post a picture this afternoon.

thx

Poor thing! I'd likely put her down. Meat rabbit, close to butchering age... I wouldn't put her through all the pain just to end up in freezer camp in a few weeks time.

And be sure to fix the problem so it doesn't happen again!<br /><br />__________ Sun Jan 31, 2010 3:17 pm __________<br /><br />

she has a ways to go to butcher size. do you think it would heal? I sealed up the area she got her forearm in...

how badly has she skinned herself?

I'd personally be tempted to euthanize her now - the pain/shock alone can kill an adult rabbit let alone a baby

however if it isn't bad and she's eating and bright (don't forget she'll do everything she can to hide the pain being a prey animal) what would happen here is the wound would be very carefully cleaned - she would get painkillers and she would go into a SPOTLESS warm cage to heal - where I could CAREFULLY monitor her input and output

I have moved her to a "hospital cage and have fresh water and pellets in crocks. As she is solo, I have moved her into our laundry room (70*) for recovery.

She hops holding her one paw up; She is skinned from her armpit to elbow... I trimmed the dangling fur away. The wound is clean and not bleeding...

Is it wrong to try to help her heal?

it's only wrong if she is suffering - but suffering in prey animals can be very hard to judge
it isn't in their best interest to admit they are sore or weak - so if she's holding her paw up it must be pretty painful ...

the fact it isn't bleeding could be a good or bad sign - and that's impossible for me to judge on the net ... bleeding cleanses and proves there is circulation .. not bleeding can indicate impairment there ..

watch how she eats and drinks and moves - and PLEASE euthanized if there is suffering
poor you and poor her - I hate stuff like that

Brody,
Thank you--we don't want her to suffer either. If she doesn't eat or drink this afternoon, I will put her down... We want to be cognizant of the animals welfare--I don't want her and any of them to suffer. I also don't want to end a life prematurely. Not a fun tradeoff.

it's a tough balance - especially when you are fairly new to this kind of thing ... cover her partly and resist the temptation to check on her - just let her be and then see in 4-8 hours how she is doing

I have a lovely collection of drugs now - but it took a long time to develop a collection of what I need to have on hand and a vet willing to trust me with them .. here I could give her pain meds so would probably leave her 12 hours or so ...

It's never an easy call. I'm sure you will do what you feel is best for the rabbit, CH.

Brody, what pain meds are suitable for rabbits and what kind of a dose would you use?

my personal preference is metacam - rabbits tolerate a slightly higher dose than dogs and cats but I usually start with the cat dose .. metacam tried to simplify dispensing with a doser so it it is all related to weight
it's not a drug you can safely use without know the rabbit's weight ..
it's once a day usually (though with rabbits in extreme pain I have used it twice a day for a couple of days) and must be taken with food - making the ability to force feed very useful ..it actually seems to taste ok though ...
it is NOT ideal for long term pain - I try to use it no more than 1 week

she is eating pellets and drinking....
crossing fingers...

that's a good sign ... too bad you don't have antibiotics

That's a very good sign.
I have heard that willow leaves help with pain. How deep is the cut?

Emily

Brody- Do rabbits tolerate flumeglumine which is what we do for goats for pain and inflammation?
B~

It's the bark of the willow that has the best analgesic effects. That's a good idea, Emily. I should have thought of that.

banamine right?
I know it for horses (particularly colic) ... trying to see if I can find anything - the piece I'd worry about most is doseage

cool beans - found this on a site about GI Statis
"The importance of analgesia to a rabbit's recovery cannot be overstated. A rabbit suffering from GI stasis will sometimes just seem to give up and die, possibly because of the sometimes extreme abdominal pain. Although officially approved only for use in horses, flunixin meglumine (Banamine) is an excellent NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) for use in rabbits. Although this drug can produce gastric ulcers in some species, substantial anecdotal evidence (involving many hundreds of rabbits over a period of many years) suggests that Banamine is tolerated well by rabbits, even when administered daily for several weeks. We have observed no adverse side effects from Banamine in our rabbits, some of whom have had to receive it daily for a week or longer.

Meloxicam (metacam) and Rimadyl (carprofen) are other NSAIDs which have been used with good results in rabbits.

Torbugesic, an opioid analgesic, provides good pain relief at relatively low doses. Although some practitioners fear that an opioid might contribue to GI slowdown, pain can certainly do the same."
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html<br /><br />__________ Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:10 pm __________<br /><br />Franklin loves his piece of willow - he gets about 4 inches of twig three times a week

I will get her some willow; just returned from dinner. SHe has been eating, pooping and drinking...

fingers crossed...<br /><br />__________ Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:00 pm __________<br /><br />I gave her a half cup of pellets, she moved in and began eating. The wound is very pink; looks clean, but she has poops on her underside as she is laying most of the time. If she makes it thru tonight and finishes the feed, I will see her as a survivor--this one will deserve some R/R...

i know that i've had bunnies be injured and make good comebacks. I'm not so quick to cull them out for injuries because they can heal so very quickly.

as long as they eat and drink, I keep the wound clean I just let them be.

AM update:

she is alive, eating etc and is sitting in a ball--normal pose rather than laying down. I will pull the poop berries out so the box is clean and give her more food/water for the day.

Glad to hear she is making progress. Did she eat the willow bark? It should help make her more comfortable.