Buck not eating for 4th day, help?

[mcrvdeb]

We are having a week! I have a Tamuk buck (~ 3 years old) that has not eaten any pellets and little if any oat hay since Monday. I noticed he had not eaten more than 1/4 of his measured portion by Tuesday afternoon, which never happens normally. Cleared out remaining pellets, replaced pellets and all hay and water. Poop tray had been cleaned Monday already and there was nothing on it, no urine or poop pellets.
Didn't eat or drink anything that I could see all day Wednesday and there were still no poops or urine on the tray. Wednesday evening I syringe fed him about 15ml of the Critical Care Herbivore mixed with just enough water to get it through the syringe tip.
Didn't eat overnight Wed so yesterday I again syringe fed about 20ml 4 times throughout the day. He swallowed what I gave him, didn't spit anything out, but he made it very clear when he had enough at each attempt. Since the tray was still clean, I could see that he had peed at least twice during the day Thursday and had only 2 poop pellets about the size of an oversized BB.
I have also tried to tempt him with a bit of banana, rolled oats (which he normally loves), calf manna pellets, and a small dish of the Critical Care Herbivore. No go. He hasn't touched any of it.
As of this morning, he had not eaten any of his pellets and it did not appear that he had been drinking overnight. No more poops yet.
Is there anything else I can do? Anything else I can add to his syringe feedings? I'm willing to continue the feedings if there is any chance he will get past this by doing so.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

You could try grinding pellets and putting them into water, then giving it to him
Does his stomach feel stiff? I had a Buck that stopped eating because he has GI Stasis

 

[mcrvdeb]

You could try grinding pellets and putting them into water, then giving it to him
Does his stomach feel stiff? I had a Buck that stopped eating because he has GI Stasis

I had tried the wet pellets on Wed before I did the syringe feeding but he wasn't interested. Stomach doesn't really feel stiff to me, but I don't usually feel his stomach so not sure. I looked up GI stasis after reading your comment and in one resource found the suggestion to give 1-2cc of simethicone every hour for 3 doses. I have that on hand, so I just gave him a dose. They also recommended the syringe feeding I'm already doing so I will continue those today. It was also suggested that the stomach be massaged from neck toward rear. Is that really a thing? He's already mad at me, I guess one more intrusion won't hurt.

 

[Alaska Satin]

We are having a week! I have a Tamuk buck (~ 3 years old) that has not eaten any pellets and little if any oat hay since Monday. I noticed he had not eaten more than 1/4 of his measured portion by Tuesday afternoon, which never happens normally. Cleared out remaining pellets, replaced pellets and all hay and water. Poop tray had been cleaned Monday already and there was nothing on it, no urine or poop pellets.
Didn't eat or drink anything that I could see all day Wednesday and there were still no poops or urine on the tray. Wednesday evening I syringe fed him about 15ml of the Critical Care Herbivore mixed with just enough water to get it through the syringe tip.
Didn't eat overnight Wed so yesterday I again syringe fed about 20ml 4 times throughout the day. He swallowed what I gave him, didn't spit anything out, but he made it very clear when he had enough at each attempt. Since the tray was still clean, I could see that he had peed at least twice during the day Thursday and had only 2 poop pellets about the size of an oversized BB.
I have also tried to tempt him with a bit of banana, rolled oats (which he normally loves), calf manna pellets, and a small dish of the Critical Care Herbivore. No go. He hasn't touched any of it.
As of this morning, he had not eaten any of his pellets and it did not appear that he had been drinking overnight. No more poops yet.
Is there anything else I can do? Anything else I can add to his syringe feedings? I'm willing to continue the feedings if there is any chance he will get past this by doing so.

@RabbitsOfTheCreek is right, you need to get something go in and out of him ASAP. Syringe feeding is an option, and Critical Care is a good choice. You might add NutriDrops for Rabbits, but most of our rabbits don't seem to like that, and honestly, Critical Care is a pretty good nutritional aid by itself. You don't have to mix it super dry, as he needs fluids at least as much as he needs food.

If he is willing to swallow what you put in him, keep that up. If he only takes a mL or two, that's still better than nothing. Just try to get that into him several times throughout the day. If you see any urine or poops, even small hard ones, that's a sign that things aren't hopelessly stalled - aim for that, at first.

Sometimes parsley can tempt a rabbit and improve its appetite. I usually offer the every green thing I can come up with (kale, romaine, dandelion leaves and flowers, chickweed, etc.). Kid of shoving things into his face till he gets annoyed and takes a bite can work, too. But if he's not drinking, either, getting him to eat will probably be all but impossible. Rabbits' bodies can't process food without adequate water.

GI stasis isn't necessarily a disease in itself, rather it's what happens when a rabbit stops eating and/or drinking: everything in the gut gets bound up and stuck, which is why it's so hard to counteract. If things are seriously impacted, no way a rabbit wants to put more in.

One thing we've found with rabbits who've suffered this way is that they often respond to love, simply. We had a Mini Rex that would only eat and drink while my daughter held and petted him (he had one of the worst cases of mucoid enteritis that I've ever seen, but he did make it).

I've read about using simethicone too, but have never had it do anything I could perceive as helpful. Also, it's hard to get a simethicone preparation without all kinds of nasty additives (multiple dyes, titanium dioxide, maltodextrose, silica, polypropylene glycol, even shellac!), which are probably not helpful for a rabbit with a gut ache. Why anyone would add that stuff to a preparation that's supposed to help a gut ache is beyond me!

After four days of this, I wouldn't be super hopeful about pulling your buck around, but as long as the rabbit is willing to keep hanging in there, I'd keep trying. The fact that you did get some urine and poo out of him is hopeful. You might have to keep forcing the issue for a few days until his system gets moving on its own again. We've had rabbits, and other animals, pull through things the "experts" assured us never would happen!

Good luck and God bless!

 

[mcrvdeb]

@RabbitsOfTheCreek is right, you need to get something go in and out of him ASAP. Syringe feeding is an option, and Critical Care is a good choice. You might add NutriDrops for Rabbits, but most of our rabbits don't seem to like that, and honestly, Critical Care is a pretty good nutritional aid by itself. You don't have to mix it super dry, as he needs fluids at least as much as he needs food.

If he is willing to swallow what you put in him, keep that up. If he only takes a mL or two, that's still better than nothing. Just try to get that into him several times throughout the day. If you see any urine or poops, even small hard ones, that's a sign that things aren't hopelessly stalled - aim for that, at first.

Sometimes parsley can tempt a rabbit and improve its appetite. I usually offer the every green thing I can come up with (kale, romaine, dandelion leaves and flowers, chickweed, etc.). Kid of shoving things into his face till he gets annoyed and takes a bite can work, too. But if he's not drinking, either, getting him to eat will probably be all but impossible. Rabbits' bodies can't process food without adequate water.

GI stasis isn't necessarily a disease in itself, rather it's what happens when a rabbit stops eating and/or drinking: everything in the gut gets bound up and stuck, which is why it's so hard to counteract. If things are seriously impacted, no way a rabbit wants to put more in.

One thing we've found with rabbits who've suffered this way is that they often respond to love, simply. We had a Mini Rex that would only eat and drink while my daughter held and petted him (he had one of the worst cases of mucoid enteritis that I've ever seen, but he did make it).

I've read about using simethicone too, but have never had it do anything I could perceive as helpful. Also, it's hard to get a simethicone preparation without all kinds of nasty additives (multiple dyes, titanium dioxide, maltodextrose, silica, polypropylene glycol, even shellac!), which are probably not helpful for a rabbit with a gut ache. Why anyone would add that stuff to a preparation that's supposed to help a gut ache is beyond me!

After four days of this, I wouldn't be super hopeful about pulling your buck around, but as long as the rabbit is willing to keep hanging in there, I'd keep trying. The fact that you did get some urine and poo out of him is hopeful. You might have to keep forcing the issue for a few days until his system gets moving on its own again. We've had rabbits, and other animals, pull through things the "experts" assured us never would happen!

Good luck and God bless!

What about yogurt? Worth a try or not? I don't want to make anything worse, but willing to give anything a shot. I don't have any fresh greens of any sort (produce or wild plant) here. Are there any dry herbs that might stimulate digestion in rabbits?