Help new doe not eating

[tomfc2]

we have just gotten in to raising bunnies. we bought 4 at the Wisconsin state rabbit breeders show to help make sure we got good quality bunnies, we figure if they place in a state show we would have good bunnies. any way we got 2 bucks and 2 does of the rare giant chinchilla breed, and it has been a week and 3 of them are getting more and more active and just happy looking, they play with our kids and run great on leashes around the yard dragging kids. But now the third 5mo old doe started slowing down eating (even the pellets the breeder sent wit us) and about 2 days ago stopped eating all together her belly feels swollen with gas the breeder told me to give her generic infant gas drops but it did not help. so we took her to the vet yesterday, she gave her 20cc water IV, had me give 1cc mineral oil to lube up the works 2x day, and a anti-biotic, she sent the IV water home so we could keep her hydrated. as for food she had me take out everything but the water and dried grass, the vet also breeds rabbits (new ze and Calif). I am so hoping this is just a reaction to getting new foods and not adapting well and if we can get her over it she will be a good breeder her ancestors have many best of breeds and 1st place showings in state and one national shows.

I know if she displays this as a on-going issue we will need to cull her but she is 25% of our first gene pool right now. she has perfect lines and color we could show her and have good chance of taking a show or two, so if anyone knows of something that would help us at least give Dancer a chance me and the kids would appreciate it.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I would give her hay and some old fashion oats.. the large flakes that you can get from the grocier store.. and give a pinch of flax seed. Then slowly give back her pellets...as goes for mineral oil. YOu have to keep doing that twice a day until you see her eat...or you can try the hair ball stuff for cats in the tube .. you can get that at walmart. And Make her move around .

 

[Marinea]

I second what Mary Ann said- hay and oats. Make sure your "dried grass" is dry and not moldy. There are weeds that are harmful to buns, so make sure it's good. Give her lots of exercise time.

I would also consider some bite sized pieces of parsley or the yard weed plantain. I believe it can stimulate appetite.

I hope she gets better. Please keep us updated.

 

[tomfc2]

OK, its do or die time;


I took advice on exercise, not a fun time of basically pushing and pulling a frightfully sick bun around the yard for a while. then palpating her belly hoping what ever is blocking her moves. then back to the table for a double IV dose of saline water 24cc and her anti-biotic followed by 10 cc water orally and 1cc mineral oil. then as she she has not eaten solids in 3 days took your advice on the rolled oats but she will not eat them dry tried cooking to make able to squirt into her mouth but coked natural oats are too chunky to fit through the only thing I had on hand to get them into her mouth far enough to make her eat them, the rinsed out honey bear so we had to use instant natural oats as they are broken up more finely and can be made into a slurry as I do not have a food processor at my shop where the bunnies are located but I have about 10 lbs instant oatmeal for me. so if you look in the photo I filed up the bear with thin oatmeal to the neck of the bear and slowly got the couple ounces in her after about 20 minutes of this she started perking up and fighting me a little bit. after all this I put her in to a quarantine cage with separated dropping try to see if she does anything. with 1/2cup water in both a dish and bottle 1 plastic spoonful dry rolled oats in one dish and a little fine cut dried grass hay. after I put her in the cage she did drink some dish water but not too much. my wife will be getting of work tonight about 11:30 and will go over there and if necessary give liquids and oatmeal to her if she does not eat anything in the mean time.

I know about the issues with moldy hay but it is freshly cut by a local farmer and the other buns are eating it without any issues Dancer is one of 4 new rabbits we have and all get the same feeds even the other one we got from the same breeder at the same time as her.

during the feeding of the oatmeal I was ready to get the pellet gun until she started to get a little scrappy about having something crammed in her mouth and being fed. She was basically acting as if she was half dead until the force feeding.<br /><br />__________ Sat Sep 14, 2013 6:04 pm __________<br /><br />this is a picture of the buck we bought from the same breeder as Dancer His name is Fergus (the kids named them) see how totally cute and happy he looks? she looked very similar when we got them

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

there is one more thing you can try is to put some molasses in her water or on top of her oats.. Just very little.. If she is fighting you to force feed.. You might be able to save her yet. ..Because she is getting Iv.. I don't think you have to force the water anymore.. She has to start eating.. all she needs is a little bit a day and bang one day she will start pickup more food each day...Romaine lettuce is another one.. they have a hard time passing that up. Her gut needs the good bacteria back in it to work right.
Keep doing the oatmeal.. at least that is putting something in there.. IS she pooping at all

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hi Tom,

I am sorry you are having such problems, especially when you tried to get the best quality rabbits you could find in order to start out the right way.

Good job on the force feeding.

Since she seemed bloated, her gut flora may be off. Probiotic paste may help her, and certainly wont hurt. I use Bene-Bac by Manna Pro marketed for livestock (goats, sheep, horses, etc.) and just squirt a bit into their mouth daily for about a week.

I think it highly unlikely that she has wool block already, but the treatment prescribed by the vet indicates that she believes there may be some sort of blockage. The enzyme Bromelain helps to break up protein (hair/fur) and is commonly given to rabbits to break up hairballs. Natural sources of Bromelain are pineapple and papaya, but it is also the active ingredient in Adolf's Meat Tenderizer. Healthfood stores also often sell tablets derived from papaya or pineapple to aid in digestion.

You could offer her the fresh fruit, but a more sure-fire way to get it into her would be to add the Adolf's powder to the slurry next time. I would also add molasses. Not only will it make the food more palatable, but it is loaded with vitamins and minerals, and the sugar content will give her energy.

I addition to water, I would offer her an electrolyte solution. Many rabbits seem to enjoy Gatorade (orange is a favorite flavor), but you can make your own even healthier alternative easily at home.

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:hi: to RabbitTalk, by the way. Hopefully most of your future posts will be the sharing of triumphs rather than troubles! :clover:

 

[tomfc2]

if I can find the adolf's how much should I put in?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I would give her about 1/4 to a 1/2 teaspoon. It is pretty high in salt content, otherwise I would give even more. You will find it in the grocery store near the spices.

Good luck!

 

[tomfc2]

ok got it and some black strap molasses gave about 1/4 tsp adolf's and a drop of molasses also added a little scrapings from the center of one of my multivitamins to aid in the missing vitamins she should have been eating and licking from her mineral spool. avoided the outer 'coating' as I do not know what it is made from.

she is passing very small amount of stool and it sticks to her fur I have to rinse it out with my sink sprayer. also tonight there is a little blood on her rectum. if she does not turn around by tomorrow evening it is not good to let her suffer, she looks miserable all hunched up. well I got to pick up the kids from grandmas and get them to bed.

thank you

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Aww. I am sorry you are not seeing a lot of improvement.

If you have a bulb syringe (commonly called a "snot sucker" by new moms), maybe you could give her a mineral oil enema. I would use only a TBSP since there is no way of knowing if there is a blockage in the lower intestine and you don't want to introduce too much fluid which could possibly rupture the intestines. If you warm it slightly it will be more comfortable for her.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

if she is still hunched up.. and it has been this long.. I put her down. she is suffering.. It might not be a blockage. If she passes.. If you can handle it.. open her up and post picks.

 

[ladysown]

I would put her down. I know it sucks to do so, but you don't want to breed that weakness (gut weakness when stressed) into your lines anyways.

 

[tomfc2]

I had a show this morning (I have a ceramics studio www.whiteriverpottery.com) and I went out there and since she was still not doing well I put her down about 4am here and buried her as she was on antibiotics and a unknown illness, so no visiting freezer camp. I should have posted pictures but I did not check the forum until just now and I will have the kids with me the rest of the day (7and 9yo) so not digging up bunny for pictures sorry.

Thank you everyone for your help in trying to help my bunny looks like we need another Giant Chinchilla Rabbit doe about 8-10 mo with a pedigree with at least a few show bunnies on it if anyone has or knows someone with one send me a line, my phone number is on my website under 'contact us'

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I had a show this morning (I have a ceramics studio http://www.whiteriverpottery.com) and I went out there and since she was still not doing well I put her down about 4am here and buried her as she was on antibiotics and a unknown illness, so no visiting freezer camp. I should have posted pictures but I did not check the forum until just now and I will have the kids with me the rest of the day (7and 9yo) so not digging up bunny for pictures sorry.

Thank you everyone for your help in trying to help my bunny looks like we need another Giant Chinchilla Rabbit doe about 8-10 mo with a pedigree with at least a few show bunnies on it if anyone has or knows someone with one send me a line, my phone number is on my website under 'contact us'

Really, really sorry, I think you did the right thing but it's just rotten luck.