Lethargic, no appetite buck, Help Please?

[oxrayfarm]

First off I just want to say thank you to everyone on here! Ya'll have helped me so much, I've been a long time reader and researcher from rabbit talk but this is the first question I need to ask.

Some background:

My standard rex buck is acting very sick. It started yesterday. He hasn't eaten his grain or really any hay. I noticed that he isn't drinking much/any water either. He's really lethargic, sitting all curled up with sleepy eyes. No diarrhea to speak of although is pooh is smaller than any of the other rex's (they are all does though). I cleaned his tray out this morning so I'll be able to see if he poops at all, I am afraid he might not be poohing. I'll have more info on that later in the day. However without eating = no poop? His fur looks fine albeit shedding a bit more due to the heat. But his fur doesn't look any different than any of the other bunz. We did have a few days in the high 80's but for the most part 70* weather has been normal. The hutch is under the deck with a mister-fan system, and never receives direct sunlight, I also do the frozen water bottle dance. This started when it was cooler out not when temps were in the high 80's. He does seem too skinny, I am not sure how fast rabbits drop weight, but he hasn't eaten in over 24 hours.

Diet: (which has not changed, he's been eating like this for 6+ months now) natural grain mixture similar to Storeys Guide to Raising Rabbits, Alfalfa/Grass hay free choice, fresh greens including raspberry shoots, grass clover, willow, cat-tails, strawberry leafs. He gets all of these things within the week (I try and rotate out so it's not the same ole stuff every day.) Water is fed in a 2 liter bottle with a nipple attachment, plus 1 tsp. Organic ACV. He also has a mineral wheel that I have NEVER seen him lick. Could he possibly be mineral deficient?

I have a cage set up not a colony set up.

I have tried tempting him with rolled oats and a light molasses/water mixture, which he LOVES when I feed them that in the winter.

He is my meat rabbit buck, so a trip to the vet is out. I thought maybe it might be wool block since he is summer shedding, but can that happen to a non wool rabbit? Could it possibly be coccidiosis, but he doesn't have diarrhea and I thought that was the hallmark symptom?

Should I force liquids? If so how? Any advice on how to get food/water into him would be helpful.

Thanks so much!

 

[PulpFaction]

He might just be a bit depressed because he's molting. I think there's another thread on this as well. A few of my bucks go through this when they are molting bad. It does seem it's always the bucks, never does.

 

[SatinsRule]

Put some ice into his cage (cubes in his water crock, and freeze a water-filled liter coke bottle) and see if it changes his activity any. What I'm getting at is that his inactivity may be heat-related, and if he suddenly gets more active after he's had ice to cool off by, that will tell you where the problem lies and that all you really need to do is help the animal from day to day with regulating its body temperature. If it goes on too long without any assistance, he may not be able to recover from it.

Failing that, try putting some vitamin/electrolyte mix into his water on a daily basis. That usually helps.

 

[curlysue]

Yes, non wool breeds can get fur blockages.Feed pineapple juice.If you can get some mineral oil in him it will get things moving.i squirt a teaspoonful into its mouth every day.I use a syringe w no needle.three days if thats what his problem.either way it wont hurt him.i use gatorade or powerade on bunnies not drinking enough the syringe will get the liquid in.mine like the orange flavor.

 

[oxrayfarm]

Thanks all! I did add some electrolytes to his water but still not drinking, I'll get a needless syringe and give him some by mouth. I did notice he has pooped and they look normal.

He did manage to eat some clover not much but some. Still hasn't touched the grains or hay. I have been doing the frozen water bottles and those seem to help when it's really hot. It's been cool though the last few days and this started when it was cool outside. Some lethargy and lack of appetite is normal due to heat, even I get that way in the summer... I can't imagine having a fur coat on too.

A few of my bucks go through this when they are molting bad. It does seem it's always the bucks, never does.

I didn't realize they would feel it more acutely. I'll continue to keep an eye on him, maybe he's just depressed from the molt. Who knows?

 

[SatinsRule]

I probably saved my Cal Satin breeder buck by doing a daily grooming routine to get rid of dead hairs during an extraordinarily heavy moult, the kind a breeder sees when the animal has a really dense coat. At the first of it, he wasn't eating at all and was losing weight at an alarming rate until I began grooming him for 10-15 minutes a day, 5-6 days a week. As soon as I started doing that for him, his apetite and activity picked up dramatically, and he's back to his normal weight of 10 lbs. I've also been keeping vitamin/electrolyte mixed water in front of all my rabbits and they've held up remarkably well thus far.

The weather doesn't have to be extreme (100+) for a buck or doe to be adversely effected. A sudden change in temperature can trigger it, also.

Start grooming your rabbit daily and see how he reacts. All it takes is a spray water bottle, a carpet rug, and a few minutes of time rubbing with the normal front-to-back lay of their coat until the moisture is gone. As the coat begins to dry, you should notice a reduction in loose hair coming off the rabbit. If it's still coming off rather heavily, spray the rabbit again and repeat the process. It will likely take several days to get the majority of the loose hair off, but it normally will result in a marked increase of normal activity on the part of the rabbit.

 

[hoodat]

My buck got like that and I finally figured out it was just that he was bored to tears. I started taking him out of his cage for a run in a fenced yard two or three times a week and he perked right up.

 

[eco2pia]

My buck got like that and I finally figured out it was just that he was bored to tears. I started taking him out of his cage for a run in a fenced yard two or three times a week and he perked right up.

You know, I have been wondering if that is my buck's main problem--poor guy only gets to do his job every few months, so what does he do all day? I have a 15x25 foot chicken-proof dog run, I think with supervision he could get out there and really tear it up once in a while. The chickens and the dog will just have to share.