Treating a rabbit with wool block / ileus

[-HRanchito]

So Penny definitely has the wool block. I was so focused on the kits that I wasn't be very attentive to Penny. Over the course of about 5 days, she's gone from plump and healthy to all milk and bones. For a few days she was on oats and hay, but now won't even eat that and stopped pooping. I really don't want to lose her. I'm giving her baby gas drops

a couple questions for you guys--

-Her kits are at 17 days. Think I should go ahead and wean? Penny is taking great care of them, but it's killing her since she's not eating.

-Has anyone figured out a calorie conversion from pellets? I'm going to put her on a forcefed regimen of Gatorade and then Pedialyte once I go to the store. I'm wondering how many calories I should try to get into her?

-Shopping list: Pedialyte, Pineapple Juice...anything else? I think she's beyond papaya tablets, but anything I can put in the dropper that would help?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

This thread has lots of information on wool block:

wool-block-info-t10564.html

Her kits are at 17 days. Think I should go ahead and wean?

They will probably do fine on oats and hay and possibly a very limited amount of pellets. You might want to allow them to nurse once a day for a few days.

anything I can put in the dropper that would help?

You might try mineral oil- it is commonly used when horses colic, so it is safe.

I hope Penny will be okay! :clover: She is a beautiful doe.

 

[Secuono]

Give her veggie oil in small amounts.
I use it on my cats once a week to help keep hairballs away.
But since it seems you waited so long, it might be too late if she is that thin now.

 

[SarahMelisse]

Hmm... all I can say is try forcing pineapple juice and Gatorade as you said and then offer hay. Unfortunately once its full blown wool block, it's a lengthy process to get them back to normal. I wish you much luck though!!!

 

[hoodat]

You might try papaya. I prefer fresh but if she isn't eating that won't work. You can get papaya tablets though and force feed a couple. I've had good luck with papaya for wool block. It mats down the block and shrinks the size of it so it can move on through. I feed a small slice of papaya to each of my rabbits once a month or so as a preventive measure even though Rex has less trouble with wool block since the guard hairs are all but absent.

 

[-HRanchito]

Thanks guys. It's a rough time for me moneywise and I think I have the flu. Poor Penny's wool is all loose, so now she has some bald spots from the plucking. I trimmed what's left of her coat so she doesn't look like a mad scientist. I can't stop sneezing either so we are a pretty pathetic pair right now.

I ended up with pedialyte and some banana/pineapple baby food which I am mixing together with the gas drops and veg oil. I want to go back for the papaya tabs on Friday. Every couple hours I am feeding her a few ccs, along with giving belly massages. She was a little rag doll yesterday and just let me feed her. Today she has the energy to struggle a bit, which i'm taking as a good sign. But after a few minutes she'll stop swallowing, give me a mean look and just dribble it out on my sleeve.

I can feel the mass in there, and it's pretty close to the tail end of her system, and I've been reading up on giving enemas..has anyone ever done such a thing? I know all you meat rabbit folks wouldn't bother, lol, I am just an incurable sap.

The kits are eating their oats, so I think i'll just let the smallest two in to nurse. The last thing I need is mastitis on top of things.

 

[Miss M]

But since it seems you waited so long

She didn't "wait". She didn't realize what was happening. I imagine it's more difficult to see that a wool breed is thin than a non-wool breed, too.

I hope you can save her, HRanchito! It's probably good that you trimmed her, so now she can't ingest any more long wool.

Papaya can be pureed, as can pineapple... the fresh fruits would contain the most enzymes, I imagine. But I know the money pinch, and you do what you can!

I know all you meat rabbit folks wouldn't bother, lol, I am just an incurable sap.

Don't be too sure... many of us meat rabbit folks have breeders we are very attached to, and would go to all kinds of extents to save. Few of us would go to large expense, but anything inexpensive you might find us trying, to save a favorite!

 

[Oceanrose]

Sorry to hear about poor Penny!

I have a doe struggling with wool block too I think. Matter of fact, I thought I was going to lose her last week. It happened over Christmas and with a bunch of family in town, I didn't realize she wasn't drinking water like she should have been. She is not a hay eater, so I know she's more susceptible.

I pulled all pellets and started her on fresh fruits and veggies. I made her drink water at first, but now she seems to be eating and drinking, though still less. I gave her oats for one day, and have her a few pellets yesterday as she was begging for them. I'm still feeding her 2-3 cups of greens a day, and a piece of pineapple a night.

I think it was due to my BF feeding for me for a few days, and overfeeding them... Cut down on them munching hay - a lot!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I've been reading up on giving enemas..has anyone ever done such a thing?

I haven't ever had to give a rabbit an enema, but I do know that newborn horses sometimes need one to help pass their meconium. The brand commonly used at the ranch I AI for is called a "Fleet" enema.

I have a bottle here, and just looked at it- the applicator tip is less than pencil sized in diameter. There is no need to run out and buy one if you have mineral oil and an "ear bulb" type rubber syringe- the enema I mentioned is mineral oil, it just comes in an applicator bottle.

I would suggest warming the solution to make it more comfortable for her, and be sure to apply a lubricating jelly to the tip of the applicator. Be careful not to insert it too far or forcefully or you risk perforating her colon.

I am only guessing here, but I would think that you wouldn't want to give her more than 1 to 3 tablespoons. Personally, I would probably give about two, but if it starts flowing back at you stop at that point.

As an alternative you could use a suppository- it may be easier to insert and there would be less risk of inflating the intestines with too much fluid.

Whichever you use, it is going to make her into an oily mess, so trim or pluck her hindquarters as well as possible.

I know all you meat rabbit folks wouldn't bother, lol, I am just an incurable sap.

Au contraire, my friend! If it isn't contagious I will do my utmost to save my rabbits, although as Miss M pointed out, I wont spend a lot of money doing it since I have plenty of eager replacements in the grow out pens!

 

[-HRanchito]

I know all you meat rabbit folks wouldn't bother, lol, I am just an incurable sap.

:twilightzone: Sorry guys...I didn't mean that how it sounded! It's my flu addled brain :stars:

I don't think I have mineral oil, but some of the websites say boiled then cooled water will work, too. I'll report back once I psyche myself up enough to do it.

 

[Miss M]

:twilightzone: Sorry guys...I didn't mean that how it sounded! It's my flu addled brain :stars:

That's okay! No offense taken!

I don't think I have mineral oil, but some of the websites say boiled then cooled water will work, too. I'll report back once I psyche myself up enough to do it.

That would take a lot of phsyching for me! I can't imagine trying to do it with the flu! :shock:

 

[-HRanchito]

Last night I did do an enema on her. it seems the feedings and tummy massages were working already, because the mass was already moving, and the water didn't have very long way to go. I used and ear bulb, like you said, and water. I was kinda a wuss about it, and didn't poke it in very far at all but she started to poo wet cecals right away and has been doing that all night. So it's a good sign! Still no eating yet, though...

 

[Diamond]

You can get fluids into an animal via enema or subcutaneous bolus when the need is critical.

Sterile eye wash solutions (Such as OcuFresh eye wash) are straight-up 9% sodium chloride, which can be used for isotoninc subcutaneous fluid bolus. In cats and rabbits, you can inject 3 - 5cc at a time in the loose skin behind the neck. The general rule for dermoclysis (subQ hydration) is 1cc/minute flow rate. With animals it is easier to give a bolus every 15 or 20 minutes.

You can use an oral electrolyte solution for enema bolus fluid replacement, Pedialyte is better for small animals than Gatoraide.

MSDS for Ocufresh eye wash: http://www.custom-kits.com/MSDS/OcuFres ... aSheet.pdf

Good luck!

 

[OneAcreFarm]

-HRanchito wrote:
I know all you meat rabbit folks wouldn't bother, lol, I am just an incurable sap.

Don't be too sure... many of us meat rabbit folks have breeders we are very attached to, and would go to all kinds of extents to save. Few of us would go to large expense, but anything inexpensive you might find us trying, to save a favorite!

Hey, I am right there with you when it isn't contagious and there is actually something that I can do about it! I did a home surgery on my favorite doe to rid her of a mastitis abcess...she healed up fine and has had two litters and no more mastitis since then.

I am sorry that your doe is experiencing this, but it seems you are managing to do what you can to help her and that is all we can do. Keep us posted!

 

[Miss M]

Glad to hear things are moving some! I hope it continues, and do keep us updated!

In cats and rabbits, you can inject 3 - 5cc at a time in the loose skin behind the neck.

I have a couple of rabbits with very little skin there, so you can also do this if they have loose skin at their sides. I had to give antibiotics to Thumper this way, subcutaneously at his sides.

I did a home surgery on my favorite doe to rid her of a mastitis abcess...

Were you able to give her anything to relax her? Or was she able to just let you help her?

 

[OneAcreFarm]

OneAcreFarm wrote:
I did a home surgery on my favorite doe to rid her of a mastitis abcess...

Were you able to give her anything to relax her? Or was she able to just let you help her?

I had some local anesthetic for injection and I injected all around the site of the abcess and flooded the cavity as I cleared the pus. She was so good, just laid on her back in my hubs arms the whole time and did not really struggle at all. I think she knew we were trying to help her out. Here are some pics of the procedure...









At this point, I washed it out well, injected the local, then had to dig a bit to get some pockets that were further away from the main site.



And here she is, all healed up!



__________ Tue Jan 08, 2013 10:43 am __________

 

[Miss M]

Wow! That's wonderful! I didn't expect pictures! :razz:

 

[-HRanchito]

I can see why she is your favorite doe OAF! What a beauty. I have a weakness for bunnies with big ol dewlaps, too. Maybe I need some calis...

I think I am coming to the conclusion that Satin Angoras have a long way to go in terms of health. They are so damn delicate. The mass in Penny's gut was really cecals, little to no wool at all. She also never went through a "string of pearls" stage, so at this point, I don't think it is wool block at all. It boggles my mind.

Lost my 2 favorite of her kits to enteritis over the past couple of days. They had stuck-shut eyes first, so I started treating with chamomile teabags, and I had a small number of pellets in there, but I didn't think it would kill 'em so darn fast. The others had fine eyes, so they didn't get enteritis, I guess. My mind is boggled about that whole situation, too.

BUT Penny is feeling much better. actually she feels terrible with her bald spots and hip bones jutting out, but she's alert and eating hay and drinking water as of this morning. I think I will stop dropper feeding her for now and see if she continues to improve.

She was tooth grinding after the enema, so I started crushing a low-dose aspirin into the pedialyte/baby food/gas drops mix and fed it to her over the course of a day. I also did a second enema when it seemed like the effects of the first wore off. I think this really helped her with getting her system moving.

Meh, all in all, i'm just pretty tired and discouraged right now--- you'd think it wouldn't be too much to ask a doe to raise a litter without going completely off feed, and you'd think a kit could eat a pellet or two and not just die like that. Whatever, I pulled the pellets and the others are fine.

I was reading the threads from OAF's pasteurella experience, and having "met" her on this forum last summer, OAF always seemed so capable and wise (home surgery on a doe while holding a camera -- not even a thang) It was interesting to read those posts from a less experienced time. I hope in a few years I can make that kind of progress too...

 

[Oceanrose]

So sorry to hear about all the problems. Some kits, especially winter kits, seem really sensitive to weaning, especially if Penny wasn't feeling good herself.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Meh, all in all, i'm just pretty tired and discouraged right now--- you'd think it wouldn't be too much to ask a doe to raise a litter without going completely off feed, and you'd think a kit could eat a pellet or two and not just die like that. Whatever, I pulled the pellets and the others are fine.

It can be downright discouraging....{{{hugs}}} Honestly? I have gotten to the point that I feel more like the Queen of Hearts than anything else..."Goopy eyes? OFF WITH THEIR HEAD! Bad teeth? Bad feet? Enteritis? OFF WITH THEIR HEAD!" Seriously...just the other night, I passed a kit that was making a rattling sound in its lungs. I pulled it out, listened to its chest with my ear, walked to the Wringer and dispatched it... :? Then I gutted it and fed it to the kitties...When I started in 2010, just the thought of that would have HORRIFIED me! :x

__________ Fri Jan 11, 2013 3:34 pm __________

I was reading the threads from OAF's pasteurella experience, and having "met" her on this forum last summer, OAF always seemed so capable and wise (home surgery on a doe while holding a camera -- not even a thang) It was interesting to read those posts from a less experienced time. I hope in a few years I can make that kind of progress too...

Aw...*blush*... that just made my day! I appreciate the kind words. I love to help and teach others what I have learned, and rabbits are no exception. I had to chuckle myself, reading thru those threads... :lol: I remember feeling panic stricken and totally distraught and helpless. MaggieJ and a few others like Eco2pia were an amazing resource for me when I started. I just try to do the same for others. And as to the surgery, I spent 15 years as a Surgical Assistant, so that was like old times. Except Little Mama was a much better patient than most! LOL