I got my baby bunny yesterday and she won’t eat or drink. I have to force feed her!

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The lack of pooping is probably because she hadn't been eating until you started the syringe feeds. So as she gets more food in her system and hopefully starts eating on her own soon, the poops should follow. If you keep up regular syringe feeds and/or she starts eating some alfalfa hay, and she still doesn't start pooping some by tomorrow, then I would definitely get her into the vet. Edited to add: as she may need a gut stimulant to get her pooping again

For syringe feeding, for now a plain pellet mush should be ok, if the pellets are a high quality pet brand like oxbow, science select, or sherwood. Cheap brands are higher in carbs and lower quality, which I wouldn't want to risk with a vulnerable bunny right now. I wouldn't add any sugars or baby food to it. It's not necessary, and adding additional sugars risks upsetting the digestive microflora. It should be made up fresh, or refrigerated for no longer than a day. It should be served warm(not too hot). Needs to be given slowly, giving bun time to chew and swallow, to minimize the risks of it being aspirated, which you want to avoid at all costs.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Medicating_your_rabbit
If she doesn't start eating the alfalfa hay and you need to continue syringe feeds, it might be worth ordering some Oxbow critical care(apple banana is usually preferred) or Sherwood recovery food. It might be worth ordering anyways, as it's always useful to keep on hand( I keep the bag in the freezer for longer shelf life).

Ideally, if you can find out the brand and type of pellet the bunny is used to eating, hopefully getting that brand and type of pellet will get the bunny eating normally again.
Hi,

Well she is pooping now after a drop of olive oil. But I am still syringe feeding and finger feeding her pellet mush with goats milk.
I don’t know if she’s eating her hay at night which she is more active, but we have not yet witnessed her eat on her own accord.
I’m reading everything I can and there a hundreds of things that could be wrong. A lot of people are saying she has separation anxiety and will die of depression because she lost the will to live. I’m told I should get another bunny but we didn’t plan on that. If it’s the only thing that will save her I’ll have to start searching for a companion.
She’s never out of our site, I’m a teacher so I’m home all summer.
We love and cuddle her constantly, she runs around and kicks up her back legs, she explores and seems content.
We haven’t moved her to her large house yet because she seems to feel secure in her large plastic tub. It’s large enough for her to walk around and fits her bed and her stuffed animals and blankets.
I don’t want to change anything that might stress her out further.
I’m at a loss right now, I just can’t figure it out.
I was told she was weaned and eating pellets and lettuce but regarding the brand I still haven’t found out. I don’t know why it’s so hard, but my niece refuses to call again and she won’t give me the original owners phone number. Ridiculous!
Am “I” doing anything wrong?
Thank you as usual,
Amy
 
She adores her bunny and we are doing EVERYTHING we possibly can. Finger and syringe feeding her pellet mush with goats milk. She did poop though last night and it was normal, but still not eating on her own accord or drinking.
The original owner claimed she was weaned and eating pellets and lettuce. I don’t believe that’s true.
I can’t get her to call again and get the brand, and she absolutely will NOT give me the number! This is a matter of life and death!!!!
 
Uhm, she's new to your home - big stress. A giant human around all the time - big stress. Forcing stuff into her -big stress. Stuff like milk, that can cause issues if she is weaned and doesn't produce enough lactase anymore to deal with milk, which can be fatal..., after 4 weeks they can do without milk anyway, no need for that. Putting random stuff into her will more likely cause more problems than it solves.

I would say, relax, give her lots of hay, water, and whatever food she is used to and give her a chance to get bored. Try to leave her alone for at least half a day, would be my advice.

I haven't read the whole thread, is there anything going on that could not be explained by her being stressed out?
Btw, stressed rabbits might appear incredible calm or acting "normal" to the untrained eye..
 
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I have a response for you, but it's going to take some time to type out as it contains a lot of info. Right now I would say just remain calm. Everything sounds like it's going alright. Bunny is getting food, is now pooping, so you're doing just fine. Like Preitler mentioned, I would also suggest leaving out the milk. No need to be introducing a new food that could possibly result in digestive upset.

By all accounts, your bunny is acting happy and settled. So whoever is telling you she has separation anxiety, is just flat out wrong. A bunny that hops around exploring, isn't anxious. An anxious bunny would run and hide in a corner and sit there not moving. So your bunny is doing just fine where that's concerned.

Your bunny likely wasn't weaned properly and so just doesn't know how to eat real food or what's safe. I'll type out some ideas you might try to get your bunny eating on her own, but for now I would suggest to just keep up regular syringe feeding every 4 hours. This will keep food in the bunny's digestive tract, and keep up the gut motility for now. And I would stop listening to the people that are causing a panic. It's not helping and is unneeded, in my opinion.
 
I was in a similar situation as yours several years ago. A baby bunny came into my care that was only 3-4 weeks old. I was given the information that she had been weaned, and also was used to the veggies green leaf lettuce and carrots.

That first day, she was perfectly happy and comfortable being in a new home, not nervous at all, would run around and explore and flop out when tired, but she would not eat anything. No pellets, no hay, wouldn't drink water at all, bowl or bottle. I hadn't yet tried lettuce or carrots because I was reluctant to give it to such a young bunny regardless of being told she had it before.

Back then I didn't know you should feed the exact same brand and type of pellets to a new rabbit for the first couple of weeks while you transition them to a new pellet , or that a rabbit could be picky about different hays as my previous rabbits had always eaten and been fine with whatever type or brand I fed them. This was before I knew anything about rabbit health or the proper diet.

So I didn't know any of that even mattered to a rabbit. I didn't really know anything about syringe feeding rabbits back then, and making a pellet mush didn't occur to me because I thought she wasn't eating because she hadn't been weaned properly and wouldn't eat because she still needed milk. But she wouldn't swallow the milk I tried to syringe her. And I tried several different types of formula. No luck though.

We had fresh alfalfa outside, so I decided to try some. Score! She ate the little piece. But then she got an upset stomach with it that lasted for several hours, I think maybe because it was a young early growth and really rich, so I was scared to try anything fresh or different with her after that. Not knowing what else to do, the next day I decided to try the green leaf lettuce(NOT iceberg) because of being told she was used to eating it, and you know what, she gobbled it down!

So I started feeding more lettuce, and she ate it right up and it wasn't causing any mushy poop or digestive upset. So I just kept feeding her the leafy lettuce for the next week, not knowing what else to do. I kept trying to get her to eat pellets and hay, but she just wouldn't touch them. So I kept feeding leafy lettuce. This little bunny that was the size of a teacup, maybe 8oz max, and was eating a ton of lettuce each day.

Now, I would never recommend feeding any bunny just lettuce. It's not a proper diet, and could cause problems for some rabbits. But I was inexperienced then and was just focused on keeping this bunny eating. The lettuce was just a temporary measure while I tried to figure out how to get her to eat pellets and hay. And over the next week as I fed her lots of lettuce each day, she gradually started to nibble on her pellets, and eventually a little hay. Then by the end of the week she was eating a good amount of pellets and some hay, and I gradually reduced the amount of lettuce as she had more pellets and hay.

But no matter what I tried she wouldn't drink water. So I kept offering enough lettuce over that second week to provide the needed fluid intake, to make up for the lack of water drinking, to help balance out the dry food she was now eating. I did syringe some water(carefully), but that didn't get her drinking water on her own. I needed to get her drinking on her own.

Luckily for me I had a neutered buck that was a really easy going calm rabbit, and I decided to see how he would react to this baby rabbit, to maybe see if he could help her learn to drink. This had to be done very carefully, as I knew an adult rabbit could cause an injury if the reaction was negative. But he accepted her right away, and once she realized he wouldn't hurt her, she was glued to him. So I kept the two of them together for the next week, and he taught her how to drink like a proper rabbit. But I couldn't keep them together, as he was bonded to an adult doe I had.

All I can figure is my baby rabbit really wasn't properly weaned, and this was why she would only eat the lettuce. Because it's the only solid food she was familar with. With your bunny, in one photo, she does look like she may possibly be only 3-4 weeks old. If she is this young, this could explain why you're having so much trouble getting her to eat anything. Because like my little bunny, she wasn't weaned properly. Luckily you're a step ahead of what I had tried. You're syringe feeding a pellet mush, and this is working for now.

So the next task is trying to get her to start to nibble on the pellets. A few things you can try are making the pellet mush and offering it in a little dish, to see if maybe she will eat it on her own. This would save you having to syringe feed. If she will eat this, just make sure it's not left out more than a few hours to prevent bacteria and mold growth. If she won't eat pellet mush on her own, keep up the syringe feeds, then you could try different brands and types of pellets, as it may just be that particular pellet she doesn't like the smell/taste of. What brand and type are you feeding now?

Also trying different types of hay like third cut timothy, orchard, alfalfa, oat, meadow, etc. Baby rabbits tend to like a leafier softer cut of hay. Normally I would also recommend trying fresh grass(wide leafed like orchard, not small leafed lawn grass), but because of RHVD illness starting to affect rabbits in the US, this might be too much of a risk. So safest to stick with dried hay varieties, sourced as safely as possible.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Hay
https://www.chewy.com/b/hay-11094
https://shop.smallpetselect.com/
https://www.rabbitholehay.com/collections/hay
Because you were told she is used to lettuce, you could try feeding her a little of a leafy lettuce if you want(not iceberg). But start with a very tiny amount. If she doesn't have an adverse reaction to it(mushy poop, stomach upset, become lethargic), you could gradually increase the amount each day. But this all depends if the previous owner was actually truthful about this. Normally it's not recommended to feed baby rabbits veg/greens until older because their digestive microflora isn't adapted to these foods. Unless they have grown up eating them with the mom rabbit, then they've developed the necessary microflora from their mom.

With the drinking, because you're syringe feeding she may be getting enough fluids that way and that might be why she won't drink. So as she starts to nibble on dry foods, you'll need to monitor if that also gets her drinking on her own or not.
 
* URGENT! *

Hello to all,

We just got our baby bunny yesterday and she has NO interest in eating. I’ve offered her pellets, Timothy hat,fresh veggies, homemade baby food, clover and strawberries.
I have had to resort to syringe feeding her. (Force feeding) and she even fights me on that!
She’s seemingly healthy and very affectionate, but I’m scared to death about her not eating!
I’m about to give her an emergency formula of an egg yolk, Karo syrup, cream and condensed milk with is normally given to newborns, but I’m desperate!
She also has not pooped.

Any advice or input would be so helpful and appreciated!

Hugs,
Amy
She still may be accumulating to her new surroundings. I would just put hay in her cage or wherever you keeping her. If she is litter trained, you can put hay in her litter if she is litter trained. Bunnies like to eat while they use the potty.
 
Uhm, she's new to your home - big stress. A giant human around all the time - big stress. Forcing stuff into her -big stress. Stuff like milk, that can cause issues if she is weaned and doesn't produce enough lactase anymore to deal with milk, which can be fatal..., after 4 weeks they can do without milk anyway, no need for that. Putting random stuff into her will more likely cause more problems than it solves.

I would say, relax, give her lots of hay, water, and whatever food she is used to and give her a chance to get bored. Try to leave her alone for at least half a day, would be my advice.

I haven't read the whole thread, is there anything going on that could not be explained by her being stressed out?
Btw, stressed rabbits might appear incredible calm or acting "normal" to the untrained eye..
Hi!
Thank you so much for your advice! I shopped the milk replacement right away and made a much out of her pellets and water and finger fed her. At first she wasn’t interested but finally she came around and turned the corner! Now she is happy as a clam eating her hay and pellets on her own! She gets tons of exercise and gets the “zoomies” throwing her back legs in the air! It’s so cute!! She already comes right over to us and climbs onto of lap four a nap or a cuddle. The door to her house is open and she’s free to go in and out as she pleases.
Do you happen to know the best time to start little box training? We want her to have free roam when we are home.
We have already “bunny proofed” the living room area where she’s free to explore and play. ❤️❤️❤️
 

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I imagine she probably has energy because you've been syringe feeding her. This would also indicate there's probably nothing seriously wrong. A rabbit that's in pain and unwell, will stop eating and will be lethargic, sitting in a corner hunched up usually. They won't hop around exploring. She may just not be eating because this isn't the food she's used to. Some rabbits will actually starve themselves if their food is suddenly changed to something unfamiliar.

If she's acting completely normal aside from not eating, you may be able to hold off on the vet. I would keep syringe feeding and try the alfalfa hay though
Hi!

You were absolutely right! She simply needed to adjust. I stopped the milk and made as mush out of her pellets and water and finger feed her and within a day she was happily eating her hay, drink Ming from her bowl and eating her pellets!
Her house door is always open when we’re home and in the living room so she can come out and explore and get some attention. We have bunny proofed her area and she’s happy and doing really well getting the bunny zoomies and climbing onto our laps for a nap or some snuggles 🥰

Thank you again for everything!!
Kindly,
Amy
 
She still may be accumulating to her new surroundings. I would just put hay in her cage or wherever you keeping her. If she is litter trained, you can put hay in her litter if she is litter trained. Bunnies like to eat while they use the potty.
Ohhh, so that’s how I litter train her! Hay in half the box and poo room on the other side?
She turned the corner and is doing great! She comes in and out of her house as she pleases to explore and get attention!
We have bunny proofed so she’s safe. ❤️
Thank you so much!!!!
 

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Do you happen to know the best time to start little box training? We want her to have free roam when we are home.
We have already “bunny proofed” the living room area where she’s free to explore and play. ❤❤❤

Litter box training is a deceiving term, that's not what is happening. We just take advantage of a natural behaviour of rabbits to use a toilet spot that emerges around puberty, somewhere between 3 and 6 months I would say. The "training" is to arrange things so that we provide an enticing spot that is the litter box, and getting them used to use it, by giving them time and no other comfy options.
A common mistake is to give them too much room too early, I know how cute it is to have little furballs zooming all over the place - but that makes them chose their own spots, and once that is a learned behavior it might be somewhat difficult to reverse it. Start small, with a cage and a rather small pen, with the litterbox inside. A hay rack at the litterbox is a good idea too, they like to eat'n'poop. When this works, you can start to expand her area.

I have 2 of my rabbits free raoming the house, but I have to lock them out of the bathroom and the utility room because they (actually, just she) would pee behind the stove and behind the washing machine.
 
Right now it looks like her little pen is her 'litter box'. That's essentially her home base for now. Usually you need to slowly expand their space, so they establish their area as their home base and where to pee. But if you've let her roam around for the past week and you're absolutely certain she hasn't had any pee accidents, you may have lucked out there and she already knows her little pen is where she's supposed to pee. You do have to check carefully though, especially if you have carpet or rugs she could be peeing on. It can be hard to spot the peeing with such a tiny bun. If she is running back to her little home base to pee, that's a good indication she knows that's her 'litter box'. Have you noticed or found any pee spots outside of her home base pen?
 

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