Female Bunny not eating pellets, losing weight.

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Love your rabbit
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
A

Ampee

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2020
Messages
221
Reaction score
97
Location
Hungary
So my dwarf female bunny (around 6 years old) started to eat fewer pellets than she normally would:

Giving her the usual amount and she left a bit. After like 10-30 mins she would go back to the spot and consume the leftover as well.
At first we thought it was her teeth, some minor stuff could be seen by the vet so he did some adjustments on her teeth. We felt her appetite increased a bit.

Like a week later she still wasnt functioning 100% so we did a blood test.
Can someone recommend something based on that? Our vet recommended either waiting to let her immune system deal with the disease/infection she has, or begin an antibiotic treatment.
This was recommended due to having high "Basophil" in her blood (0.62) and high Lymphocita (14.32).
Anyone have an opinion on this? I can of course attach the full report.

Today she had a bit beginning gut stasis so we force fed her with Oxbow Critical care.

About her daily feeding routine: Hay, Oxbow Adult rabbit pellets (10g maximum or even less per day), water, and Oxbow digestive support (1 per day).
She is a free roaming bunny 24/7, has a male companion (he is healthy)
Thank you!
 
Does sheget timothy hay and not just pellets? I decreased our bunny’s pellets and encourage timothy hay and orchard grass, because Dutchess has tooth problems. Also, your bunny hasnt lost a lot of weight yet. If not eating is a problem, do you have fresh veggies and critical care on hand?
I am not a vet, but have read that high basophils and lymphocytes can be due to infection or parasites. Depends on how high they are (are WBC).
 
cwebster said:
Does sheget timothy hay and not just pellets? I decreased our bunny’s pellets and encourage timothy hay and orchard grass, because Dutchess has tooth problems. Also, your bunny hasnt lost a lot of weight yet. If not eating is a problem, do you have fresh veggies and critical care on hand?
I am not a vet, but have read that high basophils and lymphocytes can be due to infection or parasites. Depends on how high they are (are WBC).
Click to expand...
Thank you for answering!

She mostly eats hay and she no longer eats her daily pellets amount. She seem to be interested in it (pellets) and eats some but like half the amount.
She accepts digestive support (which is harder to chew). I would rule out teeth problems since the vet made some adjustments to her teeth (but he did say that only minor stuff needed adjustment) and also digestive support is a tablet so I would say that if she has teeth problem (pain) she wouldnt eat that.

I have been force feeding her critical care yesterday and today .
I don't know whether we should start the antibiotic treatment or just wait.....
Last time we did antibiotic treatment (2 years ago) she wouldn't eat at all. This time it would be a more "general purpose" antibiotic, so she wouldn't get the same one as before....
 
How much pellets are you feeding? They should not get more than 1 tbsp a day. If she is eating lots of hay I really would not worry and I would not syringe feed. The weight loss is not that big. Perhaps slowly add some veg to the diet. On the basis of the blood results you have given I would not give antibiotics either.
 
Around Tablespoon per day. I feed this amount divided into 3 feeding:morning, afternoon, evening. Normally (before this "illness" started) she would eat all of it at once. Since this "illness" started however she would only eat like half of the portion, leave it and then 30 minutes later she would go back and eat the rest.
 
Ampee said:
Around Tablespoon per day. I feed this amount divided into 3 feeding:morning, afternoon, evening. Normally (before this "illness" started) she would eat all of it at once. Since this "illness" started however she would only eat like half of the portion, leave it and then 30 minutes later she would go back and eat the rest.
Click to expand...
They sometimes go off pellets. As long as they are still eating lots of hay I wouldn't worry too much. Have you tried a new bag of pellets? They do go stale. Or you could slowly switch her to different pellets?
 
You say she's losing weight. Some might see this as a bad idea but, give her alfalfa hay, it's high in protein and should help her weigh weight. Only give her a little bit a day though (mixing it with her other hays). Also, try changing her pellets. Some rabbits are picky about the kind of pellets they eat. Remember to transition her slowly onto the new pellets with the old ones. If you decided to change her pellets, I can recommend Blue Seal Bunny 16%, Poulin Grain Bunny 16%, or Manna Pro Rabbit (which two of my bunnies where on before I switched them over to my pellets). I use Blue Seal and it works REALLY well, my rabbits are really healthy and don't need extra things in their diet (don't worry they get unlimited hay. Fresh foods when I can). Also, to help her weigh weight, give her a little critical care a day (a one or two ml). Let us know how she does!
Edit: Instead of critical care, try baby food.
 
Last edited:
dogwoodblossoms said:
You say she's losing weight. Some might see this as a bad idea but, give her alfalfa hay, it's high in protein and should help her weigh weight. Only give her a little bit a day though (mixing it with her other hays). Also, try changing her pellets. Some rabbits are picky about the kind of pellets they eat. Remember to transition her slowly onto the new pellets with the old ones. If you decided to change her pellets, I can recommend Blue Seal Bunny 16%, Poulin Grain Bunny 16%, or Manna Pro Rabbit (which two of my bunnies where on before I switched them over to my pellets). I use Blue Seal and it works REALLY well, my rabbits are really healthy and don't need extra things in their diet (don't worry they get unlimited hay. Fresh foods when I can). Also, to help her weigh weight, give her a little critical care a day (a one or two ml). Let us know how she does!
Edit: Instead of critical care, try baby food.
Click to expand...
Thank you!

What's baby food?
Sadly Blue seal pellet is not available in our country (EU, Hungary). What i will do though, is that once she stops eating the pellett I will try to give her a digestive support right away, this way if she accepts it i will know that she got "bored" of the pellets.
 
Ampee said:
So my dwarf female bunny (around 6 years old) started to eat fewer pellets than she normally would:

Giving her the usual amount and she left a bit. After like 10-30 mins she would go back to the spot and consume the leftover as well.
At first we thought it was her teeth, some minor stuff could be seen by the vet so he did some adjustments on her teeth. We felt her appetite increased a bit.

Like a week later she still wasnt functioning 100% so we did a blood test.
Can someone recommend something based on that? Our vet recommended either waiting to let her immune system deal with the disease/infection she has, or begin an antibiotic treatment.
This was recommended due to having high "Basophil" in her blood (0.62) and high Lymphocita (14.32).
Anyone have an opinion on this? I can of course attach the full report.

Today she had a bit beginning gut stasis so we force fed her with Oxbow Critical care.

About her daily feeding routine: Hay, Oxbow Adult rabbit pellets (10g maximum or even less per day), water, and Oxbow digestive support (1 per day).
She is a free roaming bunny 24/7, has a male companion (he is healthy)
Thank you!
Click to expand...

Hi there- am definitely not an expert as our boy had stasis- but survived. and we just lost his dear wee wife bunny. My question though is- how are her poo's? Their poo seems to be a major sign of their health. When our boy got seriously ill his poo's became dark and tiny and remained like this for a few weeks i think. The first time he did normal poo's we were so so relieved. I never thought i would get so obsessed with an animal's poo :)
 
MyGrandbunns said:
Hi there- am definitely not an expert as our boy had stasis- but survived. and we just lost his dear wee wife bunny. My question though is- how are her poo's? Their poo seems to be a major sign of their health. When our boy got seriously ill his poo's became dark and tiny and remained like this for a few weeks i think. The first time he did normal poo's we were so so relieved. I never thought i would get so obsessed with an animal's poo :)
Click to expand...

Pretty normal, round shaped, black and normal sized. Some hair stringed ones are present every once in a while due to the male's shedding but thats pretty ok I think.
 
Get your bunny the best pellets ever if you want to ensure appetite! Science comparisons prove it. Mine love it so much & the Oxbow was ignored when served together. Its called VERSELAGA CUNI NATURE. $19.99 for a 2.3kg bag Yummy!!
 

Attachments

  • 20220417_080354.jpg
    20220417_080354.jpg
    152.3 KB · Views: 2
Diane R said:
How much pellets are you feeding? They should not get more than 1 tbsp a day. If she is eating lots of hay I really would not worry and I would not syringe feed. The weight loss is not that big. Perhaps slowly add some veg to the diet. On the basis of the blood results you have given I would not give antibiotics either.
Click to expand...
This is false. (Highlighted text) It depends on the rabbits weight. And she is feeding the correct amount. 10g is equivalent to 0.8 TBSPs. Sorry to be that kind of person but it bugs me when people dont get these things right.
 
And my bun Nova does this all the time. We think she saves them for later. She could just be full.
 
Partial blockages due to dried food and/or hair can cause bunnies to lose weight gradually and stop eating pellets. I've read stories of bunnies just gradually fading away due to this, since the signs are more subtle than a full blockage. Your report of the male bunny shedding, and poos with hair strings, make me think that could be a possibility. I've found that subcutaneous fluids and belly massages/jiggling work best to break up such masses.

Also add more liquid to the diet by wetting greens, using a water bowl instead of a bottle, and soaking her pellets. When my bunny wouldn't eat her pellets, I soaked them for about 20 seconds in chamomile tea and she eagerly gobbled them right up. We use Science Selective, which absorbs liquid quickly, but Oxbow may take longer. You can try different liquids to see what her preference might be, although I would avoid liquids with sugars (like fruit juices).

Feel her stomach to see if it feels normal. If you don't know what it normally feels like, maybe you can tell with your male bunny. When my bunnies have dried food caught somewhere (usually the pyloric valve), their middle and lower abdomen will feel empty or mushy. After giving subq fluids and massages, I can feel the trapped food moving down and filling up the abdomen, and the bunny usually starts tooth purring too!
 
I see. Do you know anything about blood diagnosis? I have the full sheet sheet with "mumbo jumbo" levels. I don't really understand it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top