Smyles
Member
My house rabbit ate her young. My other house rabbit who is a male found her and they mated and now she isn’t eating. What do I do to help?
Rabbit not eating
- Thread starter Smyles
- Start date
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Whenever one of mine isn't eating I first make them move, some minutes every hour, and give belly massages (most times I put the rabbit on my leg, facing me, and rock the whole rabbit). i try to entice them to eat by offering their favorite weeds, greens and hay, with some it works to hold it against their mouth until they get angry and bite into it - and sometimes keep munching.
I give them Simethicone (min. 20mg per serving) along with some water about 3 times a day from the moment I notice something is off to prevent gas causing more problems.
If I'm sure the rabbit hasn't eaten for 12 hours and acts out of character (not comming when called, not moving much, sitting loafed up in a corner or hidey house, etc.) i start syringe feeding, giving pain meds and I'm off to the vet ASAP.
Use the search term "not eating", select [search titles only] to find more opinions and information, this is a regular issue here.
That line of events in your case is unfortunate, and the cause of not eating might be different to the average case (huge hormone turmoil, stress, etc.).
If you get to the vet I would ask if an emergency spay can be done after this acute issue is sorted out to avoid a second litter.
Also, it's easier and less work to keep 2 rabbits together (at least one of them fixed) than 2 intact rabbits apart, and there are other benefits, and that's something that really sums up over 10 or more years.
Good luck.
I give them Simethicone (min. 20mg per serving) along with some water about 3 times a day from the moment I notice something is off to prevent gas causing more problems.
If I'm sure the rabbit hasn't eaten for 12 hours and acts out of character (not comming when called, not moving much, sitting loafed up in a corner or hidey house, etc.) i start syringe feeding, giving pain meds and I'm off to the vet ASAP.
Use the search term "not eating", select [search titles only] to find more opinions and information, this is a regular issue here.
That line of events in your case is unfortunate, and the cause of not eating might be different to the average case (huge hormone turmoil, stress, etc.).
If you get to the vet I would ask if an emergency spay can be done after this acute issue is sorted out to avoid a second litter.
Also, it's easier and less work to keep 2 rabbits together (at least one of them fixed) than 2 intact rabbits apart, and there are other benefits, and that's something that really sums up over 10 or more years.
Good luck.
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Mileybun
Well-Known Member
It sound stress related to me. I personally would have one or both neutered to prevent this happening again as it sounds like she is finding this very difficult.
Hope she is feeling better soon
Hope she is feeling better soon
TreasuredFriend
Well-Known Member
I am extremely sad that you had this happen. Especially for the innocent newborns. -- Stress!
Rabbits are self-induced ovulators - which means the egg is released after copulation. Unlike humans with menstrual cycles.
This forum can provide much education on how soon males became fertile, how to check genders as people might assume what they were told (by so and so) is accurate, knowing a gender fairy can visit, and tips on how to prevent a stressful mom from ever killing/cannibalizing her babes due to stress, and other matters such as predators in the vicinity. Lots of links on this topic.
We withdrew a big NZW/mixed breed from a neglect/hoarding situation years back. The first thing the HRS educator advised when she was under suspicion of being pregnant was: keep her in a quiet environment and avoid stress. We also did the same when hubby rescued 3 abandoned domestics from semi-urban area and both unspayed gals came in pregnant.
What greens or herbs did your pregnant mom consume best of all prior to delivering her babies? Offer her fave herbs and syringe feed, and get her to vet ASAP as Preitler mentioned to rule out other medical factors.
Rabbits are self-induced ovulators - which means the egg is released after copulation. Unlike humans with menstrual cycles.
This forum can provide much education on how soon males became fertile, how to check genders as people might assume what they were told (by so and so) is accurate, knowing a gender fairy can visit, and tips on how to prevent a stressful mom from ever killing/cannibalizing her babes due to stress, and other matters such as predators in the vicinity. Lots of links on this topic.
We withdrew a big NZW/mixed breed from a neglect/hoarding situation years back. The first thing the HRS educator advised when she was under suspicion of being pregnant was: keep her in a quiet environment and avoid stress. We also did the same when hubby rescued 3 abandoned domestics from semi-urban area and both unspayed gals came in pregnant.
What greens or herbs did your pregnant mom consume best of all prior to delivering her babies? Offer her fave herbs and syringe feed, and get her to vet ASAP as Preitler mentioned to rule out other medical factors.
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TreasuredFriend
Well-Known Member
When one of our agouti neutered males went into GI stasis, and was recovering, he would only consume cilantro. Didn't want to touch the other greens he normally ate.
We have an established relationship with our DVM and from 20+ years of rabbit rescue/guardianship, the protocol to encourage eating included syringe feeding with Critical Care, encourage water intake with a pellet slurry, and 3) this was super helpful to increase hay consumption - Offer a single strand of hay or lightly insert a pleasing hay strand into the cheek opening of her/his mouth. Lightly forcing munch-munch action.
I hope for marbles for your girl. Rabbits can also become depressed. Are you monitoring her eyes for appetite, attitude, affection? Eyes will show what buns are unable to say. Depression is documented by other bun parents on forums. Lots of quiet time and comforting your girl is also advised.
We did not do the applesauce spread on hay as some bun parents might do.
We have an established relationship with our DVM and from 20+ years of rabbit rescue/guardianship, the protocol to encourage eating included syringe feeding with Critical Care, encourage water intake with a pellet slurry, and 3) this was super helpful to increase hay consumption - Offer a single strand of hay or lightly insert a pleasing hay strand into the cheek opening of her/his mouth. Lightly forcing munch-munch action.
I hope for marbles for your girl. Rabbits can also become depressed. Are you monitoring her eyes for appetite, attitude, affection? Eyes will show what buns are unable to say. Depression is documented by other bun parents on forums. Lots of quiet time and comforting your girl is also advised.
We did not do the applesauce spread on hay as some bun parents might do.
