Very skinny baby

[PickledOlives]

Hi, my friend is on vacation and I am babysitting her mother rabbit and 7 babies as I have 3 of my own. I believe they are around 5 or 6 weeks old. They all are very healthy, despite their diet which I don't think has been consistent. I know they feed them veggies once in a while and just started feeding them Timothy hay Saturday morning. They brought them to me with a bag of Walmart pellets (which I think are different than their usual ones) and Walmart Timothy hay with sweet potatoes (believe me it's killing me feeding them this stuff lol) I know the hay isn't the best for them so I've been giving them a tiny bit of the fresh bail of Timothy I have but didn't want to change their pellets and upset their stomachs. I'm going to go get some alfalfa today for them. I got them Saturday and they all have been fine and active with no upset stomachs except for one. It's a good amount smaller than the rest and was skinny when I got them but seems like it's slowly losing more weight and is just about skin and bones. It doesn't have diarrhea but it's poops are sticking to it. No watery eyes or nose and he's still running around okay. They all go crazy for the food but this one kind of just sits aside. I separated it this morning to make sure it's eating and it did but not a whole lot. It also seems to have a weird front leg. He sticks it out a lot and if you're holding it he hangs it down. I'm not sure what to do with this little guy other than get some good hay for them and maybe try some pedialyte. I don't want anything to happen to this baby on my watch but I don't know what could be wrong!

 

[Aki]

God, my eyes bleed just reading the food list. What kind of diet is that? And they play breeder too? *sight* Well, it's a complicated situation for you. If the baby was yours, I would tell you to take him to the vet because sticky poops, skinny, not eating a lot and weird front leg doesn't sound very promising especially since you feel he is progressively getting worse. Was the leg already weird when you got them? Not seeing him, my first guess would be that he might have dislocated or fractured his front paw. The pain would explain the 'not eating well'. Animals are totally capable of running around on a broken limb, 'forgetting' about the pain in a moment of excitation.
Can you contact your friend? I would ask her if you can take the baby to the vet. Because if nothing is done, I'm pretty sure the poor little guy is not going to make it. And please, don't give them the sweet potatoe - not only is this not something rabbits are supposed to be eating, but it prevents the assimilation of nutriments and weakens the rabbit eating it, which will not help those poor bunnies.

 

[PickledOlives]

I do think the leg was like that before. When he runs it kind of slips out to the side ever now and then. And I've heard him briefly grind his teeth like he may be in pain. Sorry about the bad picture I was trying to get a screen shot while he was running. And I haven't given them any of the sweet potato hay, I'm about to throw it right in the trash rather than give kr back to her! View attachment ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1503938189.891883.jpg

 

[PickledOlives]

Also she is camping with no phone reception so unfortunately I can't get ahold of her

 

[JBun]

It's possible the baby injured it's leg previous to coming to you, or it might have a mild form of splay leg(often genetic). But there's really no way of knowing for sure without taking it to the vet and having xrays done.

As for the weight issues and 'failure to thrive', there are some possibilities that would be treatable. It could have some form of intestinal worm which can usually be treated by giving a course of dewormer. I like to use fenbendazole(Safeguard liquid goat wormer) and give for 10 days at 20mg/kg. There is also hepatic coccidiosis which can cause a baby to waste along the back and hindquarters, and have the appearance of a pot belly. That has to be treated with either sulfa meds or ponazuril. Another possibility considering it has mushy poop, is that the type of pellets it is getting has something in them that is upsetting it's stomach. Have you tried seeing if the baby will eat your plain timothy hay? If the baby will eat your plain timothy really well, it might be worth trying to feed him lots of that and less of those pellets to see if that helps. It might be that your friend will need to switch her rabbits to a better quality pellet for the sake of this baby if the pellets end up being what is causing the weight loss due to stomach upset.

There are other things that could cause the failure to thrive, like dental issues(which would require a vet) and genetic issues. The best thing of course would be for this baby to be checked by a vet, but this puts you in a difficult situation since they aren't your rabbits and the vet will likely be pretty expensive.

With the alfalfa hay, if you are going to be introducing it into their diet, it's usually best to do it gradually. Because it's a legume hay, it can sometimes cause digestive upset, especially if introduced too quickly. I would start with a very small amount for a few days and make sure it doesn't cause any upset, then gradually increase the amount if it doesn't.

 

[PickledOlives]

The more I watch him, I do think it is probably the leg causing issues. He's favoring it a lot. I've seen him nibble on the Timothy hay but never eats a whole lot. I gave them a very little bit of the alfalfa and he had no interest in that. He did drink a tiny bit of pedialyte so at least I know he's a little more hydrated for now. And with the poops it's strange, they're really not mushy at all they're just sticking to his fur and it's a little bit matted, but not like crusty at all or anything I would normally be worried about so I'm thinking he's having a hard time lifting up his behind when he goes to the bathroom.

Is there anything else I can give him to get some nutrients in him and help gain a little weight? I have some oxbow pellets for mine and I was thinking about just giving him one or two here and there to get some better food in him but I don't want to upset his stomach.

 

[JBun]

The poop is sticky because it's covered in a mucous coating, which usually happens from irritation to the digestive tract. It could be from the food he's eating being poor quality, or it could be because he has reduced the amount he's eating so his gut is slowing down too much. He might be getting urine on his fur due to not being able to position properly to pee, because of his front leg hurting.

I'll just tell you what I would do, and you can decide what you think is best.

If I had the funds to manage it and a decent rabbit vet to take him to, I would get him into the vet. I would want the vet to examine the leg and see if by physical examination, they could determine what was wrong with it before deciding if xrays are necessary as that will add to the cost quite a bit. If it's splay leg and not an iujury, that's just a condition that has to be managed as it's usually due to a genetic connective tissue disorder.

I would also want the vet to examine the teeth to make sure everything was ok there, I would want a fecal float test done to rule out parasites, and I would want the vet to palpate the bladder to make sure there was no tenderness there from possible bladder issues. Then I would want to get the bunny on take home pain meds(meloxicam), gut motility meds(might not be needed), and critical care feeding mix. I would start the bunny on regular syringe feeds at home until he starts eating well on his own. It could be that once you get the pain meds started, if the lack of appetite is due to pain, he may start eating well again once the pain meds take effect.

In the meantime until you can get him to the vet, or until you decide what to do about that, I think I would want to start syringe feeding him by making a mush out of pellets(unless you have Critical care feeding mix, then use that) by soaking them in warm water. You would need a large tip feeding syringe so it doesn't get clogged, or you may be able to do it using a spoon and spoon feed if he'll take it that way. But he needs more food in him to get his gut moving well again and keep him from losing more weight. Just what I would do, but since there could be a chance the cheap walmart food is leading to digestive upset, I might just switch him right to my oxbow pellets and make a mush from them. Even though a gradual change is usually better, sometimes if their normal food is causing digestive problems it can be a better thing to just switch them right off to a better quality food. But that's something you will need to decide.

Honestly from your description, the baby doesn't sound like it is going to survive much longer without your intervention, so I would be inclined to try anything at this point if I thought it would help. But if it is that leg that is painful and that's why he's not wanting to eat, then getting him on pain meds and getting the leg splinted if broken, is going to have to happen soon to get him back to feeling and eating well again.

 

[Aki]

He probably can't wash himself if he can't lift his bottom well to go to the bathroom so that doesn't help with the poop thing either. I don't breed so I've got no experience with bunnies under 8 weeks and I might be wrong, but for a rabbit who doesn't eat enough and need calories, I guess you'd have to give Critical Care. That's what I would give to a weaned bunny who doesn't eat enough anyway. But that won't settle the problem if he's in pain from his paw and / or has another medical condition.
For how long is your friend gone? If those rabbits were mine, I would definitely want the person petsitting to take the bunny to the vet and I would pay back the cost as soon as I come back (then again, I always TELL that to the petsitter and give them my vet's number). You probably know your friend well enough to know if she would want you to take him or not... honestly if I were you, I would probably take him either way because just watching an animal waste away wondering if you're going to find them dead everytime you go to check on them is the worst feeling in the world.
Maybe the best thing to do right now would be to phone your regular vet to explain the situation and at least ask if critical care is an option and what you can do? Rabbits can also be given jars of baby food (the organic vegetables only kind like pumpkin or carrot) or pellets mashed after being left in water to make some kind of watery puree. But honestly, considering the rabbit's age and dietary background I would be scared to upset his stomach. If he is grinding his teeth and in pain, he probably needs Metacam as well but once again, if his paw or something else is hurting him, that's not going to fix it.
Your friend really left you in a pretty difficult situation...

 

[majorv]

You need to watch the other kits closely and should keep the sick one separated from them if you can. Weaning age is the hardest time for kits. Some just don't have a digestive system developed enough to handle the transition from mom's milk to pellets, and in that case, there's really nothing you can do.

As Jbun said, it can be any number of things, but the prognosis doesn't sound good for this little guy.