Bunny needs to gain weight but HATES taste

[Cutelittlebun]

Hi all,

I’m new here, but figured it’s a great place for me to come for advice!  Here’s the short story:

My house bunny, Hazel, is a Netherland dwarf/mini rex mix who is 8 years old.  She has always been happy and healthy, and I have never had any medical problems with her.  Over the last few weeks, the vet has diagnosed her with an upper respiratory infection.  The vet has her on Baytril and Metacam.  The Baytril seems to have cleared her eyes up, and her breathing is even a little better this week, so that’s encouraging!  She eats the Metacam with ease, and I mix the Baytril with a bit of banana, which she eats with ease too.  She has interest in lettuce, but I am breaking it into tiny pieces for her to eat, since a larger piece seems challenging to her.  She eats her pellet food a bit too, especially if I add water to make it softer… this is leading the vet to think we might be looking at a problem with teeth.

BUT she -hates- the taste of Oxbow Critical Care (original flavor, not banana/apple or anise).  It’s a great product though, and I am not giving up because her health is too important to me.  I ordered the banana/apple flavor a few mins ago and hope that she will eat it.  There are lots of helpful videos and forums about how to syringe feed a bunny… but she has not been an easy patient with me on this (I think because the flavor turns her off so much, then she jerks her head and tries to escape the bunny burrito).  During the feeding process, I put her in her bun burrito in between my legs on the floor, while staying calm and singing happy silly songs quietly to her.  I don’t want to stress her out because then her breathing will be more labored. 

We are going back to the vet on Thursday so he can re-evaluate her, so that’s good.  Her energy is up, it’s her weight/eating that is the concern.  ** My main question I have right now: Do you have any tips for how to help my bunny like her Critical Care?  Mixing in bananas worked for a couple days, but now we are back to her jerking her head to try to get away from the syringe.  Or, do you have any tips on how to syringe feed a bunny without causing extra stress? **

Thanks in advance!  I’d love to hear what tips you’ve found helpful with feeding your bunnies!

[Sarita]

Syringe feeding these tiny rabbits is a chore!

You mention she likes her pellets and you soften them up – have you tried adding a bit of the critical care to the softened pellets to disguise it? Also I believe the original is the anise flavored and then they have the banana/apple.

Another alternative is Critter Be Better which comes in a pelleted form – might check those out.

[Cutelittlebun]

If only I could have a breeze of a time feeding her like you see in the how-to videos!  The buns are just so laid back and happy to eat in those videos   Glad I’m not the only one who gets to enjoy the chore in reality!  

Is there an alternative to a bunny burrito?  I’m not sure that she likes being wrapped up, but that seems to be working the best, since she is so against taking the syringe.

That’s a good idea; I haven’t tried adding the critical care to her softened pellets.  Will try that this this evening. 

Thanks for the Critter Be Better tip, too.  I will look those up tonight as well!  

[Sarita]

I definitely as well would have the vet look at her teeth. I have 3 – 10 year old rabbits and two of them have dental problems that have started in their elder years.

My Netherland who is I guess about 4 years old was dumped at a guinea pig rescue with severe dental problems (lost his lower left molars due to this) and now has to have regular dental trims. I understand with these teeny rabbits that is common.

It seems to be common with our seniors as well – my 2 dental problematic rabbits are larger rabbits but still have had major problems these past couple of years with dental spurs. My vet has to put them under anesthesia to really see the problems though – it’s not always apparent with an otoscope. Seems like both of them have what she calls the “senior dental ridge” on their molars.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I can certainly relate about the Critical Care. My lop, Bindi, is extremely difficult to force feed and it results in a big mess and a stressed bunny (and Mommy!). My vet tech showed me something that works well. She took a syringe and cut the tip off it. I just squeeze a bit in his mouth, let him chew and hope he doesn’t spit it out. It’s a very time consuming process, but their health is worth all the fuss.

I’m hoping you can get your girl to eat some CC mixed with pellets. That will be easier for you both.

Wishing her a speedy recovery! And hope the vet can check out her teeth soon.

[Cutelittlebun]

Thanks for the info about teeth, Sarita!  The vet checked her teeth the first time we went in, but was only able to look at one side (which he said was fine).  I’ll definitely have him check both sides tomorrow when we go though. 

He was hesitant to do any blood work or an x-ray just because of her weight and didn’t want to cause her any stress.  So I’m interested to see what he says in his re-evaluation.

[Cutelittlebun]

Posted By LittlePuffyTail on 12/04/2012 10:36 AM

I can certainly relate about the Critical Care. My lop, Bindi, is extremely difficult to force feed and it results in a big mess and a stressed bunny (and Mommy!). My vet tech showed me something that works well. She took a syringe and cut the tip off it. I just squeeze a bit in his mouth, let him chew and hope he doesn’t spit it out. It’s a very time consuming process, but their health is worth all the fuss.

I’m hoping you can get your girl to eat some CC mixed with pellets. That will be easier for you both.

Wishing her a speedy recovery! And hope the vet can check out her teeth soon.

Thanks for the tip about cutting the syringe, LittlePuffyTail!  I saw your post last night and tried mixing the Critical Care with her normal softened pellets.  When I got home I gave her a bowl of the mixture first (before she got her banana/meds mixture), and she ate some of it.  I also cut up a piece of lettuce and also cut up hay – she ate that, too.  Yesterday was a good eating day, which is encouraging.  

Syringe feeding is definitely a time consuming and messy process!  Worth it like you said, though

Thanks for the well-wishes too, I’ll pass them to Hazel!

[Cutelittlebun]

Update: I found the Critical Care in apple-banana flavor and it’s in the mail. My paws are crossed that Hazel finds it to be delicious! I will certainly come back to the forum with an update after tomorrow’s appointment. Thanks for all the great tips.

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