Rescue Rabbit Advice

[chckn29]

Two weeks ago I took in a domestic rabbit my friend found on the side of the road. I have a 3 yr old bonded pair already, so I had the supplies to take him in. I took him to the vet, and he is very underweight (about 3 pounds). What is the best way to safely fatten him up? He eats veggies fine, but he is slow to eat hay or pellets. How do I increase his interest? I've tried adding treats to his litterbox to encourage munching, but he does not eat the treats either.

Also, he is very sweet and affectionate, but not very playful. He seems calm and comfortable, but he ignores any toys I give him and does not really chew or explore. Anyone have experience socializing an abandoned rabbit? I don't want to overwhelm him, but he's already been here two weeks and I have not seen any improvement in behavior.

 

[Azerane]

Rabbits can take a lot of time to come around. Sometimes they reach a point where things just click and it's an almost instant change. That being said, some rabbits are not interested in toys at all, and since he's only been there two weeks, and there is the smell of your current two rabbits, he simply may still be a little nervous to explore.

To put some weight on, you really need to get him eating pellets. I would leave hay in with him overnight, and then first thing in the morning I would offer him a fresh bowl of pellets. Then later in the day some greens. You obviously don't want to starve him though if he's not eating anything. If you are worried about that, you could probably syringe feed some mushed up pellets, just to get the extra nutrients in his system.

 

[Lexi01]

The only thing I can think of is to give him time. He's young and probably still recovering from the trauma of everything in the last two weeks. Give him time he'll eat when he's hungry you don't want to rush anything or overfeed and end up messing with his digestive system. Just like humans gaining and loosing weight in short amounts of time can have negative side affects. As long as the vet didn't say there's something else wrong causing him not to eat he should be good None of my rabbits are too "playful" they will come over when they desire nose scratches, and only when they desire. Other than that they kinda do their own thing and chew up my stuff.


He is so cute by the way!!! Adorable little guy

 

[JBun]

Sometimes for buns not used to eating hay, you can try fresh grass. I had a bun that I found outside and she wouldn't eat hay, but she would eat it fresh. So I cut bunches of fresh each day. Then you can start mixing it with the hay to see if that gets the bun eating the hay. You may also need to try different types of grass hay, as some buns can just be particular about what hay they will eat. For buns not used to fresh grass, early growth young grass can be too rich and best to slowly introduce into the diet. Longer more mature grass is usually better to use, with less chance of causing digestive upset.

For socializing, this link has some good tips on bonding with a new bun.
http://flashsplace.webs.com/bondingwithyourbunny.htm