Syringe Feeding Tips

[AshAndMaple]

Hi, I'm looking for tips on syringe feeding bunnies - my vet recommended wrapping them in a towel and holding them tight so they can't get away, but I'm really struggling to get anything into Maple - she throws her head back when she feels the syringe on her lips and she kicks until she escapes the towel. If anyone has any advice or alternative methods of holding her I'd love to hear it!


Context: Maple hasn't been eating so I took her to the vet today and they've diagnosed very early gut stasis. (Teeth are fine, and there is no obvious reason why this has happened). They injected painkillers and a gut mobiliser, and they've given me painkillers and gut stimulants to administer at home. The vet advised syringe feeding oxbow critical care.

 

[JBun]

Trying a different flavor of feeding mix will sometimes work. Some buns just don't like a particular flavor.

The links below have tips on medicating a bun. One way is to kneel down and place bun between the knees with your feet crossed so bun can't back out. If your rabbit isn't chewing and swallowing as you slowly syringe the contents, stop syringing as you don't want to risk aspiration occurring. Contact your vet as to how to proceed.

(Ignore the last method shown as it's not safe to have a rabbit lying reclined back while administering food/fluids, due to the risk of aspiration)

Medirabbit: restraining for medicating

Medicating your rabbit

 

[AshAndMaple]

Trying a different flavor of feeding mix will sometimes work. Some buns just don't like a particular flavor.

The links below have tips on medicating a bun. One way is to kneel down and place bun between the knees with your feet crossed so bun can't back out. If your rabbit isn't chewing and swallowing as you slowly syringe the contents, stop syringing as you don't want to risk aspiration occurring. Contact your vet as to how to proceed.

(Ignore the last method shown as it's not safe to have a rabbit lying reclined back while administering food/fluids, due to the risk of aspiration)

Medirabbit: restraining for medicating

Medicating your rabbit

Thank you, she refused anise last time so now she has apple and banana and I've managed to get maybe two mouthfuls in her (not great but better than nothing). She's happily munching up dill leaves and she's had a small piece of apple though so I'm taking that as a good sign and I'm going to go out and buy her more! She looks brighter than she did this morning and she's cheekily nibbling my clothes as I'm writing this so

 

[AshAndMaple]

Thank you, she refused anise last time so now she has apple and banana and I've managed to get maybe two mouthfuls in her (not great but better than nothing). She's happily munching up dill leaves and she's had a small piece of apple though so I'm taking that as a good sign and I'm going to go out and buy her more! She looks brighter than she did this morning and she's cheekily nibbling my clothes as I'm writing this so

There are loads of poos this morning! And she's even nibbling on hay which is great. She was extremely excited about dill leaves and basil, and was clambering all over me to get them. She lay down next to me for me to pet her which she hasn't done for days too so I'm hopeful she's on the mend I managed to syringe the medication into her last night, but she really doesn't make it easy! And I've got far more critical care stuck to my clothes than got anywhere near her mouth! I've tried putting it on the fresh food but she just nibbles around it you'd think apple and banana flavour on a piece of apple would be acceptable but apparently not.

 

[cwebster]

Dutchess hates syringe feeding. If she isn’t eating well or pooping, I start the meloxicam, simethicone, and motility stimulant. Then I cut grass outside and buy wheat grass and various veggies (carrot tops, parsley) and slowly put grass or veggie stems in her mouth. Usually she will chew them and it gets her eating.

 

[jeff38002]

unfortunately I have WAY too much experience with syringe feeding - here's a few things I've learned over the last 15 years or so:
1) with most pets you simply MUST make the slurry smell like their regular food or treats that they are used to eating, or you're going to have a hard time
2) using a mixer, blending their pellets with water (add just a little water at a time) is almost always easier to get them to eat than any specialty food they aren't used to, and almost always as nutritious and almost always much cheaper
3) we don't bother using an oral syringe, instead we use a luer style sryinge (the type with the twisting end for injection needles) and drill out the center of the tip with a small drill bit (it's very easy to do by hand, usually no need for a drill) creating a much larger orifice which allows the slurry to be thicker and flow out much easier (which in turn is much safer)
4) if assist feeding them is going to be done on a routine basis, don't bother wrapping them up - in our experience this only angers or even frightens them; instead, make the slurry so delicious they want to eat it as a treat and you won't need to secure them in any way at all (with a little trial and error you can make it nutritious and delicious)
5) if you have a multi-pet household, it's sometimes easier to give the other pets some of the slurry too, without any medications of course, instead of separating them while eating if they're accustomed to eating near each other (try to make it as normal as possible). This also helps for any future needed assist feeding, if a different pet gets sick, because they'll already be used to doing it.
6) if at all possible, do it on the floor (again, keep this as normal as possible) and expect it to take a few minutes. Let them take a short break if wanted and then finish up the syringe a few minutes later.
7) if the medicine tastes or smells weird, "Mary Poppins" it (a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down; for cats we use stinky fish, for buns we add different herbs/vegetables/wheat grass - a few small mint leaves work well for us)
8) time of day matters (you know your pet and you know when they're most likely to be hungrier, use that to your advantage)
9) always tap out the air bubbles - best case scenario it makes a big mess when the syringe "burps", worst case scenario you could aspirate your pet
10) once the syringes start squeaking or sticking, throw away the plunger half (or risk squirting massive amounts in their mouth at once and possibly aspirating them) but keep the cylinder half and use it with a new plunger half so you don't have to redrill another hole
11) if it's going to be ongoing, buy them in bulk online for MUCH cheaper than you'll likely find them locally
12) often times you can get pets to eat the slurry off of their bowl/plate if they watch you squirt it from the syringe, yet they sometimes won't eat it if you squirt it without them seeing you do so (maybe our pets are just weird like that, I dunno)
13) it's a bit of a learning curve, but it's a short curve and obviously worth it - when done properly, your pet just thinks they're getting a special treat and will usually enjoy the feeding
14) it's easy to do, you just have to be careful and go slow until you and your pet get the hang of it (usually after just a few times)