What is the best way to feed with a syringe? Or pills?

[bojay]

I feel like I'm traumatizing my bun when I have to give her meds.

I hold her for a while until she's calm, hold her like a baby in thecrook of my arm and try to slip the tip into her mouth.

I have a pill I have to give her every other day. I crushedup the first one and put it into pineapple juice in a syringe...shestill hated it.

For all those who wonder, these syringes DO NOT have needles attached to them. Just a short plastic tube shaped tip.

Any better way?

 

[VNess2010]

When I had to give Cosmo his sulfa meds forCoccidia, I wrapped him in a towel and held him tightly against mychest while my mom gave him the syringe in the side of his mouth....isthere someone else who can give you a hand with the meds??

-Vanessa

 

[Stephanie]

I've found with my rabbits, the easiest and bestway to give them pills is to crush them up and put them on a banana.They don't get bananas often, so when they do, it's a huge treat andthey go nuts for them.

As far as liquid form, I don't know what to tell you. We hadtogive one of our bucks some meds that way and he hated it somuch and was so traumatized by it, that I actually went to the vet toget it in pill form.

 

[Jenniblu]

Stephanie wrote:

I've found with my rabbits, the easiest and best way togive them pills is to crush them up and put them on a banana. Theydon't get bananas often, so when they do, it's a huge treat and they gonuts for them.

As far as liquid form, I don't know what to tell you. We hadtogive one of our bucks some meds that way and he hated it somuch and was so traumatized by it, that I actually went to the vet toget it in pill form.

That what I did too.

 

[Carolyn]

Hi Bojay,

Pills are easier for me than a syringe. With the pills, just behindtheir front teeth, there's a gap that you can put the pill into. I holdthe rabbit like a baby on it's back and 2 will let me push the pill in,and then the back teeth will start crunching on the pill.

The rabbit I have that's a biter, I have to use a cat pill popper with.I put the pill in the popper, put it into their mouth, as I mentioned -behind their front teeth, and get the pill in that way.

As for the Critical Care, I just asked Pamnock about this becauseBuck's rabbit had to be on it, and she suggested a turkey baster or aneedless syringe where you cut off the tip to help it get through. Youcan mix it up with Pedialyte, but you don't want to water the CriticalCare down too much.

When I give the rabbit the syringes, I always go slow. If I'm using a 1cc. syringe, I only give them a 1/2 of the needle, then take it out,let them swallow what they're holding in their mouth, and then finishwith the rest. You have to be careful not to do it too fast risking getthe liquid into the lungs.

-Carolyn

 

[Carolyn]

P.S. Hold the bunny tightly to you, and withconfidence. If the little one starts to squirm, hold tighter so thatshe feels secure, but knows who's running the show.

Don't let her win. Let her fight all she wants, hold her tightly, talkto her to calm her down, and get right back to business. Remember, sheneeds her medication to live. Your bond will be stronger afterwards.(Read Buck Jones post about Ernestine not feeling well. Case and pointin that story.)

Buck would say you have to take the attitude of being Kahuna Bunny. Iused to laugh at that thinking it was a joke, but it's not at all. It'svery true.

Tucker got to the point, when I was giving him all sorts of treatmentsevery 4 hours for GI Stasis, whereas when I caught him, he didn't evenbother to fight anymore because he knew that he might as well just getit over with. He's not a dumb bunny.

Good Luck.

 

[dreamgal042]

Ivory has medicine to take cuz of the thing on his leg, but he's not likin the syringe. He's not usually one to sit still and take things, so he's not too happy about having to sit still and have something stuck in his mouth. Can anyone give me any suggestions to make him more calm to take his medicine?

 

[Bunman]

Actually, fighting & controlling is not necessary.

If the med is in liquid form, or if you can crush the pill & mix it in a little fruit juice, you can carefully squirt the liquid a bit at a time on the bun's feet & chest. ( Not too much at a time or it will run off). They instinctively clean themselves by licking it up, so no trauma for bun or owner.

The pill in banana method may or may not work. My Little Bear caught onto it after the first time & refused to take it after that!

 

[Bunman]

BTW, Carolyn, i know you didn't mean "needle"! Just to clarify.

 

[naturestee]

dreamgal042 wrote:

Ivory has medicine to take cuz of the thing on his leg, but he's not likin the syringe. He's not usually one to sit still and take things, so he's not too happy about having to sit still and have something stuck in his mouth. Can anyone give me any suggestions to make him more calm to take his medicine?

If you know that he really likes something like banana or canned pumpkin, you could try hiding the meds in a small amount of it. Be prepared to syringe feed whatever you mix up though, in case Ivory doesn't like it.

Bunman, with prescription meds it's not a good idea to put it on them and have them clean it off. Some of the meds might run off or be flicked off instead of being ingested, and with stuff like antibiotics it's really important that they get the full dose. That's an okay method for sticky things like Nutri-cal though.

If that doesn't work, you'll need to hold him or wrap him in a towel and use the syringe. You can't expect him to stand still and lick it up, although a few rabbits will if they like the taste. Honeypot explains it really well:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11658&forum_id=16

HoneyPot wrote: Ok I'll tell you how my vet showed me to do this - and it worked!

get a towel, lay it on a table and put the bunn on the towel with his butt facing you, so you are standing behind him. Fold half the towel up so that it is covering the bun up to his neck.

And this is the part that I had to learn - you HAVE to be the boss and win the first fight to keep the bun still.

Lean over the bun so that if he tries to back up, he hits your stomach and has no where to go. Press the towel down so he is secure and hold his head with one hand. Keep a hold of his head so he has to stay still.

Take the syringe and gently put it on his front teeth and move it to the side (right or left beside their big front teeth) and find the little space between the top and bottom teeth - the syringe tip will slide right in.

Syringe a little bit at a time - remember their mouths are super small.

The most important part is that you HAVE to win and be the boss.Remember that it's not about being bigger/heavier or overpowering them with strength, you don't want to hurt them, you just have to be persistent and firm. Don't let him go when he tries to get away.

Misty would quiet down and take a lot of the syringing, then try to fight - but once she saw that I was unrelenting, she just sat and took the syringe.

I was never able to do until recently, so good luck - and keep trying.

____________
Nadia

 

[Bunman]

I agree my method requires some care, but people may want to have it as an option. I successfuly dosed Bear with Baytril that way. The secret is to apply just a small drop each time so none is lost, & the crushed pill should be mixed with the absolute minimum of liquid, which will ease the process.

Trying to get him to take it from a syringe to his mouth was when it REALLY went all over!