# 4 week old bunny not pooping-Resolved keeping an eye on her



## Lovinmybuns (Nov 25, 2007)

I just got a new bunny yesterday from a breeder. She's a four week mini lop. I've had her home for quite some time, over night and I realized she hasn't been poopin. There are two tiny tiny poops, but that's about it. I notice that she is eating Timothy hay, but has not touched her pellets as of yet. She is drinking minimal amounts of water. Is there any thing I can give her to stimulate her to go to the bathroom? I see a lot about pumpkin. Would this be good for her and how much would I give to this 4 week old lil bun? Thanks so much for your help :thanks::hug:

She is acting normal.....doing lots of cleaning herself, jumping around, is very alert, etc. I read an article about enteritis in young rabbits and I don't want to run into problems like that. I recently lost my rabbit Peants (as you all may remember) and I'm not ready for such a loss again. 



Marissa


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## BlueGiants (Nov 25, 2007)

My first question is why did you bring the bunny home at 4 weeks of age? That is way too early to be taken from it's mother. I don't wean babies until 6 weeks for Mini Rex and 8-10 weeks for Flemish.

That being said, if she is eating her timothy hay, it is a good sign. Were the pellets changed or are they the same that the breeder was using?


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## Lovinmybuns (Nov 25, 2007)

*BlueGiants wrote: *


> My first question is why did you bring the bunny home at 4 weeks of age? That is way too early to be taken from it's mother. I don't wean babies until 6 weeks for Mini Rex and 8-10 weeks for Flemish.
> 
> That being said, if she is eating her timothy hay, it is a good sign. Were the pellets changed or are they the same that the breeder was using?



Thank you for your response......I didn't know that it was too early to be taken from the Mom at four weeks old. I got her from a breeder. Had I known, I wouldn't have got her. 

The pellets she is being fed is different than the pellets the breeder was giving her....so I understand that she has to acclimate to that. But even after eating Timothy hay, she isn't really having any bowel movement. Any suggestions in regard to that?


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## Flashy (Nov 25, 2007)

She really needs to be eating the same food as the breeder wasx feeding her. This breeder has done you and the bun a disservice, so you ideally need to go back to the breeder to get some of the food. The breeder should really have provided you with some food for your bun any way.

I don't know what to suggest, but keep giving her lots of fresh hay (every hour or so) and make sure you get some of the same food she was being fed or it could upset her very delicate stomach, which could have tragic consequences.


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## ra7751 (Nov 25, 2007)

Hi,

That rabbit is nowhere close to being weaned. I can't believe a breeder would allow such a thing. Domestic rabbits should be weaned about 8 weeks. I hate to say this but the best possible situation is to return this little guy to it's mother and try again in about a month.

It is very difficult to hand wean a rabbit. It requires some very special techniques and a lot of luck...mostly luck. I do hand wean cottontails and their digestive system is identical to domestics. The gut will undergo a drastic change of environment as the rabbit weans. With cottontails, this conversion is around 21 days old...with domestics it's a little later. A rabbit is a hind gut fermenter and uses beneficial bacteria in it's GI tract, and includes a very specialized organ called a "cecum", to store and grow beneficial bacteria to properly digest food. The digestive system has evolved to extract every bit of nutrition it can from foods they eat in nature....mostly grasses and barks. This bacteria is very fragile and changing things can be very destructive to the flora growth....changing food, improper food, illness, stress, etc. With a baby rabbit, the bacteria is not well established and is extremely fragile. In the case of a weaning rabbit, the gut quickly converts from a baby gut to an adult gut. The rapid change in pH is very stressful to the bacteria population. If the rabbit doesn't have what I call a "ready gut"....very bad things happen. The condition is known by many names depending on location....I know it as entertoxemia. Even with the advanced protocols I use here in our rescue, it is a huge challenge to overcome this condition once it presents. I manually manipulate the weaning environment in cottontails in order to alter the quick conversion. I basically slow it down to allow the bacteria time to adjust to the new environment. This is a technique I have used for two rescue seasons and I am still fine tuning...but it is working. 

In addition, rabbits that age are still very vulnerable to temperature...and I still have my cottontails on supplemental heat. And they are very prone to dehydration....and I suspect that might be what is going on with your rabbit. Dehydration will kill a baby quickly. I routinely use supplemental fluids in weaning rabbits in rescue.While administering orally is better than nothing....sub-q would be better (IV is best but it would be quite a challenge to get a vein in a rabbit this small).Most people don'thave thecapabilityto administersub-q or IV (everyone should be able to do this...it's a life saver) soI would suggest using unflavored Pedialyte orally. My normal hydration protocol is initially doinga shock value of 5% and follow up daily with 3% (that is of body weight) depending on absorbtion. If you attempt to do this orally....rabbits are notorious for their poor ability to suckle...it is quite easy to aspiarate the fluid into the lungs...and then you have another life threatening situation. I would get some fluids going and if given orally, be very careful and do so slowly. It might help to warm the water to about 100F. We always offer warm formula.

Bottom line, in my opinion, is to get this little guy back to his mother and allow him to properly wean.

Randy


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 25, 2007)

I agree. If you can get her back to mama bunny - that's the best thing.

Honestly, I never expected Cloverbunny to survive, but I kept her warm, and I constantly checked her and gave her fresh water and mixed feed. She still had a couple of "issues" I got her through but seriously - it wasn't easy.


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## TinysMom (Nov 25, 2007)

First of all, don't beat yourself up over the fact that you didn't know that four weeks was too young to take away the baby from the mama. The breeder should have known that - not you. Now you need to make the best of a bad situation.

The first thing I would do is try to get that baby back to its mama. Ask the breeder to let you visit or something for a bit but explain to the breeder (give them the link to our forum if you want) that the baby needs to be with its mama for at least another two weeks - and actually four weeks would be better.

If you are unable to do that - then get the same food as the breeder uses. Call the breeder and get the brand name and get that food ASAP. Do NOT feed the baby another brand of pellets. Its system is probably going through enough stress being away from mama and stuff that you don't want to stress it by making it adapt to a new brand of food.

Do NOT give the baby any treats and I wouldn't be giving it any greens either. I would only be giving it hay, maybe a tiny bit of oatmeal (uncooked) and the pellets it is used to.

I hope you know we're not trying to make you feel bad when we talk about taking the baby away so young. We're upset - but we're upset with the breeder and in shock that someone would sell a baby so young (even though we see it happen all the time).

Let us know what happens and let us continue to help you. I'm sorry for your recent loss of your other bunny - hopefully if this one can go back to mama for a bit longer it will be able to live with you a long time and be healthy and happy.

Peg


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## Lovinmybuns (Nov 25, 2007)

Thank you all so very much for your replies and concern for my lil girl who is still nameless ( I think her name is going to be Holly...but debating still). After I posted on here, I did call the breeder (who happens to breed rabbits for a hobby..it's an older couple and I don't think they realized the harm they did) and the wife felt absolutely horribly. She said that it was definitely not normal to not be going to the bathroom, etc. So she suggested I gave it a small amount of cabbage and a small carrot. This had been what they were doing prior and the bunny was fine. The littermates (who were also taken from the mother) were eating and drinking...all was fine with them...I was watching them yesterday. My lil girl was kept at the breeders house so that I could obtain her.So any ways, I gave her the cabbage and carrot (which is what she was used to) and she ate that like there was no tomorrow. Shortly after she started going to the bathroom, teeny tiny balls...but better than nothing. Then she has been eating the pellets (not the same as the breeders). She's been drinking....I think she was having a hard time drinking from the bottle because it's huge...so I put water in a small bowl for her. She's acting normal, doing binkies too which is great.....nothing that I would say that's out of the norm. She's not looking uncomfortable or grinding her teeth. She's eating and drinking. Just I have to keep monitoring her poop output. 

I totally understand where you were all coming from and I know you weren't trying to make it out like I was a bad bunny mommy or any thing. I know you are all trying to help. I was going to take her back to her Mom, but I'm a little nervous about that. They had been breeded outdoors and were currently in outdoor temps....I have my lil girl inside. I didn't want to bring her from inside to back to outside and really shock her. Being that she is eating and pooping somewhat, what do you guys think? Does she still need to make the transition back to her Mom or would you see what happens? The breeder said she had been eating on her own and was doing fine....Right now in her cage she has the pellets I'm giving her, Timothy hay, water and a Peters pinecone for her to chew on and a salt wheel. She eat the cabbage and carrot already...not giving her any treats or any thing else. Will she be okay? Thanks to all for your help :thanks::bunny24


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 25, 2007)

Actually, the cabbage can cause gas, and carrots are very sugary - not good at all for a young bunny.

Changing their pellets is not good either. Now, in a couple of days she could come down with something really bad..... I think I'd try something else.

How long was she kept in the house away from Mom? and why so early? are you sure she's 4 weeks???


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## Pipp (Nov 25, 2007)

Actually, the cabbage and carrots are okayif that's what she's used to, but if she's been off them for awhile, don't give her too much.I'm finding that tolerance very often depends on their diet around weaning time. (The carrots are high sugar, though).

I'd try and get her eatinghay. 

Great about the water, was going to ask about adding a dishas well. 

I'll leave the rest for Randy to answer, not sure if the temp change orearly weaning is worse. 

Good luck! :goodluck So glad she's eating and pooping. 



sas :clover:


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## Lovinmybuns (Nov 25, 2007)

She's actually going to be five weeks tomorrow...I had it figured out wrong..so she's five weeks old. She was in the house half of yesterday and all day today....so figure a little over 24 hours. I keep checking on her and she is doing okay. Every time I go into the room where she is, she's eating her pellets and I've noticed she's produced more poops....just very tiny ones.


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 25, 2007)

Keep a close eye on her. The issue isn't so much now that she's not pooped right - she's on the mend from what you're saying - it's just the changes and the weening factor. If she's been weened for some time now, she's ok - but if they just weened her yesterday or the day before - it's possible she could get sick.

Do you have alfalfa based pellets? alfalfa hay? 

What is she? and pictures are great ya know


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## Lovinmybuns (Nov 25, 2007)

*Bo B Bunny wrote: *


> Keep a close eye on her. The issue isn't so much now that she's not pooped right - she's on the mend from what you're saying - it's just the changes and the weening factor. If she's been weened for some time now, she's ok - but if they just weened her yesterday or the day before - it's possible she could get sick.
> 
> Do you have alfalfa based pellets? alfalfa hay?
> 
> What is she? and pictures are great ya know


Yeah, she is definitely on the mend....never appeared to be sick....I was just concerned that she hadn't pooped. I'm soo used to having larger rabbits (mini lops, a rex...etc, but I aquired a lot of them older) so I know their poop is usually larger.....since she is so small, I guess this would be why her poops are small, right? She is a mini lop.....I will have pics up tomorrow.....I have some on my cellphone but I don't have the wire to transfer them to the computer. Her food right now is alfalfa based and the hay is Timothy hay. Is that okay? Thanks so much again for your help!!


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## ra7751 (Nov 25, 2007)

Hi again,

That is good news about some poops...some are better than none at all. At this point, I would try my best to get things stabilized in her life....in all aspects such as food, housing andeven noises and activities in the house around her. Bunnies don't like changes of anything. Keep her life as stress free as possible. I would not feed cabbage...some rabbits tend to get a little gas from that....and take it easy on the carrots. If I were in your situation, I would treat this little girl like I do cottontails. It will be a risky venture but if you would like, I will walk you thru it. Just PM me for details as things evolve. Basically, since she probably did not get a good diet where she was, it's your responsibility as her mom to do that....and it sounds to be like you are willing to do whatever it takes to get her thru this difficult time....and that is the way is should be. With the cottontails, I feed them unlimited hay with most of it being alfalfa. The small broken up leaves of the alfalfa are easy for those tiny molars to handle. And it doesn't require a lot of work on the inexperienced bunnie's part. Alfalfa contains a lot of nutrients and calories which is what she needs at this time. High quality alfalfa is a sweet smelling and tasting food and most rabbits love it. The goal is to get her to gain weight every day.Daily weight gain is an indication of an evolving and stabilizingdigestive system and that things are going right....if she doesn't gain weight, the GI is not stabilizing. I also feed my cottontails the commercially packaged "Spring Mix"....it's a mix of greens that are bunny safe. If you have a Sam's Club near you....I purchase a large container for less than $4. Introduce the greens in very small amounts....a few smallpieces offered several times per day and in increasing amounts as she ages. Keep the pellets going free choice. Make sure she is drinking. And as you mentioned....many tiny rabbits can't drink from a bottle so youproviding her with asmall crock is the right thing to do. I usually have to offer supplemental fluids to many weaning rabbits via sub-q infusions. Are you familiar with a product called Oxbow Critical Care? It is an excellent food source that is usedwith sick and recovering rabbits. It has lots of vitamins and minerals. It also contains some bacteria. It doesn't contain the stuff that needs to grow, but it does help to set up a favorable envirionment for the beneficial bacteria to grow on it's own. TheB Comp additives also help stimulate the appetite. I usually sprinkle some of the powder over the greens. Make sure you maintain her body temperature. Some of the babies, even if they are fully furred, don't have a really good handle on maintaining that body temp....and they can become hypothermic even at room temperature.

And on a personal note.....your quick thinking and observations most likely will loom large in the effort tosave this bunny's life. This situation is not your fault at all....but you get a big Gold Star from me for quickly seeing this problem and your efforts to find help for her. Healing vibes are headed her way. And by the way....we once had a very special little lady named Holly. We called her "Hollybean".

Randy


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 25, 2007)

Randy! I have always wondered about the organic spring mix they have at the grocery. Ours has it in a little plastic tub and I see things like greens but some other stuff I wasn't sure about.


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## Lovinmybuns (Nov 25, 2007)

*ra7751 wrote: *


> Hi again,
> 
> That is good news about some poops...some are better than none at all. At this point, I would try my best to get things stabilized in her life....in all aspects such as food, housing andeven noises and activities in the house around her. Bunnies don't like changes of anything. Keep her life as stress free as possible. I would not feed cabbage...some rabbits tend to get a little gas from that....and take it easy on the carrots. If I were in your situation, I would treat this little girl like I do cottontails. It will be a risky venture but if you would like, I will walk you thru it. Just PM me for details as things evolve. Basically, since she probably did not get a good diet where she was, it's your responsibility as her mom to do that....and it sounds to be like you are willing to do whatever it takes to get her thru this difficult time....and that is the way is should be. With the cottontails, I feed them unlimited hay with most of it being alfalfa. The small broken up leaves of the alfalfa are easy for those tiny molars to handle. And it doesn't require a lot of work on the inexperienced bunnie's part. Alfalfa contains a lot of nutrients and calories which is what she needs at this time. High quality alfalfa is a sweet smelling and tasting food and most rabbits love it. The goal is to get her to gain weight every day.Daily weight gain is an indication of an evolving and stabilizingdigestive system and that things are going right....if she doesn't gain weight, the GI is not stabilizing. I also feed my cottontails the commercially packaged "Spring Mix"....it's a mix of greens that are bunny safe. If you have a Sam's Club near you....I purchase a large container for less than $4. Introduce the greens in very small amounts....a few smallpieces offered several times per day and in increasing amounts as she ages. Keep the pellets going free choice. Make sure she is drinking. And as you mentioned....many tiny rabbits can't drink from a bottle so youproviding her with asmall crock is the right thing to do. I usually have to offer supplemental fluids to many weaning rabbits via sub-q infusions. Are you familiar with a product called Oxbow Critical Care? It is an excellent food source that is usedwith sick and recovering rabbits. It has lots of vitamins and minerals. It also contains some bacteria. It doesn't contain the stuff that needs to grow, but it does help to set up a favorable envirionment for the beneficial bacteria to grow on it's own. TheB Comp additives also help stimulate the appetite. I usually sprinkle some of the powder over the greens. Make sure you maintain her body temperature. Some of the babies, even if they are fully furred, don't have a really good handle on maintaining that body temp....and they can become hypothermic even at room temperature.
> 
> ...





> Dear Randy,





> I can't thank you enough for all of your help. I am quite dedicated in helping my lil girl get into tip-top shape. I was just with her for about 40 minutes and she's eating away at her pellets and timothy hay (tomorrow I will go and get her the alfalfa hay). She's drinking very well....I really think she wasn't able to drink yesterday because of the huge water bottle in her cage. She's doing well with the little bowl. Now is this the greens you are talking about....I should be able to get this in the grocery store because I don't have a Sams Club close enough to me that I can get to after work tomorrow. I am so greatful for all of your help !!





>


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## maherwoman (Nov 26, 2007)

Watching this thread, and praying for your little baby girl...ray::hearts


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## TinysMom (Nov 26, 2007)

I use the spring mix a lot too with sick rabbits.....they LOVE it.

Peg


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## Lovinmybuns (Nov 26, 2007)

Is the spring mix the mix of greens that I posted above in another previous post (the picture I posted a couple of replies above). Thanks


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 26, 2007)

yeah! that's the kind! I never knew if it was all ok for them. YAY! I'm going to the grocery today and I'll have some happy bunnies tonight!

How's little baby girl doing now?


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## Lovinmybuns (Nov 27, 2007)

I just wanted to update you all and let you know, that my Lil Holly (Holly Berry) is doing very well. She's poopin up a storm, is loving her pellets, is drinking tons of water and enjoys the Spring Mix lettuce (she gets a piece per day...don't want to over do it yet)......so far, nothing out of the ordinary (knock on wood). I want to thank you all for your help and concern about my little baby.....she is much appreciative too :thanks::hug1 I will try to post pictures on here...I took tons of them, but I can't get them to post for whatever reason.....LOL 

[align=center]Marissa[/align]


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 27, 2007)

Do you have a Photobucket account or similar? If you upload them there and then link them you should be fine.

I'm so glad Holly is doing well! I was hoping she would come along ok. 

Keep us posted on how she's doing for sure!


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## maherwoman (Nov 27, 2007)

WONDERFUL news...and what a cute name!! 

Yeah, I would LOVE to see pictures of her sweet little face!!


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