How to Force

How to Force-Feed a Rabbit

If your rabbit has gone for a couple days and has not eaten and is not producing any fecal pellets, then you may be faced with the need to force it to eat just to get it's digestive tract moving again and possibly to save it's life.

This is easier said than done, as anyone who has ever been in this position can tell you. This a battle of the wills, to some extent, and the rabbit often wins. Here are a couple of things we have found to be the most helpful in accomplishing the task:

What do you feed them?

We recommend that you keep on hand a bag of Oxbow's Critical Care. This is a finely ground mixture of hay and other nutrients that mixes with water to make a smooth paste and is easiest to handle.

Failing that, get some of your regular feed pellets and crush or grind them as fine as you can. Mix with enough water to make a runny paste.

I have heard the suggestion of using baby food (spinach), but I just can't find spinach at my grocery store. It must not be too popular (go figure).

You should also try to just get some water down them. Remember that rabbits can't digest their food without water. So follow up a force-feeding with one or two cc's of water if you can.

How do you feed them?

After trying several methods, our favorite is to use a good old plastic straw. Cut the end at a slant and round the tip.

Put the slanted end of the straw into the mixture, and use your mouth (yes, that's right) to suck a small amount up into the straw. Put your finger over the top of the straw to retain the contents.

Put the rabbit on a counter with a non-slip surface. Turn the rabbit so it's back is up against your tummy (it can't go backwards now) and slip your free hand under it's chin and around it's chest to restrain it (it can't go forward).

Force the slanted tip of the straw into the corner of it's mouth, behind the front teeth (be careful not to force the straw too far back into the throat). Release your finger from the top of the straw and let some of the mixture flow down into the rabbit's mouth. If it doesn't flow, you can thin the mixture OR you can use it thicker and just blow very gently into the top of the straw to make it come out (CAUTION: if you blow into the straw, you could possibly force the food down the trachea {windpipe} if you are too forceful and have the straw too far back...so use this method carefully).

Give the rabbit only a small amount at a time, remove the straw from it's mouth, and let it chew and swallow. If it won't, try thinning the mixture. Try to get at least a couple of cc's into the rabbit in the first session. You can try again later. The bunny may even get the hang of this and eagerly take the mixture from the straw later on.

When you have finished (or given up, whichever comes first), use a warm wet rag to remove any food material from the rabbit's mouth, chin and chest. This is a messy business, and if the rabbit is weak it may not clean itself up. Don't forget to try and get a couple cc's of water into the bunny as well, if you can.

Follow-Up Care:

Provide the rabbit with plenty of fresh grass hay and some rolled oats. Offer it a leaf of green kale, some parsley, some dandelion leaves (unsprayed), or some carrot tops. If the bunny will eat it, fresh peppermint leaves will help settle the stomach and relieve gas. Be sure there is plenty of fresh water.

Clean the cage pan or underneath the cage so that you can check to see if the rabbit is producing any new fecal pellets. They may be small at first, but should become larger and look more normal as the system comes back into balance.

You may need to continue to force-feed your rabbit for up to two weeks or even more, depending on the severity of the situation and your success at helping the animal to overcome it. If the rabbit doesn't start eating and drinking at least a little and producing some fecal pellets by 24 hours you should enlist the help of your vet, who will likely administer some drugs aimed at getting the digestive tract moving and replacing fluids lost to dehydration.

This is a situation that can turn deadly fast, so don't hesitate to seek veterinary help.