What follows is not necessarily a “cure all” for all rabbit digestive ailments, but the most widely practiced and first line of defense for what you should do in the event that your rabbit displays problems related to digestive and gastrointestinal issues.
Disclaimer:
The following represents the actions I take in the face of digestive problems in meat rabbits. It is based on a combination of learning from other meat rabbit owners, research from a variety of sources, conversations with Extension Service personnel, trusted, reputable books on rabbit husbandry, and more. What results is the consensus for the basic action that is the most common and most often recommended response to rabbit digestive issues.
*This should not be taken as veterinary advice, as I am not a veterinarian. Whether you choose to seek the advice of a veterinarian is your decision. Regardless, you will need to act before you can even get to a vet (or get one to you), and this is the action you should take while you consider whether further actions are warranted and while you wait for further assistance from a professional if you choose to exercise that route.
Jump to:
- What Sorts of Digestive Issues Should this Protocol Be Used For?
- Four Steps for Treating Digestion Problems in Meat Rabbits (Or Any Kind of Rabbit)
- 1. Water
- 2. Pull Pellets
- 3. Feed a Good, Basic, Good Quality Hay
- 4. Add Probiotics to Water
- Not the Time to Worry About Growth Rate or Weight Gain
- VIDEO: Digestive Stress or Illness in Meat Rabbits: 4 Simple Steps First Steps to Take
- How Long to Continue This Protocol
- Act Quickly
- This is the First Step Action
- Other Steps May Help, But Immediately Start Here
What Sorts of Digestive Issues Should this Protocol Be Used For?
Though this action doesn’t get down to the heart or cause of all digestive problems, it is still the bottom line of what you need to do for pretty much any time your rabbit has problems. Do this when your rabbit
- Stops eating
- Stops or slows defecating or bowel movements (pooping)
- Has diarrhea
- GI Stasis (gastrointestinal stasis)
- Bloat*
- Intestinal blockages or fur block
- Has unformed, softening manure
- Has manure that is changing in size (usually shrinking, becoming smaller and lower in quantity, and perhaps stopping altogether)
- Shows difficulty weaning or has weaning enteritis
- Pre-weaning or weanling kits showing lethargy or death
Of these, probably the most common are bloat and GI stasis. These are often lumped as the same condition, but they have different causes, according to veterinarians.
Bloat starts with a blockage that needs to be moved by fiber. This is the condition where infant gas drops can really help, helping mostly with pain and collecting the gas so it can be pushed out better by the fiber.
Stasis occurs when the gut slows down and/or stops for a variety of reasons. Two of the more common reasons are dehydration and stress.
For the most part, if in doubt, follow this protocol. The worst you can do is to slow weight gain for a few days. But the best you can do is pull a rabbit through an otherwise probably fatal situation.
Four Steps for Treating Digestion Problems in Meat Rabbits (Or Any Kind of Rabbit)
There are basically four simple steps to take. These will give your rabbit the best chance at recovery.
1. Water
You will need your rabbit to stay hydrated. Hydration is important for good gut motility and all the other functions of life. Rabbits experiencing diarrhea or enteritis will easily become dehydrated, which can lead to GI stasis, too.
In almost all cases, you should continue to water* your rabbit and perhaps push water by syringe feeding. There is an exception to this rule, according to some expert sources, for bloat only.
*Watering a Meat Rabbit with Bloat
*There are some resources that say not to give a rabbit water if it is in bloat, or at least not to push water or food via a syringe. This is because the water cannot move through the GI tract, and it builds up in the stomach, causing further pressure and discomfort, which then drops body temperature and creates a downward spiral.
Bloated rabbits are often quite thirsty, though, and drink a lot of water. This also means the rabbit probably has enough water in its system, but it needs to get the gut moving to use that water.
However, many times, rabbit digestive issues can be very similar, and more often than not, offering the rabbit water is in its best interest. That said, it is a good idea to do more research before you make this decision.
This veterinarian’s video shows how to palpate your rabbit’s stomach to figure out if what you are facing is bloat (which is blockage) or stasis. This will help you determine whether or not to push fluids or remove them and determine further courses of action beyond this base protocol: Feeling a Rabbit’s Stomach for Bloat
This video does a good job breaking down GI Stasis vs. Bloat: GI Stasis vs. Bloat in Rabbits
2. Pull Pellets
Whether the issue is bloat, stasis, enteritis, diarrhea, or something with a bacterial or viral cause, pulling pellets is a good measure. Some of these issues can be caused or exacerbated by a diet that is too high in protein (because rabbits don’t process extra protein, and it is excreted in the feces).
The other side of this is that the most important dietary factor in these instances is fiber to keep the gut moving.
While well-balanced pellets have good fiber, they are also rich in protein and other things that can worsen a problem. Protein isn’t doing a rabbit any good during the time that it can’t process it, so focus on the fiber.
3. Feed a Good, Basic, Good Quality Hay
Hay is a good source of digestible fiber. Of course, it has some other nutrient and protein benefits, but it is looked towards more for fiber than anything, and for the rabbit in distress, it is the best way to offer a more bland source of high fiber.
For blockages, if you can get the blockage moving, the fiber from hay will continue to clear out the gut and help it achieve good movement again.
For stasis, the fiber will help improve gut motility.
For other issues like diarrhea, it will build up fiber while providing a nutrition source that is lower in protein and less likely to exacerbate bowel issues.
4. Add Probiotics to Water
Rabbits rely heavily on good probiotic action in their digestive system. This is why they produce and consume cecotropes, which are a fermented hind-gut product that provides natural probiotics based on their diet and are a natural dietary and digestive aid.
Sometimes, the cause of a rabbit’s digestive problems begins with poor probiotic/gut microbes. There are a variety of causes of this, like stress causing them not to eat well, weanling kits not getting enough probiotics from the doe’s cecotropes or milk, abrupt changes to the diet that don’t give the rabbit time to build up a new supply of tailor-made probiotics in the cecotropes, and more.
And so, adding probiotics to the water of digestively stressed rabbits is beneficial. Probiotics
- Supply beneficial bacteria that the rabbits are not consuming themselves
- Replace probiotics that are not being produced naturally (or not being produced in a high enough quantity)
- Provide a source of probiotics for rabbits that are not producing feces and, therefore, are not producing cecotropes
- Replenish depleted probiotic stores in rabbits that are rebounding from digestive problems and help them return to good digestion faster
Not the Time to Worry About Growth Rate or Weight Gain
While it is true that a “hay only” diet will not give your rabbits as consistent a diet as well-balanced pelleted meat rabbit feed and that feeding hay only is likely lower in protein and will probably slow the weight gain and growth rate of your meat rabbits, this is not the time to worry about that.
Being sick with a digestive problem will slow or stop weight gain in and of itself. In fact, weight loss is likely to occur. And if you don’t take some steps to help your rabbit hopefully overcome the problem (which, truth be told, will not be possible in 100% of cases), the rabbit will almost certainly be a loss anyway.
For the next few days to a week, the only focus should be on stopping and healing from the episode of illness. If the rabbit continues to thrive again, there will be time to make up for the few days of lowered protein and rebound to productive weight gain again.
VIDEO: Digestive Stress or Illness in Meat Rabbits: 4 Simple Steps First Steps to Take
How Long to Continue This Protocol
Continue on this regimen until you see a return to more normal levels of activity, symptoms of pain, and distress retreat, and you visually see more normal fecal pellets in or below the cage. Then, you can begin to introduce pellets (or whatever your normal feed is). Introduce them in small amounts gradually and build up to their regular ration over a period of several days.
As an estimate, this should be a few days to no more than a week for a meat rabbit. The situation will generally be decided one way or another, by nature, by then. After a week, it would be time to consider the productive likelihood and overall cost of keeping an animal that fails to thrive anyway, and culling may be the responsible decision.
Act Quickly
The problem with veterinary care for rabbits, whether your own home care or the care of a qualified professional, is that it is often difficult to aid a rabbit by the time you know it is sick.
Rabbits are prey animals. That means they are naturally inclined to hide illness, weakness, and disease. By the time symptoms present, the issue has been brewing for quite some time.
Being attuned to your meat rabbits by observing them and working them every day (even if by working them that only means basic care, feeding, and watering), helps you to spot problems earlier. It can be easy to miss a symptom in a rabbit, and truly, some will never display issues and will seemingly drop without warning. In this, do the best you can.
The bottom line is you need to act quickly as soon as you know your rabbit is not in its normal state. And for that, this basic protocol is a good immediate action to take. Then, you can move on to consider possible causes and if other steps should be taken.
This is the First Step Action
To be clear, this is the first action for you to take. It may or may not be the only action you take. That is up to you and is dependent on the situation, the illness, and the cause and effect.
When you determine what you think to be the most likely cause of the illness, you can decide if there is more that you should be doing.
From a pragmatic view, with meat rabbits, because they are production animals, this may be the extent of the investment and intervention that you feel is sensible. It may make the most sense, and maybe the most humane thing, to cull the distressed animal instead. This might be especially true in the case of a rabbit that does not quickly rebound and, therefore, is never likely to make a good meat animal.
This may also be the case if you suspect a contagious cause, in which case culling for the health of the entire rabbitry may be in your best interest. These are the decisions every meat rabbit manager faces and must decide for themselves. Consider your research and decisions from a production and livestock point of view, not that of a pet rabbit owner.
Other Steps May Help, But Immediately Start Here
Use this protocol and begin immediately. If you determine a likely cause, there may be other steps you can take to aid your rabbit.
These are some of the commonly administered home treatments used with rabbits. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the times when one might be warranted.
- Infant gas drops (Simethicone) -- with no dyes -- sold over the counter at grocery stores and pharmacies and also in pet versions at pet and farm stores
- Critical Care Solution
- Electrolytes
- Coccidiosis Treatment (usually Corrid or Toltrazuril or both)
- Medications such as antibiotics or Metacam (which in many countries, including the U.S., must now be prescribed by a veterinarian)
- A heating pad or hot water bottle under the belly for pain relief
- Massaging from the stomach back toward the anus to help move the GI tract
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