moody bunny

Question
My bunny, Daisy, is a spayed 1.5 year old dutch rabbit.  She only likes to be petted when she wants to be petted and is easily stressed.  If she is mad for some reason or is shedding, she stops eating.  I monitor her feces and food intake during that period but am worried that she will have GI distress and may cause her own death.  Usually she starts to eat after a day or two, but lately she has stopped eating altogether.  What can I feed her through a syringe that would allow some nutrients and promote survival?  She will not even eat fresh herbs or papaya.  

Answer
Does she have a constant supply of fresh hay? This will help promote digestive health, which will keep her eating.

Of course, if she will not eat it, that is still a problem. Have you taken her to the vet? It is not normal for a rabbit to just not eat without a reason. There may be an underlying problem such as kidney stones or something else that is causing her pain so that she does not eat.

For syringe feeding, you can grind up pellets and mix them with water and Pedialyte (you can find this in the infant section of most grocery stores; it contains good electrolytes without the sugar that sports drinks have) until it is thin enough to go through a syringe.