Need help with baby cotton tail! Possible bloat

[LilLulu]

I know I will get yelled at but I fed with a baby bottle!! My miricale nipple was dirty and I fed with bottle. Baby cotton tail is between 12-14 days old, I had fed him with the bottle hours ago and I was feeding the goats milk in carton as they were out of canned but got the canned and switched so food change . I just went to do another feeding and notice his belly is bloated it is air...I need help as to the next step? I have him moving...I don't wanna feed with him like this...can I do anything to help pass the air?
I know my mistake for bottle feeding .
His belly looks like he ate a full meal but he didn't...also would the food change do this? Need help thank you

[Mel1959]

I know nothing about bunnies, but there are some threads under the emergency section as well as other furry babies about what to feed them. Are you adding the other recommended ingredients to the goats milk? Colostrum, probiotics, etc? What formula change did you make? Is he eating any solids? Are eyes open? Looking through the Wild Mammal book I DO NOT see anywhere that they recommend simethicone for bloat. Because their systems are so fragile and I’ve never raised a bunny, I don’t know what to advise you.

Reach out to Cava or Milos mom in the morning and see if they can recommend anything.

Sorry, I hope your bunny gets better. :hug

[Milo's Mom]

Use GasX and LOTS of it. There is no such thing as an overdose. Pump it in like you would formula. No food till bloat goes away. Hydrate by SQ if necessary.

You might want to look at the formula as well...they need more than just GM.

How often are you feeding? Ten percent of body weight twice a day...that's it.

[LilLulu]

Thank you guys for the advice!!
Thumper as I named him seems to be doing better , I feed the Meyenbergs GM ...at the time the store only had it in the carton, so I was feeding this, then I got it in the can, which was the switch, so I was curious since the canned is heavier if this might have caused his belly to bloat, as the bloat seems to be gone, I thought maybe it took longer to digest?
From my research I gathered Thumper is 12-14 days old as when I got him his eyes were not open, they just opened over the past few days, he is becoming more active and more stable on his feet, still a bit shaky . I have never done bunnies just squirrels and read they require extra in there food, I trust you guys here as I know there is a lot of mis information out there, my reading said to add the ben bac gel to his GM?? Is this correct ? I also read not to put any greens in his nest until he is getting the ben bac gel? I plan to make a trip into town tomorrow to get it as I am out in the woods. I did some reading on other threads for some more info...again I have heard mixed on can I put grass clover etc in his nest...some say no, others say to do it as it will introduce what he needs in his gut. I was very surprised to find out how fragile there systems are! Very amazing little creatures .
Thumper is getting the required 10 percent of his body weight 2-3x a day. Again thank you for your help and any little tid bits of advice I would love! As I want to see Thumper to stay in this direction again I read they can go downhill very fast.

[Milo's Mom]

Bunnies CANNOT be raised on solely goats milk regardless of the brand or mix. It is not the proper nutrition and as he gets older he will begin to show the problems...such as blindness.

A proper formula can be made using GM and it is as follows:

1/2 cup goats milk*
1/2 cup KMR*
1-1.5 TBSP Colostrum (bovine)
1 teaspoon pro-biotic
3-4cc's heavy whipping cream

* 1/2 cup is 3 tablespoons of powder and 6 tablespoons of water

Since you've already been feeding him you need to add the other ingredients slowly so you don't crash his gut bacteria. When the eyes open you add TIMOTHY Hay. NOT alfalfa! After you see evidence of them eating the timothy hay in their poop you add timothy hay based pellets, after you witness them eating the pellets and the poop is still good (a couple days time) you add a dime sized piece of dandelion. Wait to see if poop is good, then add 2 dime size pieces of the dandelion and continue this process.

I would never used a canned (premix) anything on a bunny. There are so many preservatives in that stuff and the protein gets all messed up.

EDIT: GM in a carton is fresh and that is fine. It's the canned stuff that is no good.

[LilLulu]

Thank you so much Milos mom!!!
Exactly what I needed for info, and I will pick all that up tomorrow !! Sooo thankful of your response!!
I will stop adding the canned GM, and slowly introduce the other ingredients ...should I also slowly introduce the timothy hay? Or focus on the other ingredients first so he gets the correct gut flora going on first? I am truly amazed at how sensitive there systems are!! He is just the cutest thing I've ever seen I don't want to hurt him growing in anyway, this will be my first bunny and bunny release so I want to see him thrive! Again thank you so much for the info Thumper and I appreciate it!!

[cava]

You don't want to do more than one change at a time AND he has to have normal poops on the new formula before you can introduce timothy hay/pellets/greens.

You will be adding the probiotics and colostrum with the goal of offering gut flora that will allow him to properly digest food. Bunnies are born without it and it's a delicate balance that is often not accomplished which is why they are so hard to care for.

Do a slow transition from what you're feeding to the formula recipe MilosMom gave you and watch those poops. If diarrhea occurs, back up and take even smaller steps when making a change.

[LilLulu]

Thank you CAVA!! I figured to slowly introduce but just wanted to be sure.
From my reading as u said this is why they are so hard to raise as mom's milk has all this stuff so we have to add it in, and i guess unlike most animals mom's milk is so important throughout to ensure the proper flora in the gut, i also read that they eat there own droppings to help with this...kinda neat .
Thank you again for the great and much needed info!!