Burgess Dualcare Recovery Diet Rabbits & Guinea Pigs 60g

Ingredients

Grass, Oat Feed, Wheat, Soya Bean Hulls*, Wheat Feed, Brewers Yeast, Lignocellulose, Soya Oil*, Short Chain Fructo-oligosaccarides (0.3%), Minerals, Mint & Rosemary. *May contain GM materials.

Analytical Constituents

Beneficial Fibre 42%, Crude Protein 13%, Crude Fat 3.5%, Crude Fibre 21%, Crude Ash 6%, Calcium 0.7%, Phosphorus 0.53%, Sodium 0.37%, Magnesium 0.18%.

Nutritional Additives

Vitamin A 30,000 iu/kg, Vitamin D3 3,500 iu/kg, Vitamin E 160 mg/kg, Vitamin C 10,000 mg/kg, Copper (copper (II) sulphate pentahydrate) 7.5 mg/kg, Zinc (zinc sulphate monohydrate) 90 mg/kg, Manganese (manganous sulphate monohydrate) 10 mg/kg, Iron (iron (II) sulphate monohydrate) 60 mg/kg, Selenium (sodium selenite) 0.3 mg/kg, Iodine (calcium iodate anhydrous) 0.5 mg/kg, Tryptophan 1000mg/kg.

Syringe Feeding

With recovering rabbits or guinea pigs, it might be necessary to help them feed by syringe feeding. To effectively syringe feed your rabbit or guinea pig you will need: Excel DualCare, a towel, a table (or a hard, flat surface), wide tipped syringe (you can get this from your vet).

How to syringe feed DualCare:

- Start by mixing the DualCare into a paste. Add 2 parts warm water, to 1 part DualCare and allow that to soak for 3-4 minutes. Then mix it into a paste. You will need to make a fresh batch every time you syringe feed.

- Place the towel on the flat surface, and then place your rabbit or guinea pig in a towel. Wrap their body in the towel, and leave their head exposed out the top.

- Gently tuck your small animal under your forearm. Gently hold their head. Place your index under their chin, and your thumb on the base of their skull at the back of their head. Place your remaining fingers on their chest, this helps keep them nice and secure, and prevents them from moving forward.

- Slowly and gently insert the syringe into the gap between the incisors and cheek teeth. The first mouthful should be no more than 0.2-0.5ml of paste.

- You should always make sure your small animal is actively chewing. Continue to feed the rest of their DualCare in small mouthfuls.

- Go slowly, making sure they are swallowing the paste and never feed more than 1-2ml of paste at a time.

- Once you have finished syringe feeding, place your rabbit or guinea pig in a familiar environment, with good quality feeding hay. This is so they can go back to normal feeding as soon as they feel well enough.

- Clean the syringe fully after each feeding session.

- Ideally your small animal should be fed 10ml of DualCare per kg of bodyweight three times a day. So, for a 3kg rabbit, you should feed them 30ml of Excel DualCare paste three times a day.

Feeding Excel DualCare Nuggets

As your small animal starts to recover, you can start to gradually progress them onto the nugget form of DualCare with no added water.Once your rabbit or guinea pig is fully recovered and back on their feet, you can move them back onto the most suitable Burgess Excel nuggets.

Things to remember

- If you are ever in doubt about any stage of the syringe feeding process speak to your vet.

- Be careful when mixing their paste. Making the paste too watery may increase the risk of aspiration, breathing the paste into the airways, rather than going down into their digestive system.

- Never give your small animal their paste while they're vocalizing. Wait until they are quiet before resuming feeding.

- Take it slowly! Give your rabbit or guinea pig no more than 1-2ml at a time and make sure they have fully swallowed the paste before giving them more.

- Always make sure your rabbit or guinea pig has access to plenty of good quality feeding hay, as well as access to fresh, clean water.