How to Give An Injection
Copyright Pamela Alley, 2005

There are several kinds of injection sites and types; the only ones I would recommend for those not in the veterinary field are IM (intramuscular) and SQ (subcutaneous, also abbreviated SC).

Intraperitoneal (IP) and IV are two I do NOT--emphatically do NOT--recommend be done by anyone but a trained professional.

First, get your 'stuff' ready. It's only complicated sounding, and once you get it set up, you can have a tote you keep in the fridge with everything you might need in it, clean and ready to use.

• --Alcohol swabs/pads or baby wipes to clean the tops of the medication bottles;
• --Clearly written or printed dosage chart for each medication, color-keyed to avoid confusion. I laminated mine on cardstock; Penicillin is white, Tylan yellow, Gentocin green, Ivomec orange.
• --1 and 3 cc sterile disposable syringes with a good supply of sealed new needles of 20, 22, and 25g sizes as appropriate to the meds you use;
• --Sharps container, clearly marked and secured so it can't dump over;
• --Medications, appropriately stored and clearly labeled. Placing clear packing tape over the labels of new bottles helps keep them readable for much longer. Protection from heat, cold, and light(for some) is important, so don't forget the hot/cold pack pocket and little black bag!
• --Latex or vinyl gloves if desired
• --Disinfectant (Nolvasan, Virkon, etc) or hand cleanser
• --Medication record-here is where you record all meds given to each rabbit and dose given, or if you're dosing the whole herd, "Herd dosed Ivomec/earmites--see dose chart" is sufficient. It's just important to know when you dosed, with what, why and how much medication you used ($$ calculations as well as time spent).

To give any injection, ALWAYS read the label on your med. THREE TIMES. Once upright, before inserting the needle to fill the syringe; once upside down while you fill the syringe; and again before you set the medication down!

Choose the right syringe and the right needle. A dose less than 1/2 cc is easier given with a 1cc syringe; at or over that, a 3cc syringe works fine.

Needle choice is hard when you first look at it, but it should be determined by the medication's consistency first, then by your comfort with it. :)

Some guidelines I use to choose--having fewer choices is cheaper, first of all, so I use 20g for everything. Penicillin and Ivomec are both quite thick, with Tylan and Gentocin being somewhat thinner. A needle smaller than 20g requires more pressure on the syringe and more time actually drawing up and giving the medication, so again, it's a savings to use 20g for me.

Now, 20g looks huge to some people, so you can try a 22g. You can still get Pen through it, but it takes patience to fill and to give. (I use Pen as the definitive measure due to its thick consistency.)

Penicillin doesn't like 25g needles at ALL. Neither does Ivomec, but it's possible.

Another thing to remember on needle size is that the larger the needle, the less likely it is that it may bend or break during use. They also stay sharp longer, as a general rule.

To give a SQ (subcutaneous) injection of medication or to give SQ fluids:
Hold the rabbit on a table with its head under your arm.
Feel over and slightly behind the shoulders for slightly loose skin. With the fingers of the arm holding the rabbit, grasp and lift this skin so that a 'tent' forms along the spine. Your other hand, holding the syringe, gently but firmly inserts the needle into the end of the tent area, parallel with the skin (for fluids, make sure the needle opening is downward). Insert the needle at least half its length.

Feel with your fingers inside the tent by rolling the skin between them; you should be able to feel the needle moving relatively freely under the skin. Pull back slightly on the plunger; if there is no blood, you're where you need to be.

Above the muscles, under the skin = subcutaneous.

Give the injection by depressing the plunger with medium force; withdraw the needle and roll/rub the skin around the insertion point to help it spring back and retain the medication under the skin.

It's really, truly, that simple.

To give Intramuscular (IM) injections:
Again hold the rabbit under your arm as before. Use the hand and fingers on that arm to feel the hindleg muscles and isolate the largest of the muscles gently between your fingers so that you can feel the 'belly' of it bulge slightly. This is your aiming point; you want to plant that medication smack dab in the center of the muscle.

Use your other hand to take the filled syringe and direct the needle to the middle of the muscle. Pull back slightly; no blood means you can go ahead and inject. If you get blood, find another muscle or try another site on that one.

A note on actually inserting the needle: You don't have to 'slap' it in; you don't have to 'poke'. Use your whole hand to hold the syringe and control your insertion of the needle so that it is smooth and easy, and removal the same.