Advice needed on cecotrophs please

I need some advice please. Jack and Taz have always been very good regarding their litter tray. However, I have noticed slowly over the last week or so that there have been cecotrophs left around the shed. At first it was the odd one, but has increased slightly. Today, I have found 3 in one corner. I am 99% sure it is Taz, although both have a clean bottom, and I keep them well trimmed. Neither have poo around their bottom. I am just becoming concerned now. I read a similar thread recently that suggested cutting back on their pellets which I have done slightly. Their diet is as follows: AM - fresh hay in both litter trays and 2 hayracks, bowl of dried grass, treat ball containing Naturals Herbal Mix. PM - piece of vegetable each, bowl of SS pellets (enough to cover bottom of bowl), more hay/grass as necessary. A piece of vegetable means either a carrot, stick of celery, spring green leaf, 2/3 lettuce leaves or 3/4 chunks of cucumber each. I give them 1 type of veg a day to prevent selective feeding, but alternate so they don't have the same 2 days running. Treats are a banana chip or Burns carrot chip, and only 1 a day. Could it be something I am doing wrong with their diet? Does it sound unhealthy? Should I take them to the vets? They both seem fine and active. I am starting to worry though...

They don't need a vets if they are fine otherwise. I'm pretty sure if you cut out the dried grass and herbal mix, and feed the same type of veg daily, so they have a chance to get used to digesting it, you won't have a problem - and you could also substitute the banana and carrot treats (which I guess being sugary might rot their teeth) for SS pellets - mine would jump through hoops for them

drboo said:

I need some advice please. Jack and Taz have always been very good regarding their litter tray. However, I have noticed slowly over the last week or so that there have been cecotrophs left around the shed. At first it was the odd one, but has increased slightly. Today, I have found 3 in one corner. I am 99% sure it is Taz, although both have a clean bottom, and I keep them well trimmed. Neither have poo around their bottom. I am just becoming concerned now. I read a similar thread recently that suggested cutting back on their pellets which I have done slightly. Their diet is as follows: AM - fresh hay in both litter trays and 2 hayracks, bowl of dried grass, treat ball containing Naturals Herbal Mix. PM - piece of vegetable each, bowl of SS pellets (enough to cover bottom of bowl), more hay/grass as necessary. A piece of vegetable means either a carrot, stick of celery, spring green leaf, 2/3 lettuce leaves or 3/4 chunks of cucumber each. I give them 1 type of veg a day to prevent selective feeding, but alternate so they don't have the same 2 days running. Treats are a banana chip or Burns carrot chip, and only 1 a day. Could it be something I am doing wrong with their diet? Does it sound unhealthy? Should I take them to the vets? They both seem fine and active. I am starting to worry though...

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My Bunnies all say can they come and live with you please. So much food!!!

Some dried grasses are high in protein which can cause excess caecotrophs. So aswell as cutting 'right back' on the pellet feed I'd half the dried grass quantities too.
Some herbs make caecotrophs less palatable to Bunnies. So perhaps try putting a feww SS pellets into the traetball rather than the Herbal Mix

Try to avoid sweetie treats A dandelion leaf is better than the banana chips.

Reducing the overall amount of protein/carbohydrates your Buns get will mean they fill up on hay. This should stop the excess caecotrophs within 2-3 days. If the problem persists it may be a good idea to get your Vet to check the Buns' teeth. Sometimes Buns with molar spurs dont eat their caecotrophs. But to me it sounds as though your two are just being fed a bit *too* well

Janex

im probably completely off but maybe its the fireworks??? i read when something changes they may produce more of the edible poop and somehow get sidetracked and not eat it..... when we first got Alvin there was a few about, when we went to scotland again i was finding them and when we changed his living arrangements i found them for about a week.... strangely non after he came back from the rescue tho.... my point is if the fireworks are banging when the little uns are supposed to be eating poop they may be distracted and forget about what they was doing......

Alvin eats way more veg than you are feeding without excess poops and he probably gets more pellets too so id be surprised if its the diet

:wave: How old are your buns and how long have you had them?

If you've had them a while and there have been no dietary changes recently, it's possible that one of them is not eating their caecatrophs because they can't rather than because they are producing too many. Common causes are either a dental problem or stiffness in the back which means the bun can't bend round easily to eat them. But first port of call I would look at the diet and see whether tweaking it does make a difference - obviously keeping an eye out for any behavioural or other problems which may suggest a vet visit soner rather than later.

What sort of lettuce leaves do you give? Some aren't good for buns, likewise carrot is very sugary and can upset the gut if too much is fed. I would be more inclined to feed a mix of vegetables daily rather than one type or another, to keep their gut more used to the full range (e.g. give a slice of carrot, half a spring green and a couple of slices of celery). Are they eating the hay you are giving? What does the natural herbal mix consist of? Which type of dried grass is it? Some dried grasses are quite high in protein so if they are munching away on a lot of that, it may be too rich - maybe this has started to show up because of the change in season and therefore the richness of the crop is different.

I would cut back on the veg a bit and try and keep it a bit more consistent, give less dried grass and more hay, and if there is no change or it gets worse, then I'd suggest a trip to the vets to check them over.

donnamt said:

im probably completely off but maybe its the fireworks??? i read when something changes they may produce more of the edible poop and somehow get sidetracked and not eat it..... when we first got Alvin there was a few about, when we went to scotland again i was finding them and when we changed his living arrangements i found them for about a week.... strangely non after he came back from the rescue tho.... my point is if the fireworks are banging when the little uns are supposed to be eating poop they may be distracted and forget about what they was doing......

Alvin eats way more veg than you are feeding without excess poops and he probably gets more pellets too so id be surprised if its the diet

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Good point about the fireworks too My girls in the shed occasionally leave them on the floor but I don't worry about their diet as I assume it's because they've got distracted (living with 3 sisters is very distracting I'm sure )

I didn't realise I might be feeding them too well

To explain the veggie situation, when Jack first came to me, he was very fussy about veg. I introduced it slowly, and he was selective, so I started to give him 1 type a day. The habit stuck, and continued when Taz arrived. I shall start giving a selection like I give Lily my foster bun from tonight .

I didn't realise about grass - so shall cut it out, as coming to end of bag anyway. As for the herbal mix, thought that would be good as people on here spoke about feeding herbs, but not in a position to feed fresh herbs, so thought it would be a good substitute. They only have their treat ball filled to a third, but shall substitute with SS, which they LUUURRRVVVE :lol: . Hopefully, this should sort the problem. Taz is 5 though, so maybe she isn't as nimble as she was. If thats the case, I'll send her to yoga or pilates :lol: No seriously I'll take them both for a check-up if the problem persists.

Thanks for your advice everyone - I feel like I have really learnt something today. I just hope you don't all think I am a bad bunny mummy . Oh and just to clarify, they are not overweight at all . Shall keep you posted :wave:

hello, I know this was ages ago but did any of this help? Mo does caecatrophs (especially at night) and leaves them and I presumed it was becasue he doesn't eat hay. Just wondered if your had reduced/stopped?