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Poorly bum...help please!?

PearlyGirl

PearlyGirl

Mama Doe
Stew my smallest bun has been doing clumpy black poos since yesterday. I gave her hay and water only til today and she had pellets as normal this morning but it has started again. I have cleaned her up (mainly a mess because she chooses to sit in it once she has done it) but i am wondering what to do now?
I have cleaned their house from top to bottom, removed all hay and provided fresh etc etc. Do i keep her on hay and water? and if so how long can i do this for? she is her usual self and doesn't appear poorly so i am stuck now, help please!!

ps - do i remove dumpling from the house to feed him his pellets as normal? as stew keeps trying to take them off him!
 
Have you changed your brand of pellets recently? Don't remove Dumpling if Stew seems fine in general.Try withdrawing all pellets(from both buns) for a couple of days to see what happens. Give only hay and a little green veg, or if they have access to grass during the day even the fresh veg won't be necesssary in the short term. Keep an eye on Stew, as you obviously are doing:thumb: ...... as long as he is eating plenty of hay and his body language seems normal I'd give it a day or two to see if everything settles down. You didn't say whether his droppings are softer than usual..
 
they have been on excel since i got them both.Stew normally does the same pellets as dumpling but smaller but now they are in clumps and range from brown to black and are not runny but soft. I did change their hay about a week ago to super forage from excel. they were both in the garden a while saturday and afterwards both were a bit loose so i put it down to the grass, but now dumpling is fine...
they have been having small amounts of greens but i cut them out as well was this the right thing to do? i did it because i noticed yesterday a whole leaf of parsley in Stew's poo.
Thanks for the vote of confidence....i am doing my best lol, it's harder work than having newborn babies!!! xx
 
It sounds as though he is producing excess Caecatrophs which means that his foood is too rich. Some people find that their rabbits can't cope with excel pellets(nothing at all wrong with the pellets, it's just that some buns' digestive systems can't deal with them).
 
The buns are 10 and twelve weeks...stew is tiny tho. Forgot to mention the other new thing they have had is a gnaw stone?

what could i try instead of excel? any recommendations?
Thanks again!
 
Loads of forum members use excel with no problems, but those who do tend to go for Science Selective, or Allen and Page Pellets, among others. The A&P ones have a higher fibre content and have added probiotic but seems to be available only in 20kg sacks(ok if you've loads of buns!!). As I said, if Stew is showing no signs of discomfort then neither bun will come to any harm if you give them a day without pellets anyway. If you suspect it is the excel don't chuck it out as I'm sure a rabbit rescue would be grateful for them. lol
 
Thanks sooooo much for your help - as a newby to all this i am on constant watch lol, my hubby is away at the mo' and won't know what is going on when he comes back and he's been replaced by the buns! (my son has already said they get more stuff now than he does :oops:)

Good idea for the pellets, i have some p@h ones too, a full bag...i will look who i can donate them to! x
 
LOL. They don't really need a gnaw stone...their teeth will be ground down by eating hay . What breed are they? Any pics? We all Love bunny pics on the forum!!
 
Forgive me if someone else has mentioned this already but I think you need to be careful about how many pellets you are giving whatever the brand. One of ours (now 7 months) is rather delicate and even 3 or 4 pellets more than the usual can upset his stools. Yours are babies still and I know opinions differ about how many pellets for young ones but something to consider.
 
thank you! :) i usually give some in the morning and some at night...i do try to be careful as they would eat the bag if they could lol, how much is enough in your opinion?

I have loads of pics, but i am struggling getting them on with photobucket! i am useless!!!! x
 
Yours are only young so they may need more than an adult but for reference, mine have one level tablespoon of Supreme Science Selective pellets each per day, and they're big buns - the largest is 3.5kg. The bulk of their diet is fresh hay and they get a bowl of fresh veg every morning and evening. It does sound like yours are simply producing too many caecotrophs (dark coloured squishy poos all stuck together like a bunch of grapes). Cutting down the pellets will certainly help. Best of luck.
 
Can't help you with your photo's I'm afraid - technology is a mystery to me!

Now mine are over 6 months I only give about an eggcupful split in to 2 feeds plus a tiny bit of veg.

They were already on Science Selective and had just been chowing down as many as they could from their parents' and big sisters bowl and they were used to having veg when I got them at about 11 weeks old. I put them on to a daily total of about 1/2 the amount recommended on the pack - I think that amounted to 40g (?)

I had advice ranging from give 3/4 the amount recommeded for adults on the pack from 1 vet, another vet said they wouldn't get pellets in the wild they would be best on all hay and gradually introduce some veg, to websites that recommended ad lib pellets!

I wanted them to remain good hay eaters and the one was proving to be quite sensitive so I reduced down gradually to an eggcupfull a day.

I guess you just have to find what works for your buns.

Good luck.
 
Thank you all so much! no doubt i will be back with many many more questions....but they are getting reduced pellets as of now - sulk they may!:lol:
 
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