Not eating caecotrophs?

My bunny tila, who some of you may remember, has stopped eating his caecotrophs. He is still scoffing his dinner and eating hay, and still is producing normal pellets in his litter tray, but ive been finding piles of caecotrophs uneaten every few days. Is this a problem? For those of you who dont know tila he is approximately 23mths old, and had his incisors removed last november due to osteomyelitis, which he was cleared of earlier this year (yay!)

I'm so pleased he got over osteomyelitis. That is amazing!!

With his caeotrophs, I'm assuming that he eats most of them. It sounds as if there could be a bit too much nutrient & not enough fiber in his diet. Which means a gentle reduction in any starchy veg/fruit/sugars/dried bread/dried feed etc & increase in finely cut up hay/grass/herbs, until he eats them all. As long as his weight isn't an issue.
The main risk is fly strike as flies are attracted to uneaten caecotrophs.
A good balance between fiber & nutrient is important for healthy working bowels. I think it is well worth trying some slow changes.

There are other reasons for uneaten caecotrophs such as a change in diet/ make of dried feed. Another is the getting "wrong" bacteria in the caecum (dysbiosis). Our buns put their heads down for caecotrophs by reflex action but won't eat them unless they smell right!! I feel that you'd be getting uneaten caecotrophs every day in those situations, & certainly smell the difference with dysbiosis yourself!!
Please let us know how you get on.

In addition to what Thumps has said, I'm wondering if ths started after his incisors were extracted? or more recently? Perhaps he has difficulty picking them up without his front teeth? Also incisor malocclusion is very often associated with molar (cheek) teeth issues and sometimes these can affect buns preference for food consumption (caecotrophs included). I think it would be worth having your vet check his molars and mouth for sores or blisters and/or molar spurs.
There are other medical reasons buns don't eat their caecotrophs as well such as obesity, arthritis etc.. so it would be worth popping him to the vet if it doesn't clear up with dietary changes (which can take several weeks to work by the way).

Thanks for the advice

I think by the things you have described, it could be a combination of things - He has changed pellets recently (Both he and the pigs get bored after a while and I have to change them or they simply don't eat them), and the caecotrophs I have removed have been a bit smelly, though he's not leaving them every day.

So I think I may up his hay intake and reduce the amount of fresh produce to see if it helps, and I'm going to trouser clip him to prevent the fly-strike (I bought a set of dog clippers and they work well, and Tila's a good boy who sits still thankfully), and I'll see if I can obtain some rear-guard from my vet.

Also, he is due to be wormed again. Could this be another reason? I have not seen any visible worms in his droppings, but could there be some in his gut making the bacteria imbalanced?

Edit: He has only started doing this in the last month or so, and he had a full dental on his molars in the last few months. Usually if he's having tooth trouble he goes off his food and gets very grumpy, but he has been eating well and romping around happily. I will keep it in mind though

Edit 2: If it helps, his diet is a handful of pellets a day, unlimited lucern and oaten hay, and a variety of small amounts of coriander, dill, mint, capsicum, cucumber, brocolli, carrot, apple, pear and banana, occasionally some other veges or fruits but those are his favourites (definitely not all of those in one night though, only a few each day :lol

Banni Binky said:

I have not seen any visible worms in his droppings, but could there be some in his gut making the bacteria imbalanced?

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No, this is unlikely. It is usually excess starch (carbohdyrates) or proteins in the diet that cause caecal dysbiosis. (and obviously antibiotics that kill of certain 'good' bacteria) The highest sources of starch and protein are commercial rabbit feeds - and certain brands more than others.

Ahhh, okay.

Well, he hasn't been on antibiotics for months now, but I will definitely reduce his pellets to half a handful and up the hay

Edit (again lol, I keep thinking of things): I just changed his dry feed, this one has a lot more lucerne pellets and chaff etc, whereas the last one was very seedy. Would the current one be better?

I feel the best technique to change feed with buns is to do it gradually, starting with about 1 part new to 3 parts old before he stops eating the old, & gradually increase the new. It's the sudden change which upsets the delicate bacterial balance.
I am so sorry I do not know the nutritional value of lucerne. Alfalfa is very high in protein, & causes some of our buns problems, if that helps?
I do agree with prettylupin that reducing the dry feed is good. That looks as if it started the problem. But with his teeth you need to monitor his weight carefully for several months after the change.

I get my hay from a local stock supply, would it be worth buying a bag of chaff to mix in his food to increase the fibre? If so, what type of chaff would be best, and what should I steer clear of?