messy bum

Hi, My bunny keeps getting a messy bum. I have stop giving him veggies and his just been having hay and a small handful of dry mixed food. His been fine, so decided to give him a very small amount of veg, few hours later messy bum So decided to to give him hay and dry food again for a few days and then again tried to give him a very small amount of veg and few hours later a messy bum. Its not really messy, but a little. I have to clean it as he wont.
Not sure what to do, Please help....

Thanks x

Hi there :wave: This is a fairly common problem as buns tums are rather sensitive. You need to work towards an optimum diet of 90% hay and only 10% dry food, preferably a good, high fibre pellet such as Science Selective and veg.

It could be that your bun is just sensitive to the particular veg you are feeding - what veg are you feeding? Sugary veg such as carrot often produce soft poos so I would definatly cut these out and keep them for an occasional treat. Of course if you feed a veg your bun isn't used to his tum may not have the ability to digest it causing a problem.

I would go back to the hay only for a few days to settle things and then try with the smallest amount of one veg, watch for reaction, if there is none continue for a few days with this veg until you are sure all is well before introducing another in the same way. If any veg causes a reaction stop it immediatly.

I normally give him either half a carrot ( 1 1/2" ish) or a cabbage leaf. Last night I thought I was getting some where as I put half a cabbage leaf and he was fine, so tonight I decided to give him the other half (they were about size of my hand) and a few hours later messy bum.

He gets lots of hay every day, fresh water, and for breafast he gets a small amount of dry mixed food.

Well I would definatly steer clear of carrot, it is far too sugary. For instance mine, who are just a year old, have a 1" piece once a week as a treat. Cabbage too can cause a problem and I personally think 1/2 a leaf is too much if she is inclined to a messy bot. Mine have hay twice a day, (they need to eat a pile of hay about equal to their body size each day), for breakfast they have a teaspoonful of SS pellets, about 1 1/2" of celery - cut in to small slices (strings can be a choking hazard) and a "small" piece of spring greens - maybe 3" square at most, for tea they have another teaspoon of SS pellets and a small bunch of coriander, or a bit of broccoli stalk. They also go in their runs on the lawn so eat grass.

Make use of the search option above and you will find lists of vegetables that are suitable for buns to give you some ideas of alternatives.

Ok Thanks for your help and its nice to hear what other bunnys eat in a day and that to give carrot as a treat not daily.

How different buns are,my two love their veg,spring greens,carrots with tops on,broccoli etc.Hay and grass..munch munch! And muesli mix no problems at all....well little gurl Cleo gets lazy and sometimes doesn't use her litter tray,quick tissue wipe of her botty or shallow bath takes care of her.Both house rabbits.

I would try some fresh herbs or if you can get them blackberry leaves.

What brand of dry food are you feeding? They vary quite a lot so you might want to try a pellet rather than a mix, something like supreme science which has a higher fibre content and probiotic which helps the gut work more effectively.

Tamsin

He has Bunny Brunch from Morrisonsl. He did used to have some mix not sure what its called from P@H. I have tried pellets, but he is a very fussy bunny and wouldnt eat it. I even mixedd with his mix he has and still he left it, so I gave up in the end with it.

I think I will go to P@H tomorrow and get some more of what he used to have and try that becuase he used to be good on that.

I have kept him off veg and his eating plenty of hay and his mix so far so good.

I may try and get some blackberry leaves, but I think what ever i give him i will only give a very small bit and see.

Bless him he is geting old.

if he is getting old it could also be a sign of arthritis too.

carrots wayy too sugary....cabbage way to gas producing!

if he cant handle greens welll..try feeding fresh herbs instead....i have to do that with bif altho with bertie poorly right now i stopped it but it hasnt made any diff so back to the herbs.

i have coriander....bifs fave...mint both their fave....and fennel on the wondowsill...and in the fridge..i have to my coriander plant died off

a teeny amount each day..then build it up slowly

mine get uspet tums on the grass..but tis cos i dont pick it for them....i used to but berties health has made me try every other option too.

my buns are on allen and page natural pellets....it has probiotics in it too. My upstairs little bun is on wagg optimum opellets...since he was in the rescue and im leaving him on it as hes doing so well.

has a vet seen him...checked his teeth or if its arthritis too.?

i hate this problem..ive got two buns who get it..but berties the one really abd with it right now.

does your bun do normal poops and just the one bout a day of sticky poops or is it all sticky poops with maybe the odd weeny poo? cos thats a visit to the vet as its gi probs.

arent they such easy pets to keep....NOT!! but we love em

GroovyLou said:

He has Bunny Brunch from Morrisonsl. He did used to have some mix not sure what its called from P@H. I have tried pellets, but he is a very fussy bunny and wouldnt eat it. I even mixedd with his mix he has and still he left it, so I gave up in the end with it.

I think I will go to P@H tomorrow and get some more of what he used to have and try that becuase he used to be good on that.

I have kept him off veg and his eating plenty of hay and his mix so far so good.

I may try and get some blackberry leaves, but I think what ever i give him i will only give a very small bit and see.

Bless him he is geting old.

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Have you tried Science Selective? I would try to get him off the Bunny Brunch stuff as much as you can. If you put some SS in his bowl with BB on top, gradually reduce the BB and I'm sure in the end he will start eating some of the SS. My buns get mostly SS with just a little bit of BB on top as their morning treat. They always go to eat their BB so yes they do like it, but by next morning all of the SS is gone too, so they must like that too even if not as much.