Messy bum advice

:wave: Hi I haven't been on RU for quite a while but I hope some of you remember me and can help me with my bunny problems.

I have had a nightmare trying to keep both MJ and Opal clean over the past 6 months, Opal ends up with a large lump of solid poo stuck to her which I snip off and MJ tends to be yellow and dirty. Last time I cleaned them I accidentally snipped Opal's skin so on Friday I took them both to the vets to be shaved.

The vet (who I always ask for as she's good with rabbits) started on MJ first. As she shaved the urine stained fur away we found he was very sore on his skin. He had a bum bath at the vets and I have Baytril as she suspects a urine infection, and some cream (fuciderm) to apply to the skin. A week after I finish the Baytril she wants me to take a urine sample to check there is no infection present. Despite half an hour of treatment at the vets and twice a day since then MJ remains a laid back placid bunny but I felt so guilty at his sore skin, I had no idea under it he was sore. The vet said she didn't think he'd been sore for too long as she suspected a urine infection was the cause of the problem.

Then on to Opal. She was shaving her poo lump away, Opal jumped and the vet jumped and came away with a piece of skin attached to the poo and Opal had to have some staples to close the gap She isn't as laid back as MJ and is not happy for me to pick her up, I have checked her once since Friday and all looked ok, but poo is already beginning to stick.

They are both fed on lots of fresh hay and a small amount of Science Selective. I've tried other pellets and cut out their veg but it hasn't made any difference so I'm considering reintroducing veg as they love it so much.

I'd like advice on what else I could consider doing for their diet. Also the vet said to bum bath MJ this week, but the weather is horrible here and I'm not sure if I should. They are both outdoor bunnies who live in a large hutch over run with 2 litter trays. I normally change the litter trays every 3 days or so, but now I have confined them to their hutch and am changing it all daily until they are better.

Thanks for reading, I hope someone can help me

You poor thing and the buns too! The tale of the skin coming away when the vet was shaving really made me jump!

Messy bums are quite a common problem I think. I certainly had an old bun who had this problem.

Firstly I would keep them both on hay only for at least a few days which often clears the problem and then you can slowly reintroduce the pellets and veg one at a time to identify if one veg is a problem to either of them.

You need to consider if either are overweight as this can cause them a problem eating the "special" poos that help to keep the gut healthy.

While they are on anti-biotics they should be on a probiotic, perhaps the vet already prescribed this (?) if not I should get some.

I would change litter trays as often as possible and give a little flannal wash rather than a bath in this weather and dry carefully.

Good luck!

Thanks for your reply. I do have some pro-biotic powder which I'd forgotten about, I will do that straight away thanks. No neither are overweight, in fact MJ gained weight but has since lost that and stayed stable for around a year now. Opal is fatter than when I adopted her, but not overweight (according to vet anyway)

I too would cut out or severly restrict the pellets for a few days - week until the problem begins to clear up, and consider long-term very limited or no pellets and instead a diet of hay and green leafy veg/weeds/herbs.

How are their teeth? Messy bottoms are frequently related to dental issues, and there are other predisposing factors such as mobility etc.
Can I ask why they are on hutch rest? Daily exercise is a crucial ingredient in good gut motility (and this includes caecal passing).

You mention that your rabbits are fed on a small amount of SS each day, in egg cup size how much do they have between them a day?

You say that they are good hay eaters, have you tried cutting out the pellets altogether for a month or so to increase the fibre content of their diet which is the most likely way to reduce or remove this problem. If this works you could then just hand feed an odd few pellets each a day.

Greens do not usually cause this problem.

prettylupin - they're not on 'hutch rest' as such, but with both of them having sore bottoms they have a big ramp to go down to their run and it has been torrential rain and fireworks for the last few days, so I decided to keep them in their (large) hutch. It's also much easier to catch MJ to apply his cream etc, once in their run access is restricted for me, and they know it so they go down there to escape :lol: The run is also concrete which is wet right now and I thought that if I am wanting to heal their bottoms, keeping them dry would be the best thing to do

janice-arc - they probably have an egg cupful each morning and night, is that too much?? When I cut down their pellets before MJ lost a lot of weight. They do have tons of hay as I buy a bale and give it to them without restriction

Oh, meant to add their teeth have been checked and are fine

Oh I see, it has certainly been very wet and noisy recently. Exercise is still really important though and you will find that good exercise daily will help to control their gut motility (which will indirectly help the caecum's functioning - which is what is producing the malformed/bad tasting caecotrophs that your buns are rejecting and causing them to get stuck to their fur). It will also help you identify any motility problems in their spine/back in case this is behind the issue too. Could they exercise in a room in the house instead after creams applied? Or could you put a tarp or clear perspex sheets up over their run and apply creams at night instead when they have come back to their hutch?

Just wondering still if they are dental buns?

ETA oh i see you've answered that sorry - i was distracted mid-post! :lol: