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Question about cecotropes

L

Linnea

Young Bun
One of my rabbits passes cecotropes that seem to be runnier than they usually are. Her "normal poo" looks good. I'm thinking it might be the grass now in the spring. Can this be it, and they'll go back to normal when her belly gets used to the grass again. (We're taking it rather slowly).

I think it's weird though that her "normal poo" isn't affected...

Thoughts?

Thanks
/Linnea
 
Hi Linnea

I am sorry I dont know the answer to your question but I hope that someone else will be able to help you.

One of our bunnies Starbuck occasionally has excess cecotrophs - he has dental probs and is on Excel but we are trying to change him on to Allen & Page. Is your bun on Excel - as I think that it is related with excess ceceotrophs?

Is your bun used to eating grass? Maybe if he hasnt had it before or not for a while just let him have 10 minutes a day on the grass and build up his time on it very gradually...

Hope someone else helps you soon.
 
She's not on Excel. (I live in Sweden and not even sure we have that brand here :S) She's on a Swedish/Scandinavian brand of pellets called Stampe.

She's had grass before, but not during the winter since we've had quite a lot of snow here most of the winter. Getting her used to it gradually though like you say.

I know fresh grass can affect their poo, just thought it a bit odd that it's just the cecotropes that gets affected :roll:

Thanks for your help :)

/Linnea
 
Long post warning.:oops:
What our buns eat is a mix of fiber (no nourishment but essential to keep the gut moving) & "food" which can only be absorbed after bacteria in the caecum have fermented it.

The mix is separated out in the colon with the fiber going straight through as waste poops.
The "food" is fermented & passed as caecotrophs, which the bun eats, so he can get the goodies released by the bacteria second time through.

Any sudden changes in diet, even if your bun has had the food before, can upset the balance of the bacteria in the caecum. thiscauses the runny & sometimes smelly caecs.

Advise a hay only diet for 2 days, then reintroduce known "safe" foods slowly leaving the suspect until last. Spring grass is high in nutrients & notorious for doing this.
Probiotics in the water may be an additional help to re establish normal caecal bacteria.
 
Is it possible for a bunny to never be able to eat fresh veg/fruit/grass as Twinkle can only eat hay and SS pellets otherwise she has a bottom explosion!

ETA: Just a caecotrophe explosion (her normal poops are always good).
 
Last edited:
thumps_: That sounds sensible. Thanks :) Will do hay only for a couple of days and see if it gets better.
 
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