Joined up poops

My bun Carrot (she's 5 1/2 yrs old) has been doing a few poops which are kind of joined by a string, hard to describe but they are 2 normal poops but joined. Also had a few splatty sort of poops in her cage today. She is eating and drinking normally, no quieter thn usual.
She has unlimited hay, 1 eggcup of Science Selective a day and some fresh veg (spring greens, parnips this morning). I only found out the other day from this forum that Science Selective do a mature rabbit food so am going to change her on to that but haven't as yet.
I have fed her nothing different lately.
Any ideas?

Is she moulting?

Mine get what I lovingly refer to as 'rope-poos' lol when they're moulting. You'd probably find the stringy stuff is actually fur that she's managed to ingest if you picked it apart.

carrots' patch said:

My bun Carrot (she's 5 1/2 yrs old) has been doing a few poops which are kind of joined by a string, hard to describe but they are 2 normal poops but joined. Also had a few splatty sort of poops in her cage today. She is eating and drinking normally, no quieter thn usual.
She has unlimited hay, 1 eggcup of Science Selective a day and some fresh veg (spring greens, parnips this morning). I only found out the other day from this forum that Science Selective do a mature rabbit food so am going to change her on to that but haven't as yet.
I have fed her nothing different lately.
Any ideas?

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Most buns are moulting heavily as losing the winter coat which is very thick to grow a thinner summer one. If you break the strung droppings open with your fingers you will probably find this is fur that has been ingested.
Whilst buns are designed to cope with ingesting certain amounts of fur - too much can cause the gut to slow down.
The best thing you can do is brush bunny daily and feed lots of hay to improve gut motility. Giving veggies still wet after washing them will help hydrate the gut and also improve motility. :wave:

Thank you for the quick replies.
Moulting - yes pretty much continually for the last few months! I do brush her as much as poss till she gets fed up with me! I will try and do it a bit more and will pick apart the poos to have a look. The things we do!
She has done a few more splats since I posted so have been picking them out of her hutch, checking her bum and keeping an eye on her.

carrots' patch said:

Thank you for the quick replies.
Moulting - yes pretty much continually for the last few months! I do brush her as much as poss till she gets fed up with me! I will try and do it a bit more and will pick apart the poos to have a look. The things we do!
She has done a few more splats since I posted so have been picking them out of her hutch, checking her bum and keeping an eye on her.

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Our long-haired bun always passes a caecotroph before passing strung droppings. We brush her every day religiously. My theory is that the furry dropping causes a temporary slowing in her gut, that adversely effects her caecum temporarily - or makes the caecal timing go a bit hay wire for a moment - she passes the caecotroph first (won't eat it because it is dysbiotic no doubt) and then out comes the long stringy dropping. After that the droppings return to normal. I'm never surprised when I find an excess caecotroph before a stringy dropping - in fact I then look for the furry dropping as this is the only time she produces an excess caecotroph usually. Caecal passing is a reflex timing different to passing a normal stool - I think the temporary slow down interrupts it somehow.

It is possible that the 'splats' are unrelated. I would potentially give the veggies a miss for 48 hours and that should clear it up - or if you are worried about hydration in the heat - feed something less likely to cause caecal upset - carrot tops or fresh herbs. Spring greens are notorious for causing dysbiosis - certainly with our female bun.

Thanks prettylupin. I will give her some herbs rather than veg, are there any that are best avoided whilst she has this upset. I have parsley, rosemary, lemon balm, thyme (lemon and ord) and sage.

Thank you for the brilliant advice.

carrots' patch said:

Thanks prettylupin. I will give her some herbs rather than veg, are there any that are best avoided whilst she has this upset. I have parsley, rosemary, lemon balm, thyme (lemon and ord) and sage.

Thank you for the brilliant advice.

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Nope not really - all herbs are pretty safe for bun and cause little upset. Definitely all those mentioned - although mine don't like sage which is highly annoying as I have tons of the stuff! :lol:

If you have any apple leaves on an apple tree, or hazel tree? and definitely blackberry/bramble/ or raspberry leaves fed fresh or dried - are meant to be very good for scours in buns. There are some bramble converts on here - esp those with tummy bunnies! Mine love them - but I do tend to remove all thorns first cos one of my buns is a bit stoopid! :roll:

Carrot is a notorious herb garden raider and will eat them all hence we have now fenced it off to give out other bun Tulip a fighting chance of getting some herbs!:lol: She will be pleased indeed to get extra herb helpings!
I will go for a walk to find some brambles, none in my garden unfortunately, only strawberry leaves! Think I will have to buy an apple tree and some raspberry canes ready for next year. Amazing how much of my garden is now given over to my buns!:lol: