Messy Bum problem

Hi,

I am new to this so forgive me If I have put this in the wrong place! I was looking online for some help / advice for my rabbit and stumbled upon this forum so I thought I would give it a go!

I have a rabbit called Daisy, I am not sure what type of rabbit she is, but she is about 2 years old, she belonged to my ex girlfriend and when we split up she couldn't take her and was going to put her down, so I said I would take her with me and we have been living it up together for the last 8 months! Everything has been going fine apart from recently she has been doing massive poo's, like loads of them joined together, so I checked her out and she had poo matted together by her poo, I cleaned it all off but it is happening again! And I am worried about fly strike!

I feed her timothy hay, a handfull in the morning and a handfull at night, and nuggets - just the standard ones from pets at home, I don't know the name of them! And some vegetables occasionally! She is quite a big rabbit, she loves nothing more than eating! Anything and everything! She is a house rabbit but pretty much has the room to roam most days from 9 in the morning to 9 at night, so she gets plenty of exercise, she just has a never ending stomach! Before I used to feed her vegetables more but I have cut that back over the past month because she was getting too fat! She constantly chews on a wicker chair, doesn't eat it, just destroys it! And on boxes, and cupboards and things, which I don't mind and I don't think its bad for her if she doesn't eat it, It helps her teeth?

Anyway, I am looking for some new pellets to feed her, can anyone reccomend a brand and somewhere to get them online? Also something to help prevent fly strike? And where is best to get it online? I realise to prevent fly strike I have to clean her litter tray out daily, which I pretty much do anyway, but I want to do anything I can to stop it from happening! Also does anyone have any advice on how to sort her rear end problem out?! Any advice warmly received!

Thanks!

Oli

P@H pellets are known to cause mucky bum in some rabbits, I would switch to Science Selective. You can get it from many pet shops including Jollyes. She should also have unlimited hay available all the time, so you may need to increase that and decrease the vegetables further. You could also consider adding a pre/pro biotic to her water, like Biolapis. That can help in some rabbits.

I agree with Tim, you could try introducing a new food. My buns are on Science Selective and it seems to be pretty good for them. If you change her food, do so really gradually so as not to upset her tum further (gradually changing over 2 weeks is recommended).

Depending on how many pellets you feed, you could consider cutting this down. Around an eggcup a day/bun is what many on here feed and is now recommended by a couple of the food manufacturers too. Less of the pellets will encourage more hay eating too, which is always good

Unlimited hay is a must

You mentioned her weight too - if she is still a bit 'tubby', this could also be affecting her if she cannot reach her bottom to take the caecals (if she can't take and eat them, they might be sticking there and building up as you describe).

I would also consider a vet visit, as there could be other issues going on.

First of all I would advise a check up with a rabbit-savvy vet to make sure there is nothing wrong.

The best diet for rabbits is unlimited hay - it should be 90% of their diet (so much more than a handful twice a day). This helps to keep the gut in good order and the teeth ground down.

It is recommended that they have an eggcupful (or tablespoon) of pellets once a day but if you are feeding more than that cut the amount down very gradually as any sudden change in diet can cause problems. I feed Excel Light (more fibre) but I know that some people's rabbits have problems with these. Again, if you decide to change the pellets, do so very gradually.

Is your rabbit neutered and vaccinated? (sorry if you've said this in your post).

Yeah she has been neutered, maybe a trip to the vets is in order! I will try the Science one, I think its excel which she is currently on! And will up the hay! I got some stuff for her water, again I can't recall what it is called without checking but it is meant to help her stomach! And it turns the water orange! She drinks quite a lot! Do you think I should consider trimming her fur? She isn't very keen on the hoover and stomps when its on, so I imagine some hair clippers would freak her out! Thanks for your help1!

She sounds like she's got you wrapped around her little paws!! :lol: Glad you took her on!

Can't advise any more on food, but if she's a bit fluffy, trimming her bum with a pair of nail scissors should help.

:wave:

:wave: Hi welcome!

well - she sounds gorgeous and obviously bery happy! ummmm........where are the piccies of her?!:thumb::lol:

Ceacotrophs ( the grouped grape like poops all stuck together) are the poops she should be eating straight from her bottom...the ones on the left hand side in the pic...then the poops on the right hand side are the ones you should see. These one should be crumbly and golden...this is a good sign her diet is high in fibre!



My one bun has a problem with a messy bum and I check her every day ....whilst my other buns seem to be able to cope better with some vege or fresh spring grass.

I also had a problem with the excel pellets. Change to Science Selective...its got a slightly higher fibre ingredient too....saying this - it does not replace any real fibres she needs. Rabbits are grazers....she should be eating hay most of the day and night (well when she is not sleeping:lol ....as rabbits teeth never stop growing its essential that she does eat hay as it will help keep her teeth down.....and like oyu mentioned she destroys wicker basckets - well thats great - but perhaps collect fresh apple branches and willow and hawthorn. (all this grows for free in the country side too...just make sure you dont get things with pesticides sprayed on them))..all of this will be great for her teeth. She should have constant access to fresh branches to chew on...and this should save your furniture too!.


Id def. reduce her pellets...by over feeding them she will full up and eat less hay - this means she could get bad teeth...and dentals costs for rabbits are huge...so even though she will plead with her cute bunny face for more nuggets - she really shouldnt have more. They are made commercially to make rabbits want them - they taste yummy...its like sweets! Obviously the only reason we feed commmercial pellets is to make sure we give them the extra nutrients we miss out as they dont get a wild diet....so this is an extra to her main diet which should be hay hay hay! You can buy loads of differnt types of hay....meadow hay is the norm and can be bought in a bale for quite cheap....or you can order online too....http://www.hayforpets.co.uk/
and also http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/

Make sure oyu check her bum every day and you could ask the vet about trimming her fur away but unless she has really long hair - Id leave it....correct her diet...reduce the pellets gradually until an eggcup....and start to reduce her veges....increase her hay - she should be eating alot more than 2 handfulls of hay in 24 hours....once you have done this over a week say...then slowly start to re-introduce her veges one by one if you want to...you might find she has a certain intolerance to certain veges.
Keep brassica's to a minimum...they are gassy and can cause stasis (which require medical attention) and keep carrots to a small piece every other week...they are really high in calcium and not good for buns. Avoid lettuce totally...very bad!

well done you for being such a great bunny owner...she sounds very happy! well...apart from her mucky bum ...bless her!:wave: