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Moulting and Cecotrophs

Fifibutton

Wise Old Thumper
When a rabbit is moulting heavily will she produce more cecotrophs and then not eat them? Maisie is leaving big piles of them around the run and not eating them. She is happy to step in them though :roll: On the vet's advice we introduced avipro plus in her water and reduced her pellets to a few grams worth. Oh and she is not allowed any fresh veg or herbs either. But she is still over producing and I wondered if her moult had anything to do with that. I'm sure I read it somewhere once. Can anyone set me straight?
 
Meant to add Maisie is also doing ormal poos which are quite gold in colour and large. I crushed one as its nice and dry inside and looks like the usual digested hay. So I'm a bit perplexed. She is doing fantastic poos but her tummy is not right. Hmm and I think it sounded a bit gurgly this morning too. She is eating well and playing as normal. She couldn't be working up for a bout of stasis could she?
 
Is she a Dental Rabbit. Not eating cecals can be a sign of Dental problems. It can also occur in Rabbits with an arthritic condition.

Did the Vet say that abdominal examination was 'normal' ?
 
Is she a Dental Rabbit. Not eating cecals can be a sign of Dental problems. It can also occur in Rabbits with an arthritic condition.

Did the Vet say that abdominal examination was 'normal' ?

Maisie has never had dental issues but she is a lop. She can only be about 2.5-3 years but I will check her jaw line for any obvious bumps. I mentioned it to the vet in passing upon collecting Paddy yesterday. Thats when he suggested the avi pro plus etc. He said if things got worse we can bring her in of course but just to keep an eye on her for now.
 
Ok I have just checked Maisie's jawline and there are no obvious bumps. I know there could be something going on further back where I wouldn't feel it so I will have a look later with my autoscope. She is also very dry around the mouth, chin and chest. One of my bridge buns, Bonnie had dental issues and her classic sypmtoms were, dribbling and not eating. Although I suppose every bun will show different symptoms. I have bought a lot of kale recently and the bunnies have all been getting a fair bit of that. Could that be the cause. I only gave it in small portions but they did get some every day. I had three bags to split between 11 buns. Everyone else is fine.


When you say abdominal examination do you mean an examination for the vet to do or for Maisie to do? Neither of us mentioned it yesterday but upon every visit the rabbits get their teeth, hearts and abdomens checked for abnormalities. He can always feel their poo's moving though the gut. And I always check tums every day and he knows that too. Maisie's feels normal enough to me.
 
When a rabbit is moulting heavily will she produce more cecotrophs and then not eat them? Maisie is leaving big piles of them around the run and not eating them. She is happy to step in them though :roll: On the vet's advice we introduced avipro plus in her water and reduced her pellets to a few grams worth. Oh and she is not allowed any fresh veg or herbs either. But she is still over producing and I wondered if her moult had anything to do with that. I'm sure I read it somewhere once. Can anyone set me straight?

Hi just wanted to say that my rabbits are the same and are also moulting, one of them has no front teeth but they are both doing the poo's whilst they are resting in the day ... they smell awful and the buns stand in them.

i'm not worried they are all eating ok and drinking i have started to give them carrs bums and tums 3 times a week again and that has reduced them :D
 
Hope there is improvement.

Mr B used to leave a cecotrophy nearly every second day or so in the litter tray. Tried all sorts of things over the year, its the huge increase in veggies that have helped and I haven't seen one for a few months now. I give mainly carrot (for his teeth problems), kale, parsley or coriander and dill. However I know all bunnies are different, what works for him may not work for another bun. He always seems to be moulting and its bad at the moment, plus he is a dental bun and no cecotrophies. Why do they have to be so complicated.
 
Do you wash the kale before you feed it to the Buns ?

Everytime.

BYB and JWR, thanks for your input.I wonder than if I should remove Maisie's excess fluff with a brush and then just experiment with herbs and veggies instead. I is very complicated isn't it?
 
Everytime.

BYB and JWR, thanks for your input.I wonder than if I should remove Maisie's excess fluff with a brush and then just experiment with herbs and veggies instead. I is very complicated isn't it?

You could try. The veggies at first make it worse, more runnier type poo before it settled down, that is why I never tried veggies for more than a few days, it was after the last dental and he wasn't eating hardly at all that I increased his veggies again, then noticed after a few weeks how his poo had massively improved.
 
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