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Can moulting cause a poopy bum?

cpayne

cpayne

Warren Veteran
I'm a bit confused as Doughnut has been on 70g of muesli and had no uneaten caecal. I've dropped this down to 25g and 10g oxbow essentials. I've then found smeared bits of caecal where she's been bending down and it's got squashed, so she has some stuck to her bum. I've dropped the oxbow to 5g and 25g muesli and going to see what happens and see if her weight is maintained. She had this yesterday but still some smeared poop.

I'm wondering if the pellets don't actually agree with her and she is better off on just muesli or if it's because she is going through a heavy moult. The noises when she bends down are back but she is fine, had binkies last night. Does anyone think it is the pellets as they got great reviews or is it the moult?

At the specialists they just filled her bowl up with the muesli but now I'm trying to get the amount down for her to eat more hay, which she does and for her teeth.
 
I can't answer authoritatively but know that a bunny has to increase their nutrition by 40% to moult.
In Doughnut's case only I wonder whether returning to just muesli might enable her to select the type of food she needs?
 
I think I will try the 5g tomorrow of oxbow and if it's a bit poopy then just give her the muesli only. She just leaves one of the pellets and eats the rest. It's just weird that on 70g she was fine but wasn't eating much hay.

I guess it's just finding out the right amount to give her to maintain her weight but which also encourages her to eat lots of hay too. Maybe I am trying to give more healthy when in fact she is better off staying on the muesli. I just worry about her teeth as she was biting everything before but now she's eating more hay as I'm giving less muesli that has stopped.

Thanks for reply. Hope you and Benjie are OK. xx
 
how long did you take in introducing the pellets?

I know their problems are different but when I change Barney's food I make sure I change it really slowly as he has gut problems, so his gut is more sensitive than normal buns. I usually take about a month per half a tablespoon of food change. It is maybe a bit overcautious but when I change his food in the normal way his weight drops again - a sign his gut isn't doing well.
 
She was on the pellets before she was swapped over to the muesli. She hadn't had many of them though and was swapped overnight to muesli it the vets and was fine.

Maybe i will cut back even further. I just feel muesli isn't good for her teeth etc but maybe i should just leave her totally on it and not try to get it half and half.
 
cpayne said:
She was on the pellets before she was swapped over to the muesli. She hadn't had many of them though and was swapped overnight to muesli it the vets and was fine.

Maybe i will cut back even further. I just feel muesli isn't good for her teeth etc but maybe i should just leave her totally on it and not try to get it half and half.
Click to expand...

I know of a few buns with tummy troubles in the past on here, who actually needed muesli to get their tummy right.
I think Nessar is right about slow introductions.
Benjie has started to love fresh rye grass, having had tummy troubles from fear of foxes. I'm introducing it very slowly - a pinch x2 daily for 2 days then x3 daily etc.
They need slow introductions if they haven't had a food for a while.

BTW He's doing great from the snuffles side.
He's doing a huge moult at the mo.
I hope it will stop this time cos he's been moulting a lot for a year continuously - I'll be able to make a jumper soon.:lol:
 
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