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Struggling with mucky bums- feel very upset u/d home

Alison Marie

Wise Old Thumper
I have just been out to clean the pair of buns in the shed. They have massive clumps of cecals stuck to their bums :( I have tried to get off what I can but it really is just stuck to their fluffy bottoms. I am going to book them in to the vet this week, get their jabs done slightly early (they hate the vets so might as well do everything in one go) and their bottoms shaved if possible so we can start again. Their bedding keeps getting stuck in the mix as well but I don't know what else I can use to keep them warm and where it won't get stuck to them :(

I feel really upset - I have tried changing their pellets; less pellets; less veg; no veg and just veg and it does not seem to be helping. I don't understand why its getting stuck and feel like a really crappy owner at the moment :cry: they both eat plenty of hay.

ATM they are eating science selective pellets. It seems to have got worse since being on just SS rather than the mix of Rabbit Royale and SS they were on before. Veg, they normally have kale. Jasper has SS and kale daily and he doesn't have this problem :(
 
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Sorry to hear you are having a rough time with mucky bottoms. No experience to offer but wanted to send vibes to the buns x

What about no veg and going back to the rr and ss mix? They could always have bramble leaves or other good forage instead of veg. I think some herbs are good for tummies. Hopefully thumps or other experts will be along to advise.
 
I think kale is quite rich, perhaps they just can't tolerate it as well? I would maybe do a few days of hay only with some dried forage if you have any.. then you can start from scratch and add things back in gradually and eliminate the culprit.

Hope the vet appointment goes ok x
 
Thank you :) I was thinking of adding a probiotic as well, they used to have one in their water when they were young but I just stopped as they got older.
 
How much in quantity of SS do you feed them ?

Are they a healthy weight ?

Do you actually see them eat lots of hay ?

Have they both had a Dental check recently ?
 
I think kale is quite rich, perhaps they just can't tolerate it as well? I would maybe do a few days of hay only with some dried forage if you have any.. then you can start from scratch and add things back in gradually and eliminate the culprit.

Hope the vet appointment goes ok x

This is what I did for Coco when she had this problem. Figured out it is better with no carrot and changed to ss instead of Burgess. I took away pellets and veg completely, waited until she had no cecal problems then added back the pellets v gradually to find out how much she can tolerate then added back veg one type at a time. You need to leave it a few days between adding in types as sometimes it takes a couple of days for the problem to show up again.

Hope the vets goes ok, poor bunnies :(

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk
 
How much in quantity of SS do you feed them ?

Are they a healthy weight ?

Do you actually see them eat lots of hay ?

Have they both had a Dental check recently ?

They get a handful of SS between them (they are fed twice a day at the moment- kale in morning, pelelts at night) and yes, they're always nibbling on it when I'm with them, I top up regularly too.

Buttons is slightly over weight, she is coming down though. Nibbles is the right sort of weight.

They last had a checkup in September, Nibbles had his front incisors removed and both were OK in terms of molars etc. I might add this has been a problem for ages now, it's not a recent thing, it just seems to be getting worse. Buttons has always left cecals around since she was very young, but Nibbles has only started getting a really mucky bum since having his incisors removed.
 
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Incisorless Rabbits can sometimes have problems with a mucky bum. I certainly think a Dental check up is needed as it sounds possible that the primary issue is with their teeth.

Have you tried giving them Fibreplex and maybe changing their pellets from SS to Fibafirst ?

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-food-.../fibafirst-monoforage-feed-for-rabbits-p-9029

http://www.animeddirect.co.uk/prote..._content=895&gclid=CJr9q4u_srsCFS3JtAodu3MA2A

I don't have any fibreplex at the moment, would giving that help?Nibbles is a fan, Buttons not so much...:lol:

What is Fibafirst? :wave: I am willing to try anything right now, very upset that I just can't seem to get it right.

For Buttons I am not sure its her teeth as she has always had a problem with mucky bum but her teeth have always been fine. :? could be because she is slightly overweight, I guess no pellets and veg would help that.
 
I don't have any fibreplex at the moment, would giving that help?Nibbles is a fan, Buttons not so much...:lol:

What is Fibafirst? :wave: I am willing to try anything right now, very upset that I just can't seem to get it right.

For Buttons I am not sure its her teeth as she has always had a problem with mucky bum but her teeth have always been fine. :? could be because she is slightly overweight, I guess no pellets and veg would help that.

Click on the first link in my previous post
 
would fibafirst be OK for nibbles considering he has no front incisors ?? it looks quite heavy! he manages SS pellets ok though (he has developed his own technique for picking them up)
 
My bridge bun Biscuit was like this, too much cabbage and we would have a sticky bum, Im not saying to do this but we used to use a pair of baby scisssors, my hubby stand up and would hold her in his arms and I would kneel down under her and very slowly and gently snip away from the outer bit of dirty fluff till things looked better, it took ages but seemed the best option for us.

My lot are on burgess excel without issues
 
Personally, I would avoid kale. The greens most rabbits can tolerate are Spring Greens. Perhaps try to measure their pellets a bit more precisely - an eggcupful each is what is generally recommended. I'm not sure how that equates to a handful. That may encourage them to eat more good hay.
 
thanks everyone :wave: i feel a lot better. i think first thing to do it take them to the vet and get it shaved/clipped, buttons hates being handled so id on't think it would be wise to try and cut it ourselves to start with. i tried to wipe her bum the other day to try and help but she was having none of it. actually, getting her to the vets will be difficult enough :lol: tonight and tomorrow i think i'll just give them a very small amount of pellets, no kale until we have osrted the problem. will also pick some fibafirst up after work if i can :)

nibbles does not like excel pellets and i found they made the problem worse with buttons :? i do have some from when jasper came to us though, but he now prefers SS. :D
 
You can break the Fibafirst up :)

Do you use Fibafirst Jane? I am thinking of changing my three over as Snowdrop is still refusing the SS after two weeks and Mr B has been getting a mucky bum recently so I wondered if they are no longer getting on well with SS.
 
Do you use Fibafirst Jane? I am thinking of changing my three over as Snowdrop is still refusing the SS after two weeks and Mr B has been getting a mucky bum recently so I wondered if they are no longer getting on well with SS.

Mine all have Rabbit Royale but I do give them Fibafirst as a treat. It is the only 'pellet' feed I would use now, although it is sticks not pellets !! I have had too many Bunnies choke on pellet feed
 
Mine all have Rabbit Royale but I do give them Fibafirst as a treat. It is the only 'pellet' feed I would use now, although it is sticks not pellets !! I have had too many Bunnies choke on pellet feed

given the choice, Buttons and Nibbles prefer to eat Rabbit Royale however everyone tells me it is not good for the rabbits and they should have SS. However I feel like SS is making it worse... not that they were problem free with RR !!
 
given the choice, Buttons and Nibbles prefer to eat Rabbit Royale however everyone tells me it is not good for the rabbits and they should have SS. However I feel like SS is making it worse... not that they were problem free with RR !!

I am not advocating RR as being better for all Rabbits. It is just what suits mine. None selectively feed, they only have a tiny portion a day and so far not one Rabbit has had a choking episode.

I have used all the Pellet feeds on the market over the years and in the end I have found RR to be what suits my Rabbits. But I would never suggest that it would be better for all Rabbits.
 
thanks everyone :wave: i feel a lot better. i think first thing to do it take them to the vet and get it shaved/clipped, buttons hates being handled so id on't think it would be wise to try and cut it ourselves to start with. i tried to wipe her bum the other day to try and help but she was having none of it. actually, getting her to the vets will be difficult enough :lol: tonight and tomorrow i think i'll just give them a very small amount of pellets, no kale until we have osrted the problem. will also pick some fibafirst up after work if i can :)

nibbles does not like excel pellets and i found they made the problem worse with buttons :? i do have some from when jasper came to us though, but he now prefers SS. :D

Sounds like a good plan!

Be careful not to reduce the pellets too quickly, as this can cause problems. Instead of kale, you could get them some herbs and introduce those slowly: basil & mint always go down well but they can also have a small amount of parsley as a treat occasionally. As I said, most rabbits can tolerate Spring Greens.
 
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