Dirty bun bum.

Feeling mortified about this but hope I'll get more help than abuse. I promise you no one can make me feel any worse than I have been.
Hoppity is my white rabbit and a lovely clean girl, wee bit discoloured on pads of back paws but otherwise lovely and clean. Or so I thought. On Wednesday morning I was sitting outside with them, they were running about and I was reading, I looked up at one point and Hoppity was standing on her back legs sniffing underside of a bench when I noticed something under her, on the underside of her tail to be exact. I picked her up and was horrified to see packed poo there. I have no idea why I hadn't noticed this before as she's a big jumper and high sniffer. Anyway there was no way to remove it without soaking it so I filled a bowl with warm water and clean cloth, turned her over and laid her on towels on my lap with her head tucked into crook of my arm. Obviously she didn't like it at all but after a wee struggle she kept still and I just held cloth against poo, squeezed cloth out, resoaked it and held again, eventually it was soft enough for me to gently pick it off. Then we'd have to go through soaking again until I'd managed to remove it all. I did try to dry her but by that time she was really unhappy so I put the heater on in their house and left her in peace. I had cleaned their big tray out so knew she was sitting on clean straw and hay.
The only difference lately is that Hoppity and Hector seem to spend lots of time sitting in their big tray, it's a underbed storage box. They don't seem to sleep in their wee bedroom anymore but on the big tray. Every second day I empty it, clean it out put a thick layer of megazorb then straw and finally hay on top. Every day I take out old hay and put in lots of fresh hay. They also have another storage box on level above but only visit it rarely. Hoppity goes onto 3rd level quite a lot where she has a wee tent. She's been very wary of me last 2 days so I've only managed wee rubs with a dry cloth as she hopped by me. Today she wouldn't come out but sat in her run staring at me, Hector joined her and when I next looked there was a massive pile of poo in the run, soft but not terribly so, I was able to pick it up with kitchen roll. I can't say for definite it was her but I really think it was. Her health is fine, occasional wee gassy times but nothing that has lasted or caused her to go off hay or water. Hector is clean with no build up.
I've seen mention of cornstarch but not sure how that works. I was thinking of getting a baby bath, filling with earth and seeing if she'd use it for digging and maybe that would rub off anything that stuck. I'll happily clean her every day but neither of them are great at being handled, although Hoppity is better than Hector. I'm looking for advice to keep her clean and also why this has happened after years of her being clean. We were at the vets start of February so I know there was definitely nothing there then.

Hi there, has your bunny had her teeth checked recently ? It could be she has a dental issue, so isn't getting sufficient fibre in her diet. I have this issue with one of mine, he has to have his teeth burred every few weeks. I get the vets to clip the fur around his bum, then there's less chance of it sticking to him. I'm sure others will come along with more thoughts.

Unfortunately I can't offer any advice as to what may have caused it if it wasn't diet changes or teeth like Pets mum mentioned, I just wanted to say don't feel too guilty about it. Sometimes things like this can happen over several days but in places that can't be seen until the bunny is picked up and this is probably what happened. You probably only saw it because it had been building up while it was 'hiding' until is was visible from behind.

Whenever mine have had dirty bums I have never been able to see it until I have picked them up. How often do you pick your two up? I pick mine up a minimum of once a week to do ears/bum checks and groom them but as it is getting hotter and more flies will be about I will start picking them up to check their bums daily. As far as I'm aware that is probably all you can do really (besides seeing a vet and possibly trimming the fur) although I'm no expert haha. If you do it daily then it should only take a few seconds because the poo shouldn't dry too much and should therefore be easy to remove.

Again, don't feel guilty about it. Things like this happen all the time, even to the most experienced of us. I'm sure many people on here have had situations where they've missed something or done something accidentally that made them feel super guilty afterwards. I hope someone with a little more knowledge on the situation will come along and help a little more though.

Thank you both for your replies. The vet checked her teeth at last visit and all was well so hopefully not that. I very rarely pick them up in the winter months, wee bit more often in the summer due to reading about fly strike. I stroke them but as they seem to hate being lifted I tended not to but now realise I should just do it and hopefully they'll even get a bit more used to it. I think I was lax because they both jump a lot and run up the ramps in their house so I thought I was seeing them all over but obviously not!
Do you trim the hair yourselves or is that a vet issue and if you do it does someone hold the rabbit while the other trims? Neither look as though their hair is long around tail or their bottoms but now this has happened I think I'd like to keep it as short as suitable just in case.
Thank you both again.

G-Man said:

Thank you both for your replies. The vet checked her teeth at last visit and all was well so hopefully not that. I very rarely pick them up in the winter months, wee bit more often in the summer due to reading about fly strike. I stroke them but as they seem to hate being lifted I tended not to but now realise I should just do it and hopefully they'll even get a bit more used to it. I think I was lax because they both jump a lot and run up the ramps in their house so I thought I was seeing them all over but obviously not!
Do you trim the hair yourselves or is that a vet issue and if you do it does someone hold the rabbit while the other trims? Neither look as though their hair is long around tail or their bottoms but now this has happened I think I'd like to keep it as short as suitable just in case.
Thank you both again.

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Willow and Biscuit hate being picked up more than anything in the world but unfortunately it has to be done. As you said flystrike is a real problem in the Summer and seeing as your bunny is having problems with a mucky bum you will really need to pick here up daily to check as it can kill within 24 hours. Although they will never like it, they should get more used to it. My two are much easier to catch and pick up now compared to how they used to be and I am assuming it is because they are used to it. I also always give them a treat once I'm done so that they don't associate it with only negativity and associate it with treats too.

If you are going to trim the fur yourself I would advise getting someone to help you and to be extremely careful. A couple of weeks after I first adopted Willow and Biscuit I noticed that Willow had dried poo stuck in the fur around her bum so my mum trimmed it. Unfortunately she very slightly caught the skin and because bunnies skin is so delicate she accidentally cut her. Willow didn't really bleed very much but it still really panicked me and must have hurt he so I don't think I would ever do it myself again unless absolutely necessary.

No I'd never attempt to clip my bunnies bum , I know some do this, but I've always got the vet to do it whilst they've been under anaesthetic. It sounds like your buns have plenty of hay, which is great. Do you feed nuggets, and fresh veg ? It might be worth cutting back on these, if you do. Difficult to monitor I know, if your bunnies eat together. Sometimes it's a process of elimination to figure out what's upsetting a buns tummy.
Don't beat yourself up over this, it sounds like you are doing great with your bunnies.
If it does continue, it might be worth letting your vet have another look at her teeth. They can only see so far into a bunny mouth without putting them under, it could be back teeth ?
Good luck anyway, let us know how you go on. Xx

Hi there. I second what everyone else has said and I hav e found with mucky bums is if you can hold the rabbit over a bowl/sink with warm water and immerse the rear end into the water all the poo will come away, then dry really well. I think this is a more gentle way of removing the poo than wiping with a cloth. I haven't had this problem for quite a while now thankfully!

I've phoned vet and we're going on Tuesday for another teeth check and I said I'd like her fur trimmed too. I take them together to the vets so I'll get Hector checked too. I give them a wee bundle, maybe half egg cup, of pellets and green veg', mainly herbs now. Their weight is fine and apart from poo they have lovely coats and I'm hoping back teeth are okay as they eat loads of hay but check will confirm.
Picking up starts today!! So between that, taking them both back to the vets quite soon after last visit and Hoppity's bum wash I fully expect the cold shoulder treatment for at least a week! Hoppity is already a top class huff taker so I'd better buy more fenugreek crunchies. :shock:
Toni, I did think of a dip bath but I was on my own and worried she'd fight more but I'm just going back out to check her now and if there's any more my husband is getting roped in to your suggestion. Fun afternoon ahead!!

Aww please don't beat yourself up over this. As Willow and Biscuit says, often the poo isn't immediately obvious unless you pick them up and have a good check around their bottoms. Shortly after I adopted my bridge bun Scrappy I had to take her to the vet for an unrelated issue. The vet did a routine check and found she had a bit of a dirty bottom. I was absolutely mortified and felt like such a terrible owner. I'd just assumed that bunnies were always able to keep themselves clean and I had never thought to check her. Of course now I know that is definitely not the case and in fact she had a bit of a sensitive tummy so I had to be very strict with her diet, which helped a lot. Also, as she was unspayed when I adopted her (she wasn't done until she was four) she had developed quite a large dewlap. That made it a lot harder for her to keep herself clean. So if Hoppity also has quite a big dewlap that might also be a factor worth considering.

Hope all goes well at the vet on Tuesday :wave:

G-Man said:

I've phoned vet and we're going on Tuesday for another teeth check and I said I'd like her fur trimmed too. I take them together to the vets so I'll get Hector checked too. I give them a wee bundle, maybe half egg cup, of pellets and green veg', mainly herbs now. Their weight is fine and apart from poo they have lovely coats and I'm hoping back teeth are okay as they eat loads of hay but check will confirm.
Picking up starts today!! So between that, taking them both back to the vets quite soon after last visit and Hoppity's bum wash I fully expect the cold shoulder treatment for at least a week! Hoppity is already a top class huff taker so I'd better buy more fenugreek crunchies. :shock:
Toni, I did think of a dip bath but I was on my own and worried she'd fight more but I'm just going back out to check her now and if there's any more my husband is getting roped in to your suggestion. Fun afternoon ahead!!

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Good luck! I hope they don't sulk too much! [emoji6]

2 rabbits now hate me. I washed Hoppity yesterday, holding her over a nice warm bowl of water. She hates me. Hector just kept running at me trying to bite my ankles. He hates me. Took them to vets this morning, teeth okay but we have to go back for hair trim. They'll double hate me!!! I've been trying to take photos of them giving me dirty looks but every time I get close they turn their backs on me. I've just done a big herbs and treats order, pathetically trying to buy their love back. :lol: I forgot to ask at vets but does anyone know if they will anaesthetise Hoppity to trim her?

I wonder if you just give them hay for a couple of days and see if it clears up then gradually add in a few pellets. Some rabbits don't get on well with pellets even though they've be alright before.

Doughnut's had terrible digestion problems and my specialist changed her to a bit of muesli and hay and that's it now. I got Doughnut's bum clipped and then got the vets to apply rearguard. That way the poo doesn't stick so easily and the rearguard is peace of mind. I would definitely try tweeking their diets though, a few days with just hay won't hurt them.

I agree about tweaking their diets. Just to add, I'm not sure how good Fenugreek crunchies are for them?

G-Man said:

2 rabbits now hate me. I washed Hoppity yesterday, holding her over a nice warm bowl of water. She hates me. Hector just kept running at me trying to bite my ankles. He hates me. Took them to vets this morning, teeth okay but we have to go back for hair trim. They'll double hate me!!! I've been trying to take photos of them giving me dirty looks but every time I get close they turn their backs on me. I've just done a big herbs and treats order, pathetically trying to buy their love back. :lol: I forgot to ask at vets but does anyone know if they will anaesthetise Hoppity to trim her?

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They shouldn't need anaesthetic for that. I have clippers and can trim rabbits myself at home, but if they have two burly vet nurses I reckon they could hold a rabbit down without being bitten :shock: :lol:

Babsie said:

I agree about tweaking their diets. Just to add, I'm not sure how good Fenugreek crunchies are for them?

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I've never seen a Fenugreek crunchie and neither have my buns, but I reckon they are on the .. ahem .. junk side of treats maybe?

MightyMax said:

I've never seen a Fenugreek crunchie and neither have my buns, but I reckon they are on the .. ahem .. junk side of treats maybe?

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Neither have I, MM! I'm a treaty meanie. Most of the shop-bought so-called treats are just sugar by any other name, and I consider that all the herbs I buy them are treats - as is the dried plantain etc I buy when I have no fresh.

I empathise: I don't pick mine up for bum checks because I'm not confident enough, but I do an under-bum check while they're eating I can usually get enough of an idea before Aboleth's had enough and hopped to where it's difficult to reach her. It worked when she had a matty bum from being in the wet. Lopsy doesn't mind what I do to him while he's eating as long as he can continue eating!

Hi, My old girl, Ginny, aged 10 gets the occasional dirty bum. She's very greedy. I use Hibiscrub diluted in warm water and wash her off with some of that on a big piece of cotton wool. Dry her off very well and then cut down on veg and pellets and feed extra Ready Grass. Smells wonderful, like Rich Tea biscuits. This usually stops the mess. I make sure I gently brush any excess loose fur from around her tail and back legs. She tolerates it very well.

MightyMax said:

I've never seen a Fenugreek crunchie and neither have my buns, but I reckon they are on the .. ahem .. junk side of treats maybe?

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The only ingredients in them are fenugreek and corn/flour I think

Phoned vet and they trim with one holding and one trimming. That may be fine with Hector but I think they'll have to up it to 3 with Hoppity! I'll try cutting back on pellets and just go to hay and herbs, they get readigrass too. The fenugreek crunchies are recommended as healthy treats as they're only corn and fenugreek seed. They get one each for supper and love them. Hoppity wasn't keen until Hector arrived but they're also handy as an appetite stimulant when they're off their food.

I'll ask about rearguard application when I'm at vets. I've looked at hibiscrub and its sold in Boots so I'll get a bottle for future cleanings. :thumb: