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Rabbit with dirty bottom - newbie owner

C

catslovelycats

Young Bun
As the title says, one of my rescue buns has a dirty bottom. She is very hard to catch but since i noticed it several days ago I've been determined to check her more. I am cleaning it for her. I reckon it's about 2 week since i first noticed it. At the time she had had some fresh forsge and i thought it might have upset her tum. Since then over left net eating hay and a few SS pellets, fibafirst (both of which she had at rspca) and pro-fibre. As the problem still remains should i take her to the vet? My other rescue bun is fine. Rspca checked her before i rehomed her and said she'd had no health issues they could see and mentioned her teeth and bottom are fine. Im not sure if i should leave her a bit longer or go to the vet. She seems much more of a stressed rabbit than the other one and don't know if there's a connection. Thanks for any advice.
 
catslovelycats said:
As the title says, one of my rescue buns has a dirty bottom. She is very hard to catch but since i noticed it several days ago I've been determined to check her more. I am cleaning it for her. I reckon it's about 2 week since i first noticed it. At the time she had had some fresh forsge and i thought it might have upset her tum. Since then over left net eating hay and a few SS pellets, fibafirst (both of which she had at rspca) and pro-fibre. As the problem still remains should i take her to the vet? My other rescue bun is fine. Rspca checked her before i rehomed her and said she'd had no health issues they could see and mentioned her teeth and bottom are fine. Im not sure if i should leave her a bit longer or go to the vet. She seems much more of a stressed rabbit than the other one and don't know if there's a connection. Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

Sorry this will be a rushed reply, there are various possible issues that can cause a Rabbit to have a mucky bum, including dietary problems, dental problems, mobility problems, obesity and stress.

https://www.vetstream.com/watkinsandtasker/html/Factsheets/Otherpets/24_286474.asp

So first it's important to try to identify the cause of the problem. Therefore, yes, I would definitely consult a Vet.

Also, do be mindful of the fact that a Rabbit with a predisposition to having a mucky bum is at very high risk of Flystrike

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/flystrike_sep_05.pdf
 
My Louie had lots of periods of having a mucky butt, diet didn't seem to the be the issue, it was a bit of a mystery.

As Jane says, flystrike is a real risk, especially at this time of year, so you are doing the right thing in checking regularly and cleaning up the poop :)
 
catslovelycats said:
As the title says, one of my rescue buns has a dirty bottom. She is very hard to catch but since i noticed it several days ago I've been determined to check her more. I am cleaning it for her. I reckon it's about 2 week since i first noticed it. At the time she had had some fresh forsge and i thought it might have upset her tum. Since then over left net eating hay and a few SS pellets, fibafirst (both of which she had at rspca) and pro-fibre. As the problem still remains should i take her to the vet? My other rescue bun is fine. Rspca checked her before i rehomed her and said she'd had no health issues they could see and mentioned her teeth and bottom are fine. Im not sure if i should leave her a bit longer or go to the vet. She seems much more of a stressed rabbit than the other one and don't know if there's a connection. Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

Can you cut down on some of the dried food and increase the hay and readigrass she's getting? If you haven't tried readigrass it's more delicious than hay (to most rabbits) and is much higher in fibre than feeding dried food.

If she's not overweight, and teeth and mobility are good, then she should be able to clean herself. That said, some rabbits do have sensitive tummies and you need to find out what's best for them.

Can you ask the R.S.P.C.A. exactly what they fed her and in what amounts?
 
MightyMax said:
Can you cut down on some of the dried food and increase the hay and readigrass she's getting? If you haven't tried readigrass it's more delicious than hay (to most rabbits) and is much higher in fibre than feeding dried food.

If she's not overweight, and teeth and mobility are good, then she should be able to clean herself. That said, some rabbits do have sensitive tummies and you need to find out what's best for them.

Can you ask the R.S.P.C.A. exactly what they fed her and in what amounts?
Click to expand...

Thanks. I haven't given her readigrass yet but I have a huge bag of it that I give the guinea pigs. Would I need to introduce it gently or can I give her a load at once?

I haven't found a hay that either of them really enjoy (and I've bought every type I can find) but they do eat some. The guinea pigs don't know their luck at the moment, with all the fancy hays they're sharing with the buns!

I give the 2 rabbits up to a fistful of Science Selective pellets each day. I also give them several sticks of fibafirst. Both of which I know the RSPCA gave them , though I need to check the amounts - good thinking. I'll definitely contact the RSPCA and ask them.

I have seen her grooming herself, though not seen her clean around her bottom area. Having said that, I haven't seen Daisy cleaning around hers either. I guess they might like some privacy! :D

i gave them both a handful of long foraged grass this morning and they both happily chomped on that. She doesn't seem to be having a problem with physically eating.
 
catslovelycats said:
Thanks. I haven't given her readigrass yet but I have a huge bag of it that I give the guinea pigs. Would I need to introduce it gently or can I give her a load at once?

I haven't found a hay that either of them really enjoy (and I've bought every type I can find) but they do eat some. The guinea pigs don't know their luck at the moment, with all the fancy hays they're sharing with the buns!

I give the 2 rabbits up to a fistful of Science Selective pellets each day. I also give them several sticks of fibafirst. Both of which I know the RSPCA gave them , though I need to check the amounts - good thinking. I'll definitely contact the RSPCA and ask them.

I have seen her grooming herself, though not seen her clean around her bottom area. Having said that, I haven't seen Daisy cleaning around hers either. I guess they might like some privacy! :D

i gave them both a handful of long foraged grass this morning and they both happily chomped on that. She doesn't seem to be having a problem with physically eating.
Click to expand...

I would cut out the Science Selective pellets and just give the Fibafirst for a few days. It sounds as though it's lack of hay eating that may be the issue for the Rabbit with a mucky bum. If the Rabbits fill up on SS pellets/Fibafirst they will only pick at hay.

Even though she is eating some foods not eating hay could mean that she does have some dental problems going on. It is certainly something I would want looked at by a Rabbit Savvy Vet. If she has any sharp spurs/elongated crowns then it would be more a case of her being unable to eat hay rather than refusing to do so. A different jaw action/attrition of teeth is used to eat hay than is used to eat pellets/hard feeds.

I would not start to introduce new food types until you can establish what is causing the mucky bum problem. Readigrass has a high protein content which can exacerbate excess cecotroph production in some Rabbits. If you do choose to feed it now then I would only give a small amount. Personally I'd prefer the Rabbits to be eating other hays and grazing on fresh grass.
 
catslovelycats said:
Thanks. I haven't given her readigrass yet but I have a huge bag of it that I give the guinea pigs. Would I need to introduce it gently or can I give her a load at once?

I haven't found a hay that either of them really enjoy (and I've bought every type I can find) but they do eat some. The guinea pigs don't know their luck at the moment, with all the fancy hays they're sharing with the buns!

I give the 2 rabbits up to a fistful of Science Selective pellets each day. I also give them several sticks of fibafirst. Both of which I know the RSPCA gave them , though I need to check the amounts - good thinking. I'll definitely contact the RSPCA and ask them.

I have seen her grooming herself, though not seen her clean around her bottom area. Having said that, I haven't seen Daisy cleaning around hers either. I guess they might like some privacy! :D

i gave them both a handful of long foraged grass this morning and they both happily chomped on that. She doesn't seem to be having a problem with physically eating.
Click to expand...

You're welcome :thumb:

Readigrass is really good fibre, and if you're cutting down on dried food then it's a good substitute. There's a myth that it's high in protein and calcium, but this isn't really the case, and some hays are much higher. I have free fed it for 20+ years to all my rabbits and never had an issue with excess Cecatrophs or calcium.

I would introduce it in a handful at a time and see how she gets on. It can encourage hay eating, and certainly you can mix it in with hay.

Her teeth seem to be OK if she can eat your foraged grass. That may not be the problem. Sometimes too many pellets can mean they don't bother with the hay. I have boarded lots of buns and got them eating hay via readigrass - it's great you've already got some for your guineas :thumb:
 
catslovelycats said:
Thank you everybody. I'm going to see how things go over the weekend without pellets. Your comments have been helpful.
Click to expand...

I have found that can often sort the problem out within about 48 hours. I'd keep a close eye on his fecal pellet output to make sure that they do not become very small and dry.

Good luck xx
 
Do bottom problems clear up quickly? Checked Poppy's bout yesterday and it was messy. Tonight it is clean. I'm not getting my hopes up but could it clear up that quickly? She's just on hay for the last 2 days. Her poops are a bit smaller than my other rabbit's but always have been and are just as crumby as they should be.
 
catslovelycats said:
Do bottom problems clear up quickly? Checked Poppy's bout yesterday and it was messy. Tonight it is clean. I'm not getting my hopes up but could it clear up that quickly? She's just on hay for the last 2 days. Her poops are a bit smaller than my other rabbit's but always have been and are just as crumby as they should be.
Click to expand...

What do the poops look like? So long as they look OK, and not too small and dry, you are heading in the right direction :D

Yes, things can clear up quite fast when the problem is addressed.

Good luck for continued success :D
 
catslovelycats said:
Do bottom problems clear up quickly? Checked Poppy's bout yesterday and it was messy. Tonight it is clean. I'm not getting my hopes up but could it clear up that quickly? She's just on hay for the last 2 days. Her poops are a bit smaller than my other rabbit's but always have been and are just as crumby as they should be.
Click to expand...

It can do, yes. Just continue to carefully monitor her fecal output to make sure they do not reduce significantly in size/quantity. I would also make weighing her every couple of days part of your usual Rabbit husbandry. Having an accurate record of a Rabbit's weight is a very useful part of monitoring their overall health

This link may be useful

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm
 
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