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fluffy rabbit with soft poop

Need advise please, we have two happy house rabbits but the male Rupert is a lion head cross and really hairy, problem is he gets really wet poops and I struggle to keep his back end clean, he is a bit fat and I try to restrict greens but his wife has short hair and slender, I think he struggles more with the greens but I don't want to split them up to eat but he would eat and eat if I let him, can I shave him? How do others manage? Should I give less greens
 
Hi, welcome to the forum. What is the rest of his diet like? It is really not good for a rabbit to be overweight and if it were me I would try to enable him to lose weight. I realise that this is not so easy when you have two rabbits living and eating together.

Lots of rabbits have problems with greens and if he is getting to the point where it is difficult to keep him clean then there is also a risk of Flystrike. Have you tried feeding him with herbs or forage instead of the greens?

We can probably offer better advise if we know exactly what he is eating each day :)
 
They get as much hay as they can manage, they are Fed the excel nuggets get half what's recommended on the bag (i feed enough for 1 rabbit) I think he struggles with greens, don't get me wrong I keep him cleen but I feel must be a better way to manage his diet, I think I probably give them too much greens, they get 2/3 big spring green leaves and either some parsley or mint and they do like kale
 
I have found Excel nuggets can cause soft poops in my buns too, so I switched to Sience Selective which works better :)
 
I feed Science Selective, only about an eggcupful per rabbit per day. I have also heard that Excel sometimes causes soft poops.

I would try cutting out the greens completely and just feeding herbs and forage to see if that makes a difference.
 
Cinammon loves fresh herbs, it's worth a try. I restricted pellets when my bun had a mucky bum and it solved the problem


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Personally I'd cut out the greens completely and see if his poos get better. If they do then you can slowly start introducing the greens again and hopefully pin point exactly what is causing what.
It also could be that he is struggling to eat his cecals with being overweight and this is causing excess cecals to stick to his bum. Do you see him eating his cecals?
 
Rabbits usually like Blackberry leaves and they are excellent for rabbits' digestion.. Can you find some to pick for them? Apple and Pear leaves are also good alternatives for greens.

I think if I were you I would try cutting out the greens and see if it makes any difference. It could be the greens or it could be the Excel nuggets that's causing the problem. I would try cutting out just one at a time to see if it makes an improvement.
 
He's not really fat vet said he needed no more weight and yes he does eat them, I'm going to cut greens just give herbs and change food, at the moment they share a bowl, it's more a bribe for them to go back to quarters,but I think I will give them separate ones, I think I just need to be really careful what I give him, I have no problem with his wife, thanks for your advice will let you know x
 
I tried BlackBerry, I got the stare like I tried to poison them, they won't even eat mint grown in garden has to be from shop.
 
He's not really fat vet said he needed no more weight and yes he does eat them, I'm going to cut greens just give herbs and change food, at the moment they share a bowl, it's more a bribe for them to go back to quarters,but I think I will give them separate ones, I think I just need to be really careful what I give him, I have no problem with his wife, thanks for your advice will let you know x

Oh good. :) When you change their pellets remember to do it slowly! I usually do it over a period of about a week. :)
Let us know how you get on.
 
You can get the Vet to shave his fur around the back end, this will enable you to keep him cleaner easier. When you feed them greens you don't need to give a whole leaf, just tear off a piece - this is what I do and mine are all good. They will still love you then, rather than not giving any. Also just under an eggcup full of pellets should do. The hay is the important part of their diet. No daily carrot or fruit, and carpet could cause a blockage! You can also give them Readigrass, they all will eat it, and you could give them some every other day, perhaps instead of the Greens.
 
If I can recall, the feeding instructions on the excel food bags are to feed a lot! Most of us here feeed an eggcup full per bunny per day, I feed according to the needs of the particular bun, my indoor bun gets a small handful of excel once a day. As others have said, it's most likely the greens that are causing it.
 
I scatter feed my four. They all live together in a shed. Scatter feeding helps to entertain them. They have a couple of handfuls of chopped veg between them each day and a few handfuls of pellets at night plus unlimited hay and water.

Mine all love brambles, stalks and all!
 
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