Lots of night time poops - UPDATE

Twinkle was on a mix when I got her so changed her onto Excel as that was what Pickle enjoyed eating. Noticed she had excess nightiime poops and they were rather runny. Decided I changed her over too quickly and they were too rich for her so decided to go back to the mix she was used to.

She is still doing lots of runny night time poops and the hutch is rather messy.

I have cut out all veg for her until I can sort her tummy out, but am at a loss as what to do with feeding her. She has unlimited hay at all times.

She is around five months old now and living with Pickle full time. What do you suggest I do??? Need a feeding plan to get her tummy back to normal but dont know how.

As long as she eats LOTS of hay I would put her on just hay and water for 24 hours. Add a probiotic to her drinking water too. Then reintroduce the dried feed, but only a quarter of the amount she normally has.

Janex

Just hay and water - will that stop this problem? I can put her back on the mixed food (reduced amount) afterward, but what if the excess runny poops continue once back on the mixed food?

Eventually want her on pellet food but no doubt that will be further down the line.

Its hard to see how much each bunny eats when you have two living together tho so not sure how much food she is eating.

Do I need to go to the vet for probiotic?

Thanks for any advice.

fluffiebunnie said:

Just hay and water - will that stop this problem? I can put her back on the mixed food (reduced amount) afterward, but what if the excess runny poops continue once back on the mixed food?

Eventually want her on pellet food but no doubt that will be further down the line.

Its hard to see how much each bunny eats when you have two living together tho so not sure how much food she is eating.

Do I need to go to the vet for probiotic?

Thanks for any advice.

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Excel Pellets seem to cause problems for quite a few Bunnies. Science Selective or Allen and Page Pellets appear to be better.

You can buy a probiotic called Avipro-Plus from here

http://www.noahs-cupboard.co.uk/detail.asp?catno=4&pnum=A2A4Z

or a product called Fibreplex or Bio-Lapis can be obtained from here

http://www.noahs-cupboard.co.uk/detail.asp?catno=4&pnum=A2A4Z

Janex

Is this ok for my other bunny to have as he shares the housing?

The two links were the same, but get the gist!! Many thanks Jane for your advice!

I would recommend science selective too - it does seem to sort out this problem, and it contains a probiotic. I get mine online but I've seen some vets that stock it, so you could ring around and see if a local vet has any.

I would cut the veg as you have done, but be sure she actually eats plenty of hay before cutting out dry food as sometimes they don't eat much hay - I nearly starved Maa to death not realising she wasn't eating the hay - she likes the expensive timmy hay, whereas the other rabbits will eat ordinary meadow hay quite happily.

If it's actual diahorrea (I never know how to spell that ) she may need a fluid injection at the vets, to rehydrate.

Hope it clears up soon - bit tricky when there's 2 bunnies together! One of my group of 4 girls is doing excess soft poops, but I don't even know which one it is - no way of telling. :? I've cut their pellets slightly, but the problem is some eat faster than others - I don't want the slower eaters to starve, but it's probably the greedy one that's doing the excess poops....

Thanks Elve.

I have so many different bags of rabbit food!!! I put her back on the mix as that is what she was on before I got her thinking that would solve the problem, but it hasnt.

I have cut the amount of dry food, but again, as you say, when there is more than one I dont know how much she is getting, as Pickle is the more dominant bun and does pig out!! I put lots of dry food in the hutch so that Twinkle can get some as Pickle pigs out!!!

She does like hay so felt ok cutting out the veg - will cut down more on the dry mix and get some probiotic as Jane suggests and maybe look around for SS to try them on that!!!

fluffiebunnie said:

Is this ok for my other bunny to have as he shares the housing?

The two links were the same, but get the gist!! Many thanks Jane for your advice!

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You can give probiotics to both Bunnies

Janex

Is it definitely her poos that are runny, or is it uneaten caecal pellets? These are supposed to be eaten by the rabbit, but if the diet is too rich, or there is a sudden change to it, they will often taste different which can put the rabbit off eating them. If this is the case, a diet of mainly hay and minimal pellet food is usually best. As already suggested, to "detox" the system, a hay and water diet for a a day or 2 is a good start. Many rabbits are overfed on their pellets. They are not a natural part of the rabbits diet, and should not be relied upon as their staple feed.

Rabbits jaws and teeth are not designed to eat these types of commercial feed either, when eating grass/hay/greens etc the jaw grinds from side to side which helps to wear down the teeth. Feeding only mix/pellets means the rabbits jaw moves up and down in a crunching action which is actually unnatural, and prevents the teeth wearing down as they should. -- I must add though that, even with a correct diet, some genetic teeth problems cannot always be avoided.

Pellets are recommended over rabbit mix to prevent selective eating. If the rabbit is indoors, the pellets provide some vitamin D too, which would usually come from the sun and be absorbed by outdoor bunnies.

In winter, outdoor bunnies are usually given more pellets, however, most rabbits need less than a small handful of pellets a day.

My two rabbits vary between them, Travis can eat a bucketful of pellets - not that it'd be good for him - without getting a poorly tummy, yet if I was to give any more to Treacle than she already gets, I'd have uneaten caecal pellets everywhere!! Commercial treats such as chocolate/yoghurt drops etc can also cause stomach upsets.


So the best diet for a bunny is as natural as possible, minimal mix/pellets, lots of hay/grass (it may require lots of shopping around to find hay that some bunnies like :roll: ). And herbs and greens such as spring greens are good veg - but introduce gradually in order to determine if any veggies have a reaction with your bunnies. Any treats that my bunnies have are as natural as possible, like dried herbs and safe plants.

Thanks for the advice. Ordered some probiotic from the site Jane posted a link too. Not sure when it will arrive now, but at least it is ordered!!

Will cut right back on the mix - was putting in lots as Pickle is a pig and didnt know if Twinkle would actually get any!!!

Will see how we go over next couple of days on mainly hay and small amount of mix.

Thanks again all!

i hope she gets better soon!

Well the probiotics arrived today (good quick service considering its Xmas). I have put one scoop in the bowl of water that both buns share and will see how that goes.

There are still lots of excess "C" poops and I have cut back on the mix food and giving lots of hay.

Hoping this wll all make a difference soon!!

Hi Donna
Some mix foods and Excel pellets are quite high in protein so this may be what is causing the excess caecotrophs.

Basically, a rabbits diet should consist of high fibre rather than protein.

Pelleted foods like allen and page and science selective are two excellent foods high in fibre. Of course many people use mixes and excel without any problems, but as you have mentioned Twinkle does appear to have a problem, I would try her with one of those foods.

This may be useful
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/rabbitfood.asp

mandy said:

Hi Donna
Some mix foods and Excel pellets are quite high in protein so this may be what is causing the excess caecotrophs.

Basically, a rabbits diet should consist of high fibre rather than protein.

Pelleted foods like allen and page and science selective are two excellent foods high in fibre. Of course many people use mixes and excel without any problems, but as you have mentioned Twinkle does appear to have a problem, I would try her with one of those foods.

This may be useful
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/rabbitfood.asp

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Thanks for that.

I do know mix food is not the best and Excel can be rather rich. I decided to go back to the food she was used to at the pet shop to try to stop the dodgy tummy. Once I have managed to settle her, I can then see where we go from there. Hoping the probiotic will help too.

She had the vet look at her today and she is doing very well in all areas. He suggested I try apple or ripe banana to settle her tummy but have not done so yet. She was also able to have her myxi jab so that was good news too!