Knowledgable RUers? Unusual droppings? Do I need to worry? (Pictures)

I went into see my bunnies about ten minutes ago and noticed these in one of the litter trays.


Now I know that rabbits can sometimes produce large amounts of cecotropes if they have certain things in their diet like sugar or protein? Is that what these look like? My two bunnies are 8 weeks and have constant access to hay and Excel junior pellet and they get literally one of the small ones of these a day.=http://www.petsathome.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/pets/woodlands-aromatic-crunchies-120g?gclid=CMii9Y7z_b0CFQvHtAodvAsAeg

Then I also noticed this close to the litter tray too:



Anyone have any idea whats going on here? :? Do I need to worry or do I need to just cut down on certain things? Maybe less pellet or stop giving them the treats all together? They do literally only get one small treat a day. I'm also worried because they had their first vet trip for their combi vac yesterday? Could that have caused anything? The vet said their dropping looked great!

Advice please?

The top one is definitely a cecal. I wouldn't be too worried if there is only one of them but generally they are supposed to eat them.

I'm not sure if you mean they have unlimited hay and unlimited pellets?

I have no idea what the second photo is though.

The top stools are the cecotropes and yes it's due to high sugar/protein. How much pellets are you giving them? Maybe just give them a treat every few days not every day.

The vets could have stressed them out so it may settle down again. Do you normally see the cecotropes, if not I would continue as you have been and see if it was just the visit to the vets, you could cut down on the treat though.

Kirotea said:

The top one is definitely a cecal. I wouldn't be too worried if there is only one of them but generally they are supposed to eat them.

I'm not sure if you mean they have unlimited hay and unlimited pellets?

I have no idea what the second photo is though.

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Yes they have unlimited hay and pellets, this is what I was advised to do until they are closer to being adults.
They are eating and drinking fine I just wonder whats suddenly cause them to do this the day after they had their vaccinations?

cpayne said:

The top stools are the cecotropes and yes it's due to high sugar/protein. How much pellets are you giving them? Maybe just give them a treat every few days not every day.

The vets could have stressed them out so it may settle down again. Do you normally see the cecotropes, if not I would continue as you have been and see if it was just the visit to the vets, you could cut down on the treat though.

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I've never seen any cecotropes this far, today is the first time and I was surprised to see to many together. It was a fairly large lump. I am giving them constant access to pellets but maybe I should cut down on them? What do you think?

I may just stop giving them these treats all together? I'm concerned that they are affecting them so much?

Sarah1991 said:

I've never seen any cecotropes this far, today is the first time and I was surprised to see to many together. It was a fairly large lump. I am giving them constant access to pellets but maybe I should cut down on them? What do you think?

I may just stop giving them these treats all together? I'm concerned that they are affecting them so much?

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I'd cut down the treats and try limiting the pellets.


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I would stop the treats maybe until they are a bit older and then the odd one won't hurt.

I would stick with the unlimited pellets if you don't see any more cecotropes if it continues I would cut it down. In a few weeks you can cut the pellets down anyway. When I got Doughnut I saw lots of cecotropes at 8 weeks as I gave her unlimited but as soon as I cut it down they stopped. You just need to reduce it gradually though. You will find they will eat a lot more hay.

Going to the vets is stressful for them so it may have upset their digestion a bit.

cpayne said:

I would stop the treats maybe until they are a bit older and then the odd one won't hurt.

I would stick with the unlimited pellets if you don't see any more cecotropes if it continues I would cut it down. In a few weeks you can cut the pellets down anyway. When I got Doughnut I saw lots of cecotropes at 8 weeks as I gave her unlimited but as soon as I cut it down they stopped. You just need to reduce it gradually though. You will find they will eat a lot more hay.

Going to the vets is stressful for them so it may have upset their digestion a bit.

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I did think that maybe the vet visit stressed them out, as well has having the vacs. I am going to stop giving them the treats. Ill see how they go for a few days on no treats and constant pellets with hay obviously as well. I guess I can only see what they are like after a couple of days.

Thanks for the advice, I do feel a little more confident that its not much to worry about.

Sarah1991 said:

Yes they have unlimited hay and pellets, this is what I was advised to do until they are closer to being adults.
They are eating and drinking fine I just wonder whats suddenly cause them to do this the day after they had their vaccinations?

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I know baby bunnies need more pellets than older ones but I'm not sure they need unlimited amounts. I'm no expert though, I've only had my rabbits a few months and they are 7 months old. Someone else might be able to advise. I wouldn't do any drastic cut downs though. If this is the first and only one then I wouldn't stress too much.

If it started suddenly, then I would suspect the vet visit and immune system challenge due to the vaccination have brought this on. Having said that, I (and many others) have previously found that excel pellets do seem to have a tendency to result in uneaten caecatrophs, so it may well be that unlimited pellets is too much and too rich for their delicate tummies. They're at an age and stage in their digestive development where it's quite risky to make any significant changes, but personally I would start to cut down the pellets and encourage them to spend more time munching hay instead - maybe mix pellets in with hay rather than serve them in a bowl? It's a careful balance as they are young and need lots of energy to help them grow, but equally you don't want them to get into bad eating habits early on, when they need to be learning to enjoy lots of nice hay. Personally I'd have thought the problem is more likely to be the quantity and potentially type of pellets rather than the small daily treat.

Hope the problem is transient and clears up very soon, you will need to keep a very close eye, though, with regular bum checks, especially as it's getting warmer and flies will be attracted to any uneaten caecatrophs.

Good luck x

Santa made some really good points here.
It may be the type of pellets - there are quite a few buns who get this from Excell and may need to go on to a different type of pellet.
Whatever you do, do it slowly - you don't want to upset their delicate digestive system.
Nikki

The first one I wouldn't worry about, the stress, the vaccs and their young age and the fact that at 8 weeks old you must have only gotten them less than a week ago, so a house move as well.... they've been through a lot in just a few days. The second one looks malformed, which isn't as easily dismissable.

As others have said, keep a close eye on them and do bum checks every day. Are they on the same pellets as they were at the breeder/rescue/pet shop?

I'd personally remove the treats, as I doubt they would have had them at the breeder/rescue/pet shop, and it is advisable not to introduce any new foods for at least 2 weeks after first getting baby bunnies.

Keep an eye on things, you may need to start slowly reducing the pellets if you keep finding them. Excel junior pellets aren't that high in fibre and are quite high in protein, so it may be that their tummies need more fibre (hay) to balance it out. Unlimited pellets (within reason) at that age is okay, but some bunnies' tummies can't cope or they fill up on pellets so don't eat enough hay, and so need them limiting a bit.