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Soft Poo!!

ClaireS

New Kit
Hi, I have two 14 week old Dutch rabbits (female) one of them is doing soft black poo which is clumped together like grapes. I have looked this up and it suggests that they are being overfed. My vet advised me that the food order should be Hay, grass, veg, rabbit food is this correct? I feed my rabbits on Burgess SupaRabbit Excel and I give them just over half a bowl between them and when thats gone they dont get any more until the next day. They have good quality hay (meadow hay) and Spillers redigrass, loads of both but they wee all over it! I give them one portion of veg a day as they are still getting used to it. While im on the subject of veg how much should they have and how long should the weaning process take?

Hope someone can help.
 
The poo you descibe is cecal pellets, rabbits make two types of poop. The dry round pellets you usually see it the litter tray and the soft, dark bunch of grapes type. This second type you don't usually see because they are eaten by the bunny as they are produced. They contain lots of important nutrients.

Hay is the most important part of a rabbits diet and pellets should be fed only in smaller quantities. How big a bowl are you feeding half of? I'd suggest splitting the feed into two, morning and evening and then they can't eat them all at once. Vegetables and grass needs to be introduced slowly, once they are adults and they have got used to eat they can eat a bowl full a day quite happily.

What time of day is she producing the cecal pellets?

Tam
 
The bowl is the normal size rabbit bowl that is in the shop (?), ceramic, probably a bit like the size of a saucer. They are in their run now and have been for a few hours and there are about 5 lumps of it. I dont notice it very much though when I clean out there hutch, mainly during the morning when they are out.
 
Did you introduce them to the grass slowly?

It seems to me that this little rabbit has got her body clock tipsy turvey and is now producing what she should be doing in the night, in the morning. Problem being that she is too busy in the morning out in the run enjoying her self to be bothered with eating her pellets.
How long are they out eating grass and playing in the run aday.
 
They are in their run most of the day (weather permitting) but on the patio and I give them a handfull of Spillers Redigrass, which there is always quite a bit left over when they go back in their hutch around 7ish. The grass in my garden is not very good so that is why they dont go on there.
 
Hello Claire, if your bunny isn't eating her caecal pellets (long, look like bunch of grapes..) then this is due to her being fed too much pelletted food, so she doesn't feel the need to practice caecotrophy. Pet rabbits normally produce the caecotrophs in the early morning (this can vary from rabbit to rabbit and their routine), but if their routine is disturbed they may deposit uneaten ones.

Rabbits who have food freely available the amount of caecotrophs consumed is influenced by the protein and fibre content of their diet. Increase fibre will increase the caecotrophy, high protein will reduce it. A bunny not practicing caecotrophy will be deprived of many important vits and amino acids.

I would increase hay, as long as they are eating all their pellets and it is the correct amount for their body size and weight, then excel has a good fibre/protein ratio. Keep on with the dried grass as this is higher in fibre than hay, and of course small amounts of vegetables to enable their digestive system to get used to them.
A bit of probiotic doesn't harm to keep the system healthy.

Annie
 
Hi, thanks for that everyone. The only problem is where ever I put the hay/grass they wee and poo on it, is this OK? I bought a hay rack but it doesnt fit on their hutch as the wire is too small!
 
I have one of these

TE028.jpg


Which you can get here - http://www.bunnymail.co.uk/

Its about 6" tall and hangs on a chain from the lid of Alfies run. I stuff it with hay morning and evening and he adores it. He sits underneath waiting for a refill. Its a good way of making him work a bit extra for his dinner too.

Tam
 
Tamsin said:
I have one of these

TE028.jpg


Which you can get here - http://www.bunnymail.co.uk/

Its about 6" tall and hangs on a chain from the lid of Alfies run. I stuff it with hay morning and evening and he adores it. He sits underneath waiting for a refill. Its a good way of making him work a bit extra for his dinner too.

Tam

oooh we have one of those!! :D
 
ok im quite concerned :?

Mubby doesnt eat these grapey poos ? I always have to clean them out.

and im sure im feeding him too much , :?

i posted in the eating sticky topic...can anyone tell me how much pellets i should be feeding him ?? as i read that for the first year it should be unlimmeted :?

he isnt a greedy buns , he will have a bowl of food and he doesnt eat all the time , just because its there ... he seems to only really eat the food thats in his cage during the evening/ night , doesnt eat much during day...


what should i do :?:
shoudlnt i put pellets in during night and just allow him unlimmeted hay ?

help!!

i want to be a GREAT mummy!!
 
When is he producing the grape like pellets? Usually this is done overnight so if thats when he is eating his pellets that possibly why he's not eating the poop.

The RWA site said ad-lib until 4-6 months, he's 4 months old now? So you could start being more controling of his intake. Split his pellets into two feeds, morning and evening with hay available all the time. If he has pellets left when its time to feed him again then your feeding to much. About 50g per day is plenty for the average adult bun.

Tam
 
hes 3 months...

most of the soft grapes are morning... but as i said ive never seen him eat them , they always just wait to be cleaned up!

ok thanks alot , ill monitor how much im giving him a day instead of just filling his bowl! and split the feeds :D

thanks Tam!!
appriciate it !!

i just wanna be a good mummy and its great that people like you are here to help!! ( and Lynda!! she shelped alot too! ) :lol: :D
 
I just wanted to point out that there can be other reasons than diet that can affect the eating of the cecal pellets;

1. Obesity - unlikely in young rabbits though
2. Painful back - possible if the baby has fallen or bumped into something and then finds it hard to bend back and reach the bum.
3. Teeth - might be worth checking as dental trouble can affect eating the cecal pellets too. Genetic dental problems can show very early on!

So if a diet change does not change the problem, then you need to look at the above things too.

In addition, I would probably change from Excel to Science Selective, as I had two bunnies with occasional sticky bum on Excel, but none of mine have ever had the problem in the last two years since being on SS.
 
Mubbys poo has been much better , im feeding him at regular times and he seems to be now eating the grape poo's!! as im not cleaning them out anymore!!


but today his poo is very soft :( and big clumps of it ... is this just like rabbit dihorea ?

Yesterday he had a whole tomatoe for the first time ... is this too much for his little tum ? likely to be the cause ?
 
Hiya Mubby

I'm no expert on diet although I've come a long way during the past two years of being a bunny mum.

There could a chance that the Tomatoe has unbalanced your bunnys tum a little especially if it was new to his diet - I always try and introduce things really slowly giving the tinest bit of something new to start to get their tums used to it. A whole big tomatoe - I bet he really enjoyed himself with that.

It your bunnies tum seems upset - might be best to just pop back onto hay and water for a night until he settles back down again - Just make sure though if he has got a touch of the runs that your bunny has lots of water.

What do you think other bunny mums :?:
 
bunnytales said:
A whole big tomatoe - I bet he really enjoyed himself with that.

it was a smallish tomatoe , i gave him half and he yummed it up so i gave him the other half :?

so throughout the whole day he ate the whole thing :?

thanks for teh advice , i think it must have been the tomatoe , as nothing else had changed , ive not given him any veg today , just hay and pellets :D oh yeah and always water of course!
 
I'm in the process of changing my bunny from burgess excel to science selective pellets. They are higher in fibre so should be better and so far he seems to prefer the new pellets to the old ones ive mixed them into. If you give him a new vegetable/fruit just give him a little each day and check for runs. My rabbit did have a few extra soft grapey poos when he was young too.. but now i never see any.
Chris
 
To many loose poos can mean to much calcium in the diet, all my rabbits are on a complete pellit witch as you know will illiminate select feeding, this gives your rabbit a complete ration of everything he needs .Your rabbit will not eat these poos unless he needs to. val
 
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