MiniLopMum1
New Kit
Hi all, we have two 3.5 month old mini lops that we've had for 2 weeks. Ever since we got them, we have been finding large piles of cecotropes in the morning - often squashed, sometimes not well formed, occasionally runny. We've cut down their ration of pellet mix food to very minimal (about 17g a day, for rabbits weighing a total of 3kg altogether - they're very small). When we found the runny poo, we cut them back to hay only for a couple of days and it got a little better, but I'm worried about keeping that up as they're young and need lots of protein, so they're gradually coming back to the pellet mix now.
They are active, good hay eaters (timothy, meadow and italian rye grass) and water drinkers. We think Nibbler, the unspayed doe (can't be spayed until at least 6 months, is that right?), is the main culprit - we've seen her eat her cecotropes occasionally in the evening but in the morning the great big piles are often under her! Or in her favourite place. That, and we saw her do the runny poos. Trico, the spayed buck, is rarely near them but then again I haven't seen him eat his cecotropes. One person has said that it's normal for their age and will get better as they get older - is this your experience?
It's staining their feet, and I'm worried they're missing out on nutrition. Also it's messy and smelly! (I have pictures if needed.) I've put a 2nd litter box in their very large cage, which I put out in the run when it's open for them, and they largely wee in them (with occasional accidents) but pellet everywhere and the cecotropes are invariably on the cage floor.
Thank you for your help! I'm a worried first-time rabbit mum
They are active, good hay eaters (timothy, meadow and italian rye grass) and water drinkers. We think Nibbler, the unspayed doe (can't be spayed until at least 6 months, is that right?), is the main culprit - we've seen her eat her cecotropes occasionally in the evening but in the morning the great big piles are often under her! Or in her favourite place. That, and we saw her do the runny poos. Trico, the spayed buck, is rarely near them but then again I haven't seen him eat his cecotropes. One person has said that it's normal for their age and will get better as they get older - is this your experience?
It's staining their feet, and I'm worried they're missing out on nutrition. Also it's messy and smelly! (I have pictures if needed.) I've put a 2nd litter box in their very large cage, which I put out in the run when it's open for them, and they largely wee in them (with occasional accidents) but pellet everywhere and the cecotropes are invariably on the cage floor.
Thank you for your help! I'm a worried first-time rabbit mum