So Cute but so stinky

Hi guys, I've not been on here for a while, hi to all.
I have a query (as always) I have a rescue bunny, he's about 3 and loves his food, he has lots of hay and a few pellets and the occasional herbs...however I think he had a horrible start and his tummy isn't very strong....his poo is always messy and so so smelly (so much worse than Obi's)...he's in a real mess on his bottom at the moment, and I have tried to keep it clean taking off a little each night but it is so close to his private parts and has reached a point that he now has huge balls of hard poo on his 'undercarriage'...we are booked in for a clean up tomorrow...He's eating and drinking fine....but I need to look at his diet, its like the hay I give him is too rich (excel dandelion and camomile mixes - they both love it so much) would a simpler hay be better.....he's a little lion head lop, so very fluffy...and such a brave little boy, but you smell him before you see him at the moment!? Any help as always would be much appreciated. x

....ps what I forgot to say was that he was very very bony when I got him (he'd been left dog food to eat) so slowly building him up was a priority... and he's still quite bony but much better, he's just a tiny ball of fluff really, I would imagine his tummy is very small. x

Ah he sounds cute I love lion lops! I would have said that you are over feeding the pellets but it doesn't seem that you are, especially if he is underweight. Have you taken him to the vets to see if there is an underlying cause? I wouldn't think it was the hay causing it. In normal circumstances I would say just give him hay for a couple of days and see if it clears up but since he needs feeding up I'm unsure what advice to give you apart from seeing a vet. Hopefully someone else will come along and give you a few ideas but he shouldn't be smelly and messy on that diet.

Thanks so much for your reply. He has put a lot of weight on as I have had him a year now... I think under all his fluff he's always going to be a bit bony because of his start in life, his little tummy always feels full when I give him a hug...

I would weigh him to monitor his weight since it's hard to tell when they are fluffy . If he is a good weight I would just give him hay for a couple of days and see if it clears up then. A lot of buns love timothy hay so you could try that if you think the hay is an issue or just meadow hay on it 's own.

Can you post a list of his exact diet including quantities ?

As cpayne has mentioned, has the Vet run any diagnostics to try to ascertain if there may be a specific reason (apart from his diet) for his poo problems ?

Some info about diet on these links :

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-diet/

https://shop.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/product/foraging-for-rabbits-by-twigs-way/

And some info about 'mucky bums'

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/dirtysticky-bottom/

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/CaecotrophAccumRabbit.htm

He sounds a cutie. Uneaten cecos (which this does sound like) can be the result of too much non hay / grass food - especially pellets, mixes, non leafy veg & fruit. Your vet / vet nurse should be able to assess his ideal weight. I'd use that as a point to plan his future diet. I doubt hay would be the issue .In my opinion a rabbit of healthy weight does feel a bit skinny, you should be able to feel the spine etc. My first rabbits were quite fat as I simply didn't realise what was normal for bunnies

cpayne said:

Ah he sounds cute I love lion lops! I would have said that you are over feeding the pellets but it doesn't seem that you are, especially if he is underweight. Have you taken him to the vets to see if there is an underlying cause? I wouldn't think it was the hay causing it. In normal circumstances I would say just give him hay for a couple of days and see if it clears up but since he needs feeding up I'm unsure what advice to give you apart from seeing a vet. Hopefully someone else will come along and give you a few ideas but he shouldn't be smelly and messy on that diet.

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Hi there :wave:

I would agree with cpayne, as my first thought also was that over feeding protein/sugar and carbs/starch was contributing to the problem but you will have to be careful if he's already a bony bun!

Uneaten caecotrophs are usually the culprit here. It can happen so easily and then other poo gets stuck on top and you get a mess

There are a few tips on managing that here:

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/dirtysticky-bottom/

I don't think the hay you are feeing will be the cause of the problem, and so don't restrict that at all. Hay cannot be too rich. Some bunnies find Readigrass a bit too rich and the excess protein causes those uneaten caecotrophs.

If you would like info on diet, there's some here:

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/feeding_en.pdf

http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/


You can also think about adding in a probiotic such as Avipro to his diet:

http://www.vetark.co.uk/pages/Avipro-Plus_4.aspx

There is no actual evidence that it does any good, but neither will it do any harm. You need to also find out what's causing this issue, so possibly eliminating food such as fruit and vegetables and feeding a high fibre pellet might help

If he has been eating dog food, it was probably purely out of starvation rather than want (I'm assuming it was meat based?!) which probably means he won't want to eat the caecotrophs as they'll also taste & smell like meat. If I were you, I'd probably implement a strict hay based diet so he realises that he likes what he is eating and will eventually realise that he will like what comes out of the other end. Once you've got that down, start introducing veg in small quantities. N ohay is generally too rich for a rabbit.