Getting bunny bowels moving

[Icarus]

Alright, my Angora buck seems to have wool block. I first noticed when his dropping appeared to contain an unusual amount of wool. I made sure he had plenty of fiber, water, and lots of exercise out in the backyard. Been grooming him regularly, etc.

Now, his dropping are MUCH smaller than normal. No sign of wool. I've been grooming him on a regular basis and he is eating and drinking normally (a thankfully good sign)


I have:
Benefiber (disolvable)
Milk of Magnesia
Correctol (Bisacodyl, 5mg)

in front of me at the moment. No other laxatives or stool softeners in the house. Will any of these work or do I need a different product?


I gave him Ivermectin on March 26th to treat and prevent wool mites (doe is infected, he's been around her quite a bit).


Should I clip him? Continue grooming?

 

[tonyshuman]

I would not do any of these things that you talk about.

If my bunnies have fur in their poo, I do a few things. I cut back on pellets a little to encourage hay eating. I put out new, tasty hay of a variety they like (Oat is a favorite). I give lots of high-water-content veggies. My guys usually get 2c veggies twice a day (for a pair of 5lb bunnies). I might increase that to 2.5c each time and focus on lettuces (green leaf, romaine, red romaine, red leaf, chicory endive, spring mix) and parsley instead of brassicas (broccoli etc), that have been well-washed and are still dripping wet. Some people even soak the veggies for 15 min before giving them so they absorb more water. You may not feed lots of veggies already. If so, just give a normal amount but focus on high-water content veggies.

I also will give a probiotic. These improve the environment in the GI tract for good bacteria to grow, which can be important if the GI slows down. ProBios can be found at farm stores and Bene-Bac can be found at pet stores. Don't use a milk-based probiotic like yogurt because the sugars are incompatible with the rabbit's digestive system. In a pinch, human acidophilus capsules can be cut open and given if you can't find the other probiotics.

Ivermectin will not cause this kind of reaction, but stress, shedding, etc can cause gut slowdowns. I would hold off on serious grooming because it may stress him out even more.

If he stops eating, drinking, or pooing, you'll have to start force-feeding pellet slurry, canned pumpkin, and pedialyte. I actually would get some pedialyte and offer it in a second bowl or bottle on his cage--it helps rehydrate them better than plain water and only contains a small amount of sugar.