Bunny Poop help?

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Scarly

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Hi all adopted a new bunny yesterday, he’s not used to eating hay, when he did have hay it was alfalfa and he got unlimited pellets. I’ve switched him to Timothy hay and earning off pellets, just gave him a table spoon.

Poop looks concerning do I need a vet visit or ok to just keep feeding hay. It looks a lot better than yesterday. Yesterday his actual poop was soft today it’s hard and tiny. Cecotropes look a mess too and smell super intense. Photo below. The one bigger poop is from my other bunny as comparison.

Thanks in advance!
 

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How old is said bunny? Rabbits under 6 months need unlimited pellets. He just needs more hay. Are you feeding veggies? Also, what breed is said bunny? If you don't know then can you post a picture this can help us figure out how much food he needs?
 
Keep feeding hay and often it will become better.

When my rabbits start to have stomach problem they often just go on a strict hay diet until their stomach becomes all better. So only hay, no veggies or pellets.

The small dark droppings shows he’s not getting enough fiber in his diet and the clump is too much of other stuff.

Wait a 1-3 days with your diet and it will become better. But if he don’t turn for the better take him to a vet.

I’ve had those tiny dark droppings on my first kit but when he started to eat hay, everything become better.

So have strict diet on pellets because he seem to not prioritize the hay.

Some rabbits shouldn’t be on unlimited pellets because they will only eat those during the day. I’ve had 2 kits that only prioritize pellets and not eat the hay, when they got unlimited ( they are foodies).

So the most important thing is for him to eat hay and get all the fibers he need [emoji5]

I hope everything goes well for you and your new bun.
 
Well, if your rabbit is under 6 months they should eat Alfalfa hay. What are you feeding your Bunny?If your only feeding him Pellets then he wouldn’t get all the Nutrients and Fibers he needs. Also make sure your pellets don’t have added ingredients. Added Ingredients are more like treats and they would usally eat the added ingredients eat the actual pellet.

Good Luck!
 
Looks like he's doing better. You've just had him a day. Running him to the vet would only stress him again. Stress alone can cause poo changes.

Since he's improving, just keep up with the hay and keep an eye (as I'm sure you will!).
 
As others have asked, how old is your bunny?

Chances are, based on the information given and the diet changes you're making, you will start to see improvement in his poops over the next few days. If he's eating hay well and down to a reasonable quantity of timothy-based pellets but still producing tiny poops and/or leaving uneaten cecotropes behind in a week then that may be cause for concern.
 
How old is said bunny? Rabbits under 6 months need unlimited pellets. He just needs more hay. Are you feeding veggies? Also, what breed is said bunny? If you don't know then can you post a picture this can help us figure out how much food he needs?


He's almost 3 years old. He's a holland lop and a whopping 7 lbs of fat, his actual body is smaller than my mini rex. I offered only hay, Oxbow pellets, and water since Sunday as well as one tablespoon of Sherwood Sarx recovery food (recommended amount is 6tbs per day). He hasn't touched the pellets and has eaten barely any hay, less than half of what my other bun eats in one sitting. Today I offered him some romaine lettuce because I was so worried about him just not eating and he went crazy for it. His cecotropes are much better and he's actually eating them now which he wasn't before. But his poop is the same :(
 
Keep feeding hay and often it will become better.

When my rabbits start to have stomach problem they often just go on a strict hay diet until their stomach becomes all better. So only hay, no veggies or pellets.

The small dark droppings shows he’s not getting enough fiber in his diet and the clump is too much of other stuff.

Wait a 1-3 days with your diet and it will become better. But if he don’t turn for the better take him to a vet.

I’ve had those tiny dark droppings on my first kit but when he started to eat hay, everything become better.

So have strict diet on pellets because he seem to not prioritize the hay.

Some rabbits shouldn’t be on unlimited pellets because they will only eat those during the day. I’ve had 2 kits that only prioritize pellets and not eat the hay, when they got unlimited ( they are foodies).

So the most important thing is for him to eat hay and get all the fibers he need [emoji5]

I hope everything goes well for you and your new bun.


Thanks :) I'm trying but this is day 5 of him barely eating. He won't touch pellets and barely eats hay. In 5 days he's eaten less than half of what my other rabbit eats in a day. Today I gave him some romaine lettuce (very small amount) and he went crazy for it so he's obviously hungry. I've tried Timothy, Meadow, Orchard Grass, Botanical and Oat Hay, the only one he'll touch is oat hay but even at that he barely eats any :( If it was a different animal I would just only offer hay and wait it out as eventually, they'd eat, but I can't really do that with a rabbit. After 2 days I started giving him 1tbs of Sherwood Sarx recovery via syringe to get some nutrition into him, his cecotropes have improved since I started with that but the poop is still the same and he has no appetite. His teeth are fine, the vet checked them.
 
Well, if your rabbit is under 6 months they should eat Alfalfa hay. What are you feeding your Bunny?If your only feeding him Pellets then he wouldn’t get all the Nutrients and Fibers he needs. Also make sure your pellets don’t have added ingredients. Added Ingredients are more like treats and they would usally eat the added ingredients eat the actual pellet.

Good Luck!


No he's an adopted bunny, almost 3 years old. The place I got him from was feeding him that diet, not me! I'm attempting to feed only hay, offering a few pellets (oxbow) but he doesn't eat the pellets or the Hay. In 5 days he's eaten less hay than my other rabbit eats in half a day. I'm now syringe feeding him Sherwood Sarx Recovery food which has improved his cecotropes a bit but poop is the same and he's still not interested in hay. I've tried Timothy, Botanical, Oat, Meadow and Orchard grass. I've taken him to the vet, his teeth are fine and were recently filed when he was neutered about 6 months ago. Vet said just to keep trying getting him to eat.
 
Looks like he's doing better. You've just had him a day. Running him to the vet would only stress him again. Stress alone can cause poo changes.

Since he's improving, just keep up with the hay and keep an eye (as I'm sure you will!).

5 days now and unfortunately no poop change. The cecotropes are better after I started feeding Sherwood Sarx recovery food via syringe but he's still not eating much hay or timothy based pellets at all. I've offered him Oat, Timothy, Meadow, Botanical and Orchard Grass to no avail Took him to the vet today and she checked his teeth which are fine and appear to have been filed recently, most likely when he was neutered about 6 months ago. She said just to keep trying to get him to eat there's not much she can do.
 
You've made too many changes in his diet too quickly. He's not used to eating grass hay and you've switched to a pellet he's not used to and likely doesn't taste as good as his previous pellet. It's usually recommended to keep a rabbits diet the same the first week and then gradually make changes over the next several weeks(except in critical digestive illness problems) so they basically don't realize it's happening. That's why you are having problems, because of the sudden changes to a less tasty food, and he's likely more picky about his food.

With him not eating well, I would be inclined to put him back on his old pellets, or possibly the oxbow alfalfa(young rabbit) based pellet might work too, and feed it at a full ration(1 oz per lb of body weight). Then gradually reduce pellet amounts a little and see if he will start eating hay. If he won't, it's not going to be good for him to be starving, so you may need to try something different. You may need to gradually switch him over to the timothy based pellet first(at full ration), then once he's used to the taste of those he may naturally start wanting to eat hay. Then you can gradually start reducing the pellet amount.

I had a new buck that wasn't used to hay and wouldn't touch it no matter what. I eventually had to try an alfalfa/timothy hay pellet, that I gradually changed to just a plain timothy hay pellet, and then eventually he started to nibble on hay and gradually started eating more of it. With some rabbits it just doesn't work to reduce pellets to get them to eat hay. They would rather starve. You have to tailor the process to them and make changes much more gradually.
 
Going from all-you-can-eat alfalfa to only getting grass hay is a BIG and very unwelcome adjustment to a rabbit. I went through it with two of my girls when they reached the 6-7 month mark and had to transition to an adult diet. I tried - literally - 17 different hays (various brands and types) and they wouldn't eat more than the tiniest nibble of them! Then I found a place online (which, sadly, has now closed) that sold a hay mix that was 20% alfalfa and 80% orchard (where the plants were grown together and harvested together in the same field) and used that for quite a while before finally weaning them onto pure grass hay. Given your rabbit's age, I suspect he'll be very resistant to giving up the sweet, rich taste of alfalfa - you could try looking online for another retailer who sells orchard/alfalfa or timothy/alfalfa mixed hay. You could also try mixing a little alfalfa in with his grass hay, though I suspect he'd be able to smell the difference and would pick out just the alfalfa to eat if it hasn't been grown or at least stored together long enough for it to all smell pretty similar.

20% of his hay being alfalfa is far from ideal since he's an adult, and overweight at that... but I feel like it's still better than not eating hay at all. I think it took me about four months of feeding the 80/20 blend instead of pure alfalfa, then a couple more months of gradually phasing out the 80/20 blend for pure grass hay before my girls were 100% weaned off of alfalfa. You could also try 3rd cut timothy - 6 1/2 years later, it's still the only hay that Nala really devours (she was one of the two that I fed alfalfa to as a baby; Gaz, sadly, passed away about 5 years ago). 3rd cut is softer, sweeter and richer than earlier cuts so it's most likely to appeal to super-picky bunnies. Of all the grass hays, it's got the most in common with alfalfa. Earlier cuts are, theoretically, better - more fiber, less protein - but they're only better if the rabbit will actually EAT them.
 
You've made too many changes in his diet too quickly. He's not used to eating grass hay and you've switched to a pellet he's not used to and likely doesn't taste as good as his previous pellet. It's usually recommended to keep a rabbits diet the same the first week and then gradually make changes over the next several weeks(except in critical digestive illness problems) so they basically don't realize it's happening. That's why you are having problems, because of the sudden changes to a less tasty food, and he's likely more picky about his food.

With him not eating well, I would be inclined to put him back on his old pellets, or possibly the oxbow alfalfa(young rabbit) based pellet might work too, and feed it at a full ration(1 oz per lb of body weight). Then gradually reduce pellet amounts a little and see if he will start eating hay. If he won't, it's not going to be good for him to be starving, so you may need to try something different. You may need to gradually switch him over to the timothy based pellet first(at full ration), then once he's used to the taste of those he may naturally start wanting to eat hay. Then you can gradually start reducing the pellet amount.

I had a new buck that wasn't used to hay and wouldn't touch it no matter what. I eventually had to try an alfalfa/timothy hay pellet, that I gradually changed to just a plain timothy hay pellet, and then eventually he started to nibble on hay and gradually started eating more of it. With some rabbits it just doesn't work to reduce pellets to get them to eat hay. They would rather starve. You have to tailor the process to them and make changes much more gradually.

Thank so much for your advice, and yes for sure, I didn't just switch him flat out. I have 3/4 old pellets 1/4 new pellets and I've given him alfalfa hay plain, and also mixed with grass hay but he's not interested. I think he's just not used to eating hay as it wasn't a regular part of his diet previously. He's obsessed with cilantro. So he does have an appetite.
 
Going from all-you-can-eat alfalfa to only getting grass hay is a BIG and very unwelcome adjustment to a rabbit. I went through it with two of my girls when they reached the 6-7 month mark and had to transition to an adult diet. I tried - literally - 17 different hays (various brands and types) and they wouldn't eat more than the tiniest nibble of them! Then I found a place online (which, sadly, has now closed) that sold a hay mix that was 20% alfalfa and 80% orchard (where the plants were grown together and harvested together in the same field) and used that for quite a while before finally weaning them onto pure grass hay. Given your rabbit's age, I suspect he'll be very resistant to giving up the sweet, rich taste of alfalfa - you could try looking online for another retailer who sells orchard/alfalfa or timothy/alfalfa mixed hay. You could also try mixing a little alfalfa in with his grass hay, though I suspect he'd be able to smell the difference and would pick out just the alfalfa to eat if it hasn't been grown or at least stored together long enough for it to all smell pretty similar.

20% of his hay being alfalfa is far from ideal since he's an adult, and overweight at that... but I feel like it's still better than not eating hay at all. I think it took me about four months of feeding the 80/20 blend instead of pure alfalfa, then a couple more months of gradually phasing out the 80/20 blend for pure grass hay before my girls were 100% weaned off of alfalfa. You could also try 3rd cut timothy - 6 1/2 years later, it's still the only hay that Nala really devours (she was one of the two that I fed alfalfa to as a baby; Gaz, sadly, passed away about 5 years ago). 3rd cut is softer, sweeter and richer than earlier cuts so it's most likely to appeal to super-picky bunnies. Of all the grass hays, it's got the most in common with alfalfa. Earlier cuts are, theoretically, better - more fiber, less protein - but they're only better if the rabbit will actually EAT them.

Thanks, I'll try that! I have offered him alfalfa hay as well but he's not interested. I contacted the previous owners and they said that a small bag of hay lasted them a year, so they obviously weren't giving him enough, he probably never got used to it. He does have an appetite though as he loves cilantro I've tried mixing it into the hay and even wetting the cilantro and just sprinkling a little bit of hay crumbs and critical care onto it but then he won't eat! Too smart for his own good in this case. I have a follow up at the vet tomorrow. Thanks again :) I also found out that he was only 4 weeks old when they first got him, so he probably never learned to eat hay. He's fascinated by my other bunny when she eats hay and just watches her and sniffs the air and he'll go sniff and nudge his but won't eat it.
 
Are he and your other rabbit bonded? If not, are you planning to bond them? Sometimes habits (both good and bad) can be learned from a bond-mate once they're actually living together. Another trick is to use apple juice diluted with water and mist the hay a bit, though I personally haven't had luck with that. You could also try compressed hay cubes as a lead-in to regular hay (the compressed stuff gets the fiber in him but because it's chopped and compressed it doesn't have all the dental benefits of regular hay).
 
Are he and your other rabbit bonded? If not, are you planning to bond them? Sometimes habits (both good and bad) can be learned from a bond-mate once they're actually living together. Another trick is to use apple juice diluted with water and mist the hay a bit, though I personally haven't had luck with that. You could also try compressed hay cubes as a lead-in to regular hay (the compressed stuff gets the fiber in him but because it's chopped and compressed it doesn't have all the dental benefits of regular hay).

I’ve only had him a week so they are not bonded but I do plan to bond them after my other bunny is spayed. I’m not prebonding or anything yet, I want to get his eating habits back to normal before making additional changes to his environment etc. I’ll try the apple juice and a haycube :) thanks.
 
I agree with Imbrium. It's very possible once you bond them that your other rabbit will essentially teach him that eating hay is good. I had a baby bunny that wasn't weaned properly by the previous owner and pretty much only knew how to eat leafy lettuce. She wouldn't touch hay, pellets, or even drink water. So at first I could only feed her lettuce, but that wasn't good for her and couldn't continue long. I had an older neutered rabbit that was very easy going and accepting of other rabbits. I decided this baby needed another bunny to teach her how to eat like a rabbit, so I put her with him and within a couple days she started drinking water and eating pellets and hay. So if nothing else seems to be working out to get your bun eating hay, bonding may be just what you need.

If you try the hay cubes, I would recommend trying hay pellets instead. Hay cubes are hard for them to chew much of anything off, and they can also be a bit messy. Whereas with plain hay pellets they can usually just eat them straight with no mess. You're likely to have better luck starting off with an alfalfa/timothy pellet than a plain timothy pellet. At least that's what worked best for my rabbit that I tried it with. Then I eventually switched to just the plain timothy pellets, then he started eating loose hay.
 
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I agree with Imbrium. It's very possible once you bond them that your other rabbit will essentially teach him that eating hay is good. I had a baby bunny that wasn't weaned properly by the previous owner and pretty much only knew how to eat leafy lettuce. She wouldn't touch hay, pellets, or even drink water. So at first I could only feed her lettuce, but that wasn't good for her and couldn't continue long. I had an older rabbit that was very easy going and accepting of other rabbits. I decided this baby needed another bunny to teach her how to eat like a rabbit, so I put her with him and within a couple days she started drinking water and eating pellets and hay. So if nothing else seems to be working out to get your bun eating hay, bonding may be just what you need.

If you try the hay cubes, I would recommend trying hay pellets instead. Hay cubes are hard for them to chew much of anything off, and they can also be a bit messy. Whereas with plain hay pellets they can usually just eat them straight with no mess. You're likely to have better luck starting off with an alfalfa/timothy pellet than a plain timothy pellet. At least that's what worked best for my rabbit that I tried it with. Then I eventually switched to just the plain timothy pellets, then he started eating loose hay.

Thanks! Yeah I was thinking that too as he is very interested in watching her eat lol. I'll give hay pellets a try :)
 
Great advice from everyone! You can also try cutting the hay you have into smaller pieces and put in the bowl - this might help him further. Have you tried hand feeding, this might help as well. I had a bun that was too young to be from him mom and was VERY sick and I would feed him critical care, but when he got bigger to eat gay I noticed that he ate it very strangely...so I would hand feed him. Vet thought he had a neurological issue but it was just the the people I bought him from lied about his age...later after I had a litter of baby buns I noticed that they all do this strange "head" thing when eating the hay - almost like they can't hold the long strands in their mouth so they try to pull their head back (almost like a chicken but not so quick)....hard to explain otherwise. But maybe that could be part of it? Also, he's probably a bit stressed - new environment, new foods, smells, etc. Could be that as well....he may need another week to adjust.

Wishing you all the luck. Would love to see a couple pics of this large fella! :)
 
Great advice from everyone! You can also try cutting the hay you have into smaller pieces and put in the bowl - this might help him further. Have you tried hand feeding, this might help as well. I had a bun that was too young to be from him mom and was VERY sick and I would feed him critical care, but when he got bigger to eat gay I noticed that he ate it very strangely...so I would hand feed him. Vet thought he had a neurological issue but it was just the the people I bought him from lied about his age...later after I had a litter of baby buns I noticed that they all do this strange "head" thing when eating the hay - almost like they can't hold the long strands in their mouth so they try to pull their head back (almost like a chicken but not so quick)....hard to explain otherwise. But maybe that could be part of it? Also, he's probably a bit stressed - new environment, new foods, smells, etc. Could be that as well....he may need another week to adjust.

Wishing you all the luck. Would love to see a couple of pics of this large fella! :)


Thanks, I'll give that a try! Pic below! Screen Shot 2019-04-02 at 11.22.38 AM.png
 

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