Coffee - weird poop

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MyBabyHasPaws

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I've had Coffee for about 2 days now. She is a mini rex doe somewhere between 8-12weeks. When I got her she wasnt pooping at all and her tummy was big and had places where it was hard. I gave her Oxbow CC and a lot of fresh hay and water. Belly rubs, gas drops and a lot of exercise in the run. When I woke up she was pooping, the poops were not formed but they were poop.

I have an appointment with the vet for after New Years as his practice is closed for the holidays, for just a general check up.

Yesterday when I got home I ran to check on her and her poop looked REALLY odd. It reminded me more of dog poop. No round poops at all, just long semi-soft poop. This morning they were a bit more formed. There was a cluster in there that was still soft but they looked like rabbit poop.. which I though was great improvement.

She is eating normally, drinking normally and playing too. I'm not giving CC anymore since she's eating on her own without hesitation. Do you think I need to make an emergency appointment with this other vet? Or as long as she is eating/drinking she is okay?
 
It sounds like things are improving. This evening maybe is a good time to decide whether to make an emergency appt. It sounds like you've done a good job getting her digestive system in order.
 
I'm feeding Sherwood forest pellets, free fed, so I just filled the bowl up. I have the maintenence/show choice since I wasnt really expecting her and thats what Ruby was eating.

Treats and veggies I'm really scared to give her. I dont want to mess up the little bit of progress we made. Do you think I should?
 
I sure wouldn't. Hay & pellets are what I'd give at least until the appointment with the vet who's on vacation right now. Maybe introduce one veggie in about a week.
 
^Thats what I thought too.

I have alfalfa hay, but wasnt sure if I even wanted to give her that.. i think i'll stick to what i've been doing.

I have also been giving gas drops as a precaution since I read it wont hurt if its not gas. She is so strong and such a little fighter. I put her in a very shallow tub of warm water to clean her butt and she squeeked at me! It was soooo cute. I told her I was sorry and gave her a lot of cuddles. My special little rex. I feel so happy to have a rex again, reminds me of my Bugsy boo.
 
sounds like you're making good progress towards getting her digestive system back on track
 
No, actually I'm not suggesting you feed veggies and treats, just the opposite. With her having digestive problems right now and soft poop, you don't want to introduce anything like that. I was just asking because if you were feeding those things, I was going to suggest that you stop for now. My guess would be that it is the pellets that are causing the problem with her. Did you transition her slowly on to the pellets? You never want to give a rabbit a new food suddenly. You always want to slowly transition them onto it, to make sure it doesn't cause digestive upset. Rabbits digestive systems need time for their gut bacteria to slowly adjust to new foods. I think the pellets might be causing the digestive problems. You'll want to cut back on the pellets, maybe by half, so that she is running out of pellets within an hour of her morning feeding and the same for her night feeding. After a couple days on this reduced pellet amount, if her poops aren't back to normal, then reduce the pellet amount a little bit more, and contunue reducing the pellet amount until she is having normal poops again. I wouldn't suggest introducing alfalfa right now. Just make sure she always has lots of grass hay to eat. That will help the most in stabalizing her digestive function. Don't introduce anything new until her digestion has stabalized and she's had normal poops for at least a week or more. And when you do give her something new, or if you change pellets ever, make sure to start with small amounts and very gradual increases keeping an eye on her poops and making sure they stay normal. Make sure she is drinking well and always has water to drink.

Also, if you need to wash her bottom again, I would suggest just giving a butt bath. bathing a rabbit can be very stressful for them which can result in further problems. When I've had to wash off a poopy bum. I'll turn the tap on with lukewarm water(make sure to check it's not hot)and just softly flowing, and I hold the rabbit tummy up with the butt in a downward position, and carefully just put the butt part right under the running water, then with my hand that's holding the butt part, i'll use my fingers to rub the fur to break up the poop. It works really well. The poop breaks up and washes away, and if you are really careful, the rabbit hardly even gets wet. Just make sure you have a good hold on your rabbit in case she struggles. You could even place a towel in the sink in case she slips free. Also make sure to towel dry as much as you can, and make sure she stays warm until she's completely dry.
 
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No, actually I'm not suggesting you feed veggies and treats, just the opposite. With her having digestive problems right now and soft poop, you don't want to introduce anything like that. I was just asking because if you were feeding those things, I was going to suggest that you stop for now. My guess would be that it is the pellets that are causing the problem with her. Did you transition her slowly on to the pellets? You never want to give a rabbit a new food suddenly. You always want to slowly transition them onto it, to make sure it doesn't cause digestive upset. Rabbits digestive systems need time for their gut bacteria to slowly adjust to new foods. I think the pellets might be causing the digestive problems. You'll want to cut back on the pellets, maybe by half, so that she is running out of pellets within an hour of her morning feeding and the same for her night feeding. After a couple days on this reduced pellet amount, if her poops aren't back to normal, then reduce the pellet amount a little bit more, and contunue reducing the pellet amount until she is having normal poops again. I wouldn't suggest introducing alfalfa right now. Just make sure she always has lots of grass hay to eat. That will help the most in stabalizing her digestive function. Don't introduce anything new until her digestion has stabalized and she's had normal poops for at least a week or more. And when you do give her something new, or if you change pellets ever, make sure to start with small amounts and very gradual increases keeping an eye on her poops and making sure they stay normal. Make sure she is drinking well and always has water to drink.

Also, if you need to wash her bottom again, I would suggest just giving a butt bath. bathing a rabbit can be very stressful for them which can result in further problems. When I've had to wash off a poopy bum. I'll turn the tap on with lukewarm water(make sure to check it's not hot)and just softly flowing, and I hold the rabbit tummy up with the butt in a downward position, and carefully just put the butt part right under the running water, then with my hand that's holding the butt part, i'll use my fingers to rub the fur to break up the poop. It works really well. The poop breaks up and washes away, and if you are really careful, the rabbit hardly even gets wet. Just make sure you have a good hold on your rabbit in case she struggles. You could even place a towel in the sink in case she slips free. Also make sure to towel dry as much as you can, and make sure she stays warm until she's completely dry.

Awesome advice!

When my friend brought her over she did bring the bag of food with her. It was freaking guinea pig food. When I got her, she had already not been pooping for 24 hrs. I wasnt sure if i should wean her off of that at all? So I didnt and just switched her all together to the Sherwood. I'm going to try the minimizing pellet thing.

Ohhh ok! I got it, just the butt in the water. Man, i feel bad. I guess the squeek was a bad squeek :( I filled up the tub very shallow and had her hop around a few times then i broke the poop with my hands and dried her... ok now I know, thank you!!
 
Well, now that she's been on the Sherwood, don't give her any guinea pig food again. lol :)
I would just cut down on pellets too and add more hay. Hay is so important right now. My baby bun, who has been with me since Saturday is getting mostly hay and just a small amount of pellets. It turns out I wasn't giving her enough, but now I've upped to 1/4 cup a day split into two feedings. But she gets a handful of alfalfa and all the timothy she can eat.
I know you're waiting to introduce the alfalfa until her tummy gets better, but when you do, introduce it slowly too. It tends to upset their tummies if too much is introduced at once. I started with a tiny handful once a day, now I'm up to one medium handful twice a day. But I'm going to keep her with grass hay and alfalfa mixed.

I hope her little tummy gets better. Poor little girl, she's been through so much already. I'm glad you got her.
 
She is doing MUCH better. When I got home yesterday I ran to her and saw that her poops are pretty much back to normal. They are fully formed and just a tiny bit soft. I'm not going to take her to the emergency vet, I dont think there is any need.

I might not give her any alfalfa. I'm still debating over it. If she is happy and doing good with Timothy I might as well keep her on it. I'm really scared of upsetting her tummy at all.

Her personality is darling. She is very very sweet, loves to cuddle up in your hand and sleep. I LOVE COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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