17-day old tiny baby bunny has hard, dried poop in its butt

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I truly apologize for the double post; I was playing with the baby bunny, which is Oreo's only surviving baby, and I just saw it had caked on, hard poop covering where it poops. I needed to forcibly remove it using a baby wipe and warm water. However, there is some very hard fur that I could not clean because it seemed to hurt the baby.

How worried should I be? The bunny has been nibbling on orchard grass for days, and I provided water a few days ago. But I think Oreo keeps drinking it :( Otherwise, the baby is trying to run, climb, binky, and is very curious. Acts 0% sick, but wondering how this happened? Just now, Oreo was grooming its poopy butt <3

Please help the baby bunny...20190305_194542.jpg 20190305_201737.jpg
 
Hi there, not to worry sometimes babies will take some time to figure out they have to clean up after themselves, it also helps to ensure Mama is still cleaning them during or after nursing as well to teach proper hygiene to the baby.
An easy method to help out is to make a sits bath for them and have their bottoms soak in it for a few minutes to soften the dried & encrusted fur. I suggest some straight chamomile tea (I say tea, I simply mean nothing other than chamomile flowers - pic included of the brand I use - brewed with hot water and allowed to cool to a comfortable temp test on the inside of your wrist) and a washing basin shallow enough so that you can hold them comfortably and their feet are resting on the bottom. About 2 - 3 inches of the tea is all you should need. After soaking just their bottom for about 10-15 minutes, you have to hold them still during this process - thumbs under the armpits and back of hands behind their back I soothe mine by cooing to them and gently stroking their faces during as well...they will sit better and longer for you, you should be good to go with some gentle wiping of the area with a soft dry washcloth or towel, I dont use baby wipes due to the chemicals.
Babies dont tend to actually eat much hay at this stage and are solely dependent on Mamas milk for their nutrients they will nibble and investigate pellets and veg as well as hay. Try to limit what they get into if this is a domestic bunny as their digestive tract is not setup for processing them very well yet and too much can make babies sick.
Best of luck and let me know how this works for you!
 

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Thanks so much for the help! Will get the tea after work today:) Baby is half Lionhead, so I suppose poopy butt should have been expected.

One more thing, please: to me it looks like the poop is stuck there in the poop hole, almost like baby is constipated. When I cleaned the poop, baby's butt was kind of red. I mean, if baby was constipated, it would be acting sick and poop would not come out, I guess. I think I am having a hard time describing it, haha. Just wondering why the poop does not just fall on the ground.

Again, the baby is very active, squirming when held, exploring, running a little and climbing.

Your bunnies are so cute and sweet! Do they love kale?
 
They do love kale, but its high in oxalic acid and needs time to be processed... I try to rotate oxalic greens and only give them every 3-4 days depending in what I have in the fridge.
I did forget to say previously you can also put a touch of baking soda in the sits-bath water. This will soothe and prevent bad bacterial growth as well if there are any minor scrapes and such. Just make sure to dry and fluff fur well, I feel like that's the worst part of it for them having to endure the excessive drying and wanting to go and scamper off, tired of being held. I'm pretty meticulous when it comes to this because of the undercoat and making sure that there is as little moisture remaining next to their skin as possible. I also put mine in front of a fan and fluff as well so they really just put up with me doing it after awhile but nobody likes it!
I have a feeling that your little guy isnt constipated probably just has a dried down situation. They have a mucosal layer (much more obvious in newborn babies - observable in juveniles and adult from freshly exited droppings 'glistening vs. dried') surrounding their droppings which make it easier for them to pass them this probably dried to the skin. If hes dehydrated because Mama has gotten the notion of stopping nursing, which does definitely happen too trust me I had one think she was done with that portion of her life when a litter was only 2wks old, then this could be an issue as well as he will have less mucous production as a result and harder droppings as well.
As he's so young it's really critical to monitor interactions between Mama and baby especially if shes a bit neglectful. I have had Does that I've literally had to put their babies gentials in Mamas face after stimulating them to go potty and teach them that they need to clean their baby after they feed them. Some need that kind of Mommy coaching some dont, but I always check my kits to make sure.
Dont let it go too long though if it really is dried and stuck in there he could compact and it could back everything up and become life threatening.
You can stimulate muscle spasm for the release by applying gentle pressure on either side of the hole. With him in your arms body cradled against your chest, belly up, head in the crook of your elbow, holding and cradling with your non dominant hand and arm, use your dominant hand to cup his rear... thumb and forefinger should make a 'V' pointed towards his face to come up from his underneath his tail. One finger on either side very gently apply pressure like your rolling down a sock, if that makes sense, you will see the muscle spasm and attempt to force any droppings out.
You can also do a tummy massage with him face down on your lap settled on your knees to help with any blockages or impactions. Non dominant hand will hold him securely behind his head and placed on top of the shoulders. Dominant hand will cup his bottom with your forefinger and middle finger, or middle finger and ring finger whichever works better for you, (thumb will be around his tail and probably over top of his hips) underneath and between his legs, you will be touching his belly, suspend his back legs up and off your knees and curve your 'belly fingers' upwards, like you would try to tickle under a chin, applying gentle pressure backwards towards his business. Be careful as to how much pressure you use as they are delicate and if there is any blockage you dont want to hurt him. Just coax and massage gently for a couple of minutes. Make sure to put him in the litterbox when you put him down and insist he stay in there for a few minutes he'll probably have to go pee at this point anyway since the bladder is being stimulated doing this as well.
Another thing you can do is trim the area with some small scissors of the excess fur to prevent any matting of fur or stuff getting stuck for the time being until he gets better at cleaning himself. It'll grow back so dont worry.
As far as the redness concern hes probably just chafed from when you were cleaning him previously. Their skin is very delicate and as babies more so than adults, think of tissue paper, it's a sensitive area anyway, so the softest washcloth you have and the more fluid the better.
For very young newborn babies I dont even use that when needing to stimulate potty time just the running warm water and tip of my finger. Then back in with mama making sure she cleans them well before she goes about her business and they either eat or go re-nest.
Good luck!
 
You're very welcome, glad I could be of help, hope everything is going smoothly for you and yours! :D
 
I am dealing with a similar situation as Bunny_Mommy except my bunny baby is 11 days old and not active since yesterday when it looked like it was having a hard time pooping. This morning I was thrilled to see her sitting up and looking strong but she sleeps all day. I’ve tried a warm wash cloth on her bottom this morning and last night. This morning she peed and let out some runny stool but mostly the location looks blocked. I’m guessing it’s blocked with hardened stool? I have not seen any baby bunny poop yet but mom may have cleaned it up? Baby also is raw around the anus and almost looks cut at location.
Mama bunny was given to us a few weeks ago and then ended up having babies two weeks after we got her. Three of the four babies passed away after a few days so this is the one living baby and she/he looks really good except for this bottom issue now.

Would you still use the chamomile tea solution on her bottom? I’m thinking I might put it on a cotton ball and just squeeze it over the area as she’s so small and pops a lot. She is responsive when I touch her but otherwise she’s just sleeping. Any other thoughts?
I have been feeding mommy a lot of kale and bok choy and parsley and cilantro (as well as pellets, alfalfa and Timothy hay ) Looking at your responses above I’m thinking we need to cut back on that. What kind of fresh veggies are appropriate to give her consistently right now?Thank you for any advice you can give.
 
What color is the poop? Runny poop at that age usually means enteritis and an intestinal bacterial infection, which can be fatal very quickly. Have you checked the mom's nipples to make sure she doesn't have mastitis and that has infected the babies?
 
Yes all of my response from above will apply. The chamomile tea sits bath is a solid cure all though, just make sure you dry and fluff their fur like I said in my above posting so you don't get moisture trapped beneath causing skin issues. You can put in a touch of raw honey too for the anti-microbial/fungal properties if you happen to have some I do about a tbsp to 2 tea bags in 2 cups of warm water (hot will kill off the enzymes in the honey) so brew the tea first then add honey or baking soda after its cooled down a bit prior to use stir to dissolve and go at the booty... You can use a cotton swab as well as a cotton ball whatever works for you.

Also I would cut back on the doubling up of high oxalic veg or you could cause probs in the Doe and transfer in her milk. Oxalates cause crystals to form inside and can cause bladder sludge and stone formation in the kidneys. So while these veg are good in terms of minerals and vitamins don't give too much too frequently. Alfalfa hay is high in calcium and id try to regulate that intake as well... good for babies and juveniles weaning but stop after 6 months not bad to give her some to bulk up calcium transfer in her milk but just be cautious as to how much. Black oil sunflower seed and flax seed are good for nursing does too and gives omega 3's for good brain development to the kits nursing ( like a 1/4 tsp of flax to a tbsp of BOSS every other day is the ratio there).Parsley and Kale are both high on that list of Oxalic veg. So like try to bulk up with Romaine and give those oxalic veg separately, as in one or the other not both, max 2-3 times a week same applies to treat veg and fruit like an inch piece of banana or carrot.

Worst comes to worst you could use some neosporin but tbh I would avoid that when at all possible during nursing stages. You have to be super careful about amt and type and use the original ointment without any type of painkillers. However with as stringent in terms of cleaning as they are and Mama too the area is going to get a lot of attention so I'd hold off on that.
Keep me posted and see how things go after a couple of days with some diet changes. Might just need that and some access to hay. If they're the only baby left I'd consider doing warm water bottle or heating pad this is my general advice for very young kits in nesting box however.

If they're @ the 2 weeks mark you should have opened eyes and a lot of bouncing around. So you either have a fader or a mismanagement in terms of diet/nutrient absorption make sure everyone is flush with lots of hay and try to give Mama her veg separately so the lil one doesn't get ahold of it. I've never had an issue with mine in that respect but I know a lot of people are very concerned with gut bacteria being stable before introducing greens.
 
Wow! This is amazing information! Thank you!!!
Before I read this last night I did try to put warm chamomile tea on the baby bunny’s bottom. When a bit finally got on there she sure jumped all over the place so I didn’t do it anymore and I put her back into the cage. This morning a little bit of hard stuff has fallen off and was only hooked by some of mama buns fur. I pulled that little part off and sprayed a little colloidal silver on her as she’s very raw around the base. I have some pictures I’d love to send you on this but wanted to make sure it’s OK. Mom was eating a lot of kale as I did not realize she shouldn’t so I took her off of that today and she’s only had bok choy and Romain. I will go get her some arugula and cilantro as well. She has a lot of alfalfa hay available to her and Timothy hay as well as pellets but she does love the fresh veggies.

The baby looks full but I worry she’s not pooping at all and that might be why. I don’t see any little baby bunny poops in the cage. It almost looks like the tip of the genital is either black from hardened blood or poop. Wondering if I should rub some coconut oil on it? Or flax oil? Any thoughts on this? Again let me know if you don’t mind me sending the pictures and I will try to put them on here as well.

we are on day 12 and baby buns eyes are not opened yet. Should I be concerned?
Thank you🐰
 
What color is the poop? Runny poop at that age usually means enteritis and an intestinal bacterial infection, which can be fatal very quickly. Have you checked the mom's nipples to make sure she doesn't have mastitis and that has infected the babies?
 
The poop was brown and very little. The runny part had a few little yellow things (like mustard yellow sesame seeds) in it... I have not seen any more poop since the first day when I noticed an issue. I’m not sure if she’s even able to go to the bathroom right now. Or else mom is cleaning everything up. She smells good and looks good I just am not convinced she’s using the bathroom.
I stopped giving mom kale and parsley daily to see if that helps
 
This is what 11 day old baby bun looks like. I have not seen any baby bunny poop in the cage. Thoughts? This came about 3 days ago. Baby is moving around a bit today(But mostly resting) whereas they were resting all the time the previous two days.
This looks more mellow and less built up on the end today.
Thanks for any thoughts.
 

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If they're free roaming regularly should resolve itself if there's no diarrhea. Just keep them flush with hay and an eye out for that. Watch for bloat and make sure to have some baby gas drops on hand just in case. Belly massages always help to keep you informed about whether or not things are going decently and make sure to listen too when there's a digestive issue you can clearly hear gurgling and water sloshing noises in my experience. Which means they get nothing but hay and water until it stops and then you wait and pray and make a vet appointment if possible.
Mom's probably not cleaning baby nearly as much due to it's age. Make sure to keep the litterboxes clean as well as the nesting box.
You can do the chamomile tea tincture for eyes as well - just do top to bottom so eyes first. If the liquid is the same temp as Mama's tongue when she's giving you kisses you're good but not hotter than that...It's perfectly safe for anything outside of a large skin tear which you aren't currently dealing with... and has soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. Can even add some of it to their drinking water (do not if you're adding baking soda though; just tea or tea with honey and dilute that due to the sugar content). You'll get a bit of squirming because it's sore but after a few days that should stop as the abrasions heal.
Don't use coconut oil for buns since they will groom it off and because of its high fat content it will get stored in their liver.
 
If that poop is dried up and stuck in there, it needs to be cleared out(hard to tell from the photo exactly what's going on). If you aren't able to clear the anal opening, you'll need to take the bun to a rabbit vet. The baby should be pooping every day, several times a day. The anal opening should be clear pink skin. There should be no dried brown fecal build up.

With you having seen yellow poop, there is a possibility the kit has e. coli. Mustard yellow poop indicates an e. coli bacterial infection. When the kit starts pooping again, if it is runny and yellow, you will need to see your vet about an antibiotic to treat e. coli.
 
If they're free roaming regularly should resolve itself if there's no diarrhea. Just keep them flush with hay and an eye out for that. Watch for bloat and make sure to have some baby gas drops on hand just in case. Belly massages always help to keep you informed about whether or not things are going decently and make sure to listen too when there's a digestive issue you can clearly hear gurgling and water sloshing noises in my experience. Which means they get nothing but hay and water until it stops and then you wait and pray and make a vet appointment if possible.
Mom's probably not cleaning baby nearly as much due to it's age. Make sure to keep the litterboxes clean as well as the nesting box.
You can do the chamomile tea tincture for eyes as well - just do top to bottom so eyes first. If the liquid is the same temp as Mama's tongue when she's giving you kisses you're good but not hotter than that...It's perfectly safe for anything outside of a large skin tear which you aren't currently dealing with... and has soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. Can even add some of it to their drinking water (do not if you're adding baking soda though; just tea or tea with honey and dilute that due to the sugar content). You'll get a bit of squirming because it's sore but after a few days that should stop as the abrasions heal.
Don't use coconut oil for buns since they will groom it off and because of its high fat content it will get stored in their liver.
Baby bunny was born on the second story of the hutch. There is no food or water up there. Just the baby’s nest. There is some hay for the nest around but it’s getting quite old. Baby bun’s eyes aren’t open yet so I assumed it wasn’t to be eating anything but mom’s milk at this point.
I haven’t cleaned the nest out since the babies were born but it looks quite clean up there. Also we have only had the mother bunny for a few weeks so although she doesn’t bite my daughter or I anymore I haven’t picked her up yet and I try to only handle the baby when she’s not watching. She seems quite protective of the baby. I’m not sure what she Would do if she were on the second story when I was grabbing the baby bunny out. Am I right to keep it a secret even though I know she knows I’m doing it and even seemed a little mad at me today as though she knew it was me. I don’t wanna upset her by taking the baby out to check on it and I don’t want her to stop looking after the baby. Thoughts?
 
Eyes usually open between 12-14 days. I would put some fresh hay up there at least, and try to clear the obstruction. Take the baby when she’s not up there, but you need to do it soon.
 

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