Dark poop

[CaitlinT00]

Lately Bella's poop has been a bit darker than usual and a little moister too. I have recently been mixing orchard grass with her Timothy hay so I'm thinking it may have something to do with that. Shes also on Panacur to deal with some parasites (todays her second last day of the meds) but I can't find anything online about it affecting her poop. Also some of her poops have been all over the place (size and shape wise- for the most part their normal shape/size though), but she has been eating the same, playing the same and drinking the same, and her litter use is the same (shes still peeing and pooping)- I haven't noticed any changes in behaviour. I'm just wondering if i should be concerned?

 

[JBun]

If the orchard grass is more leafy than the timothy, than that could explain the changes in the poop. The less mature the growth of the grass, and the softer and leafier it is when cut, the higher in protein and nutrients the hay will be. As opposed to hay that is more mature where the leaf is thicker and there are more crunchy stalks, this will be lower in protein and nutrients, and higher in indigestible fiber. Indigestible fiber from crunchy stems increases gut movement and causes the poop to usually be bigger, drier, and lighter in color. More protein from leafy hay generally makes the poop a little bit smaller, moister, and darker in color.

As long as the poop isn't getting too much smaller or causing too much irregularity, I wouldn't be concerned. But if it does seem to be causing a drastic change in poop size and regularity and/or my rabbit was going through a molt, I would try decreasing the amount of orchard hay so more timothy is being eaten, and see if that improves things.