ZoeStevens
Well-Known Member
I have two adult, bonded, spayed/neutered buns. Abe is an English angora and I noticed yesterday that he was having small poops (I am 99% sure the small poops are his.)
This coincided with his shedding, so my first thought is I waited too long to start plucking - his fur grows at an uneven pace and he doesn't tolerate plucking when the next coat hasn't started to grow out much, so plucking is a multi-day process. I am about 60% done now and have combed him all over to pull out the loosest hair even if I can't pluck him all over yet, and I do find he is a bit skinny underneath all that fur, but he's always been slim while Penny has always been a bit overweight (makes it hard to "fix" either of them!) I do normally give him about 25% alfalfa pellets because of all the fur he has to grow, but the last few months I had been giving only timothy, as I know Penny eats everything and she's too tubby as it is (she's not obese, but she is "solid" - ribs are detectable but I have to push in a bit to feel them).
I have not noticed any difference in activity or eating. I always subconsciously monitor whether they come excitedly for their pellets/greens and they have been. Looking back, they may have been eating less hay but since I free feed hay and sometimes they make a mess of it rather than eating it, it's really hard to tell.
I can feel no dental burrs but I don't really know what I'm looking for. I plied Abe with random treats last night to see if he was eating, and he did drop some bits of a piece of dried papaya (and then ate them), but everything else he seems to be eating normally (hay, dandelion etc - chew chew chew until it's all gone down the hatch).
I went out today and got a load of their favourite greens as well as some alfalfa hay and pellets which they ate as enthusiastically as usual. Well - Penny avoided after a few minutes, but I think I got too "in her face" to see if she was eating (although I never suspected the small poops were hers) and she doesn't like me much to begin with, so I think that's all it is.
I made a vet appointment for next Wednesday. Ostensibly just a checkup.
Sorry for the novel. Does this seem a reasonable course of action? If the poops get worse (or not better) I would readily make an "emergency" appointment but since they are eating and pooping (and obviously now I am making a concerted effort to ply them with food, and relieve Abe of fur as fast as I can, which I suspect is the culprit vs a dental issue) I am hoping that I can correct it at home.
This coincided with his shedding, so my first thought is I waited too long to start plucking - his fur grows at an uneven pace and he doesn't tolerate plucking when the next coat hasn't started to grow out much, so plucking is a multi-day process. I am about 60% done now and have combed him all over to pull out the loosest hair even if I can't pluck him all over yet, and I do find he is a bit skinny underneath all that fur, but he's always been slim while Penny has always been a bit overweight (makes it hard to "fix" either of them!) I do normally give him about 25% alfalfa pellets because of all the fur he has to grow, but the last few months I had been giving only timothy, as I know Penny eats everything and she's too tubby as it is (she's not obese, but she is "solid" - ribs are detectable but I have to push in a bit to feel them).
I have not noticed any difference in activity or eating. I always subconsciously monitor whether they come excitedly for their pellets/greens and they have been. Looking back, they may have been eating less hay but since I free feed hay and sometimes they make a mess of it rather than eating it, it's really hard to tell.
I can feel no dental burrs but I don't really know what I'm looking for. I plied Abe with random treats last night to see if he was eating, and he did drop some bits of a piece of dried papaya (and then ate them), but everything else he seems to be eating normally (hay, dandelion etc - chew chew chew until it's all gone down the hatch).
I went out today and got a load of their favourite greens as well as some alfalfa hay and pellets which they ate as enthusiastically as usual. Well - Penny avoided after a few minutes, but I think I got too "in her face" to see if she was eating (although I never suspected the small poops were hers) and she doesn't like me much to begin with, so I think that's all it is.
I made a vet appointment for next Wednesday. Ostensibly just a checkup.
Sorry for the novel. Does this seem a reasonable course of action? If the poops get worse (or not better) I would readily make an "emergency" appointment but since they are eating and pooping (and obviously now I am making a concerted effort to ply them with food, and relieve Abe of fur as fast as I can, which I suspect is the culprit vs a dental issue) I am hoping that I can correct it at home.