My bunny is eating his poos!

[Aliena]

Just discovered last night that my rabbit is eating his poos, he's faecal ones, not the caecotropes he's supposed to eat (which he isstill eating). Has anyone had this happen before?

He has recently recovered from dental surgeryhe had a couple of months ago and the last few weeks he's been finally getting back to his usual self. I did think that he was doing less poos than usual but decided he must just be doing them during the day when he's outside and not going so much at night. Last night though I saw him do a little pile of poos on his blanket and then turn around and eat them.

Do you think he might be lacking something in his diet? I will call the vet tomorrow but today is a Sunday so thought I'd ask on here in case somebody has experienced something similar.

Thanks.

 

[Spot]

My friend has a dog that used to eat his poo and she said that the vet says there was a lack of nutrients in his diet.There is a good chance that it could be something different with rabbits though.I hope I helped

 

[Rabbit Hero]

My rabbit will occasionally eat one of his own, but not to the degree that you're speaking of.

 

[woahlookitsme]

Rabbits perform what is called coprophagy and is defined as the eating of one's own feces. Apparently in my Nutrition class they do this to get the nutrients released by the microbes in the ceacum which are not absorbed in the large intestine.

 

[Aliena]

I understand that rabbits eat their own faeces but they only eat the caecotropes, not their normal round poos which is what he has started eating. If there is something missing in his diet I have no idea what it would be because nothing has changed and he's three years old. If anything his diet should have improved over the years as I've learnt more. Hopefully either he stops or the vet will be able to figure it out!

 

[Spot]

Ummm...not to interupt this thread but I sweep my rabbits poo out of her cage and it also falls through the wires.Do they have to eat it?Mine never really have a chance too.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Spot wrote:

Ummm...not to interupt this thread but I sweep my rabbits poo out of her cage and it also falls through the wires.Do they have to eat it?Mine never really have a chance too.

here is a link that will better explain,,any poo issues-- http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html
this is a very informative website,,- http://www.medirabbit.com ,,sincerely james waller:big wink:

 

[missyscove]

Spot wrote:

Ummm...not to interupt this thread but I sweep my rabbits poo out of her cage and it also falls through the wires.Do they have to eat it?Mine never really have a chance too.

Typically they eat the cecals directly from their anus, so many people never even see them. The problem here is that Aliena's rabbit is eating the regular, round feces that they don't normally eat.

I've never heard of this in a rabbit before. I don't think it would really do him any harm, but yeah, it's possible something is lacking in his diet.
What and how much are you feeding him?

 

[Aliena]

He gets a small amount of pellets, usually just every second day. Green veggies almost everynight plus fresh hay everyday (although he doesn't eat much hay in comparison to my other rabbits). Depending on the weather he usually gets at least a few days a week free running outside on the grass during which time he grazes.

Interestingly on the night I saw him eating his poos he didn't use the litter tray at all, then the next night he used his litter tray (and I didn't see him eating them), so it's like he intends to eat them before he has even done them and so purposely did them outside of the litter tray.

Thanks for those links James, looks like maybe a rabbit will sometimes eat the round poos.

 

[jcottonl02]

I've seen both of my buns occasionally eat a few normal poops, but there are enough in the litter tray after a day for me to know they aren't eating them excessively.

I wasn't too worried really- I've literally only seen them eat about 2 in their whole life.
Even if it was more, I honestly don't see how it would harm them.


Jen