Poop! Help!

[AnnieNMolly]

Hi everyone I have a question about my rabbit's stools.
I'll try to make this short...

History... I have 2 female 12 week old bunnies. I have had them for 5 weeks. They eat unlimited Timothy hay all day, small amount of pellets in the morning and about 1/4 cup of greens (romaine lettuce and kale). When I first got them I was giving unlimited pellets and hay (no greens) as everything I read said to give that to babies, until a few days after getting them I noticed a few soft/strange stools and I immediately rushed to the vet thinking they were sick, and the vet told me I should be giving greens in small amounts. He wasn't very concerned because they were still both eating. I realized it was probably diet changes from what they were eating before. I started them on greens that night and they have done great on them. I am also changing their pellets right now to the Oxbow (young rabbit pellets). I've been mixing a little bit with their current pellets each day.

Since I've had them there have been days with a few soft stools here and there but with diet adjustments I haven't seen any in a while. The past couple of days I have seen a few really small poops (not all of them but I find about 5 or 6 total in their playpen). And a few of the more normal sizes poops still look a little bit smaller in size. I think I know which rabbit it is and I've been waiting to physically see them go so I can determine who it is. I also saw one poop last night that was elongated (almost like a normal human poop but rabbit size).

Everything I've read points to GI stasis as far as small poops. She is still eating/drinking/playing. A few times she has been hunched up teeth grinding (which I thought was bad, but after reading about teeth grinding and watching some YouTube videos it seems like this is more of a "tooth purr" and not loud grinding, but everything Ive read says being hunched up can mean pain. My question is, are a few small poops here and there normal? Or would stasis onset have normal and small sizes? I thought with stasis they would mostly all be small. It seems like stasis can happen very quickly and I'm so afraid I'm going to come home from work to a dead bunny if I don't catch it in time.

Is there anything I should give her. Ive read pineapple can help but I don't want to just give it if it's not stasis onset.

I also plan on finding another vet as I wasn't very happy with the first one. In the meantime I feel like rabbit owners who are around them everyday sometimes know more than a trained professional. I don't want to keep rushing to the vet paying $200 each time if I'm just being over paranoid. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm still learning a lot. Thank you

 

[JBun]

Is it just the cecotropes you are seeing, and are they normally formed into clusters or are they coming out semi/unformed and mushy/pasty? It's not uncommon for rabbits when in a new home, to be distracted and leave a few normally formed cecotropes uneaten, especially young rabbits. If they aren't coming out in normally formed clusters but are coming out mushy(if they have been stepped on or stuck to fur it will be hard to tell if normally formed or not), this can indicate a dietary problem or other health issue.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-droppings.asp

A few small poops can be normal, but if there are several and it is happening every day, there could be something more going on.

 

[AnnieNMolly]

thank you for responding!

They are actually more dry. I have found a couple cecotropes here and there and a few single mushy ones which I determined were sometimes normal after reading about cecotropes, but the small ones lately have been more of the dry consistency like their normal stools, that's why I was concerned. That's why I was thinking maybe a few here and there could be normal since it wasn't ALL of them. I think some are coming out really small and some are coming out almost normal size.

 

[Aki]

Stomach troubles might take several weeks to right themselves completely. I wouldn't give kale everyday as it can lead to gas. I would go with chicory, which is a lot safer. Then you'll need to introduce other vegetables (one at a time over the course of several days) to avoid deficiencies and other problems. Go to 'rabbit.org' to get a list of rabbit friendly vegetables.
For now I would make sure your rabbit is eating lots of hay (you can try giving different kinds of hay if you feel she isn't eating her body in hay everyday, or even washed grass) and drinking normally. Pineapple juice is a myth. There is no scientific evidence that it disolves blockage (put hair and juice in a tube, will the hair be disolved - no, right?). It only encourages some rabbits to drink more, which can be achieved with any organic vegetable juice... or by syringe feeding water when the rabbit isn't drinking at all. I wouldn't try putting sugary thing in a rabbit who had several diet changed and went from soft poops to small poops anyway. Just make sure she does poop and eat and leave her alone for a while.

By the way, you aren't keeping the two rabbits together, are you? Intact rabbits should be kept separated or chances are it will end up with mounting and fighting (it can be bloody - rabbits' teeth are razor blade sharp). Maybe you are aware already but just in case : there is a big expense coming your way as you will need to spay both of them 4 months from now to avoid unwanted behavior (fighting but also urine spray, territorial agression...) and ovarian / uterine cancer (80% of risks - female rabbits are engineered to reproduce a lot in a short time and not to live for very long), mastitis, phantom pregnancies...

 

[RavenousDragon]

1) Good job taking them to the vet when you saw abnormal poop- that's a sign of a good bunny mom/dad!

2) Like everyone else said, don't worry too much. It does take a while for any stomach issues to resolve. Especially since some are coming out normal sized. One thing I have noticed is with the small poops, if the rabbits are shedding a lot, it could be they are ingesting too much hair. The only real solution to that is brushing them (if they are comfortable enough with you at this point). And, like everyone else says, all the hay they can eat and more

Keep us updated!

 

[AnnieNMolly]

Thank you everyone for the information! I will definitely try these tips!

They are staying together, they were bonded sisters when I got them and they absolutely love each other. I've already looked into spaying them but wanted to wait until they were a little older. I also brush them as I've read about hair blockages.

I did see them both poop last night and they were normal!! I will just keep a close eye on them and try these tips! Thanks!!

 

[Blue eyes]

They are staying together, they were bonded sisters when I got them and they absolutely love each other.

At 3 months of age (and earlier) this is typical. But don't be deceived. Even sibling rabbits that snuggle and seem to adore each other can turn on each other once hormones kick in. It is quite possible for them, when that time comes, to fight viciously causing serious injury or worse. It is the hormones.

This is why aki suggested separating them. If you don't happen to be there to stop them, the results could be very bad. Hormones can start up any time over the next couple weeks or months. Since one doesn't know exactly when this might occur, separating them is considered the safer option.

 

[AnnieNMolly]

Ok thank you! I think I'll start separating them when I'm not there to watch them. I'd be devastated to walk into something like that!

 

[AnnieNMolly]

One more question: could separating them right nor cause them to become depressed or not bond again after spaying?