Poop problems

[naturestee]

My new dwarf hotots have some really gross poop. It's all sorts of different sizes but often big and soft. It's about the size of their pupils.

They were eating Small World Rabbit Pellets, which is a cheap Walmart brand. They hadn't been getting anything else. I am feeding them timothy hay now, which they are gobbling up, and I'm mixing in a little Oxbow Bunny Basics T to get them started on the pellet switch.

What I want to know is- is this weird poop just from cheap, poor quality food? Or is there another problem here?

And just what everybody wants in the morning... Poop pics!Hey, at least they show one of the girls. That's the big girl in front, btw. I think her name might be Fey, but I haven't decided yet.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

If you still have the bag, check the proteincontent. Often cheaper feeds are too high in protein and toolow in fiber. I switched to Oxbow last winter and haven't hadany problems. I love it and so do the bunnies.

Laura

 

[Jenniblu]

I have to say it is the food - had a badexperience in feeding it to Vash. Poor coat quality and lackof condition just to name a few.

Even though Small World is made by the same company that makes Mana Pro(good quality feeds) -- the difference in quality isnoticable. The Small World stuff looks, smells,andtastes quite different than a higher quality pellet. Yeah, Itasted it. pLus, knowinglarge stores like Walmart-- that pet food could have been stored for a year or more underless-than-ideal conditions affecting its quality and nutrition.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

I think it's the stress of beingmoved, the change in diet, and the newenvironment. Give them time to settle down.

Rainbows!

 

Awwwwwwwww their bothadorable , I love the Eye liners they areso pretty .

bad food is mostlikely the porblemand All the hay is scrubbing thecrud from their systems . Poops likethat should be expected , be thankfull they arethere Hon . meanstheir systems are moving likethey should be . Keep giving asmuch hay as they seem to want , it certainlywont hurt them and it willaslo speed up getting rid ofbuild up

 

[Half-Pint]

They are cute =) They sorta look like our familyrabbit Flower who is going on nine years old at the end of thismonth...hes an old fella but still gets around and has the eyelinerlike yours do.

 

[naturestee]

Well, I finally got a hold of some fresh poopfrom both of them. They seem to do most of their pottybusiness at night. I just knew it was soft because I wouldfind mashed poops all over the cardboard. Well, Sprites' poopis like play dough and Fey's is glistening wet! I'd beworried about dehydration if they weren't peeing normally.Thankfully, the massive poops don't seem to be as frequent as they hadbeen.

Is there anything I can do to help them? I'm going toincrease the amount of good pellets in the mix, and they are eating afair bit of hay. I've been giving them a small pinch amountof oats mixed in their pellets, too. Should I give themprobiotics or vitamin supplements or anything like that? I'mreluctant to take them to the vet as they still freak out when they aretouched. They sniff and even lick me, but one move towardsthem and they are gone like the wind!

I'm also wondering if it would be better for them to take all the oldpellets away and give them just a small amount of the Oxbowstuff. Would that be better or worse for them right now?

 

[Stephanie]

You could also give them some unproccessed oats,that will help firm them up a bit. Are you feeding them lots of fruitor greens? If so, lay off that for a few days. If I give Chompersbananas or apples, he gets mushy poops too.

 

NaturesTee ,

which Hay are you giving themis it just Timothy ? Is it possible toadd a bit of Orchard grass in with it ,it may encourage them to eat more of the hay ?sometimes Orchard Grass hassome Sweet grass in it and itmay get them to eat a bit more. Poor babies beingon crappy pellets for so long,it may take a while to gettheir systems back in normalmode. I have one who was on a Walmartbrand of crap pelets and its been 2months and he still hasnt gotten past the softmooshies . Im thinkingYours will take about that long orpossibly a bitlonger to pull out ofit also . Poor babies, and Poor you for having toworry so .

 

[naturestee]

gypsy wrote:

Ihave one who was on a Walmart brandof crap pelets and its been 2 months andhe still hasnt gotten past the soft mooshies. Im thinking Yourswill take about that long or possibly abitlonger to pull out of it also .

:shock::shock::shock:

Oh dear lord! Walmart should be banned from selling rabbit food!!!!!!!!!!

They've been eating lots of timothy hay. I have both orchardand oat grass, so I'll try adding some of that. I've beenlimiting their pellets a little to make sure they eat morehay. I hate doing it because I can feel their bones,especially Sprite's.

Stephanie- No veggies, no fruit. They do get a small amount of oats.

 

[2bunmom]

Your new babies are so cute! Theydeserve a good bunny mom like you. Keep working with them, Iknow you will have them on the right track in no time.Beckie

 

[Stephanie]

You are doing the right thing and I know they're in good hands.

Mine just about plowed me over when I moved the craisin bag.....

 

[naturestee]

After a week and a half of soft poops, I broughta fecal sample in to the vet. He said no parasites,everything was fine, just bad diet. He said to take away allpellets for a week and then slowly start working them back in, and wecan start adding small amounts of good vegetables immediately.

This is very good, as I was going to build Fey and Sprite's cage thisweekend and move them into the bunny room. Hooray!:bunnydance:

 

[Nicky Snow]

Good News!:elephant:

Nicole

 

So very glad to hear there are no parasites, thats always a huge plus .Kinda figured it was the diet where as I had onethe same way becasue of the pellets hewas getting .

Poor Babies having to go thru all that just becausepeople need to find cheapercosting feeds . If they only knew they werepaying outragious prices forpoorly designed feed

example :

40 # Heinhold $12.00

8# bag Small World ( walmart brand ) $ 8.99

total savings_ neg $44.00

Large savings isnt it ?:?

 

[naturestee]

gypsy wrote:

Sovery glad to hear there are no parasites , thatsalways a huge plus . Kinda figured it wasthe diet where as I had one the same way becasueof the pellets he was getting .

Poor Babies having to go thru all that just becausepeople need to find cheapercosting feeds . If they only knew they werepaying outragious prices forpoorly designed feed

example :

40 # Heinhold $12.00

8# bag Small World ( walmart brand ) $ 8.99

total savings_ neg $44.00

Large savings isnt it ?:?

I know! Especially when you consider that I live in a ruralarea- the feed store is at least 10 minutes closer than Walmart!

 

[mygrl2k3]

Until i knew better from being a part of thisgroup, i fed my bunny walmart brand food.. she always had a dirtybutt.. I switched to purina a long time ago. Plusits not much difference in price, if anything its cheaper.

Cristy