Rocko's Poopy Problems

[SablePoint]

Rocko, my 1 year old Dutch buck, has occasional cecal poop messes. But this time he had diarrhea. Today, he was running around outside for a few hours and when I came out side to pick him up, he had diarrhea covered feet, poopy paw prints all over the porch, and even the dog he loves to hump had poop all over her rump and tail. Right now I see normal poops in his litter box and no fresh diarrhea stains. I want to know what's causing this.

His bunny pellets are "Grreat Choice" bunny food I get from PetSmart.

Treats he's eating right now are "Natural Treat Mix" from "Wild Harvest." It includes several types of nibble-sized goodies, like multiple type of seeds like pumpkin and sunflower and also has dried carrot pieces and dried papaya peices. Treats are givin once every night.

He also eats Timothy Hay from "Kaytee."

Veggies he get include yellow corn(fresh on cob, not cooked or frozen), carrots, and parsley.

I took his pellet food away and am now giving him Vita Drops and Papaya tablets from "Oxbow" and oats and plenty of hay.

Why did he have diarrhea? It was really messy and he will definitely need a bunny bath! He's absolutely filthy!

 

[LakeCondo]

Give the pellets back to him. Corn is the likely culprit & shouldn't be given again. Carrots are too sweet to be anything but a treat. Treats should be given less frequently. Add any lettuce except iceberg to his diet.

I hope by a bunny bath you mean using unscented baby wipes.

 

[1234bunnies777]

make sure he has enough hay and pellets and give fruits and veggies only as treats

 

[ZRabbits]

1234bunnies777 wrote:

make sure he has enough hay and pellets and give fruits and veggies only as treats

I agree with 1234bunnies777. Stick with hay and pellets until his poop is back to normal. Then tread lightly with the veggies and fruits for awhile. I'd definitely stop the corn. Corn is so hard to digest, even for people. Not good at all for bunnies. Carrot tops are good. Parsley too. But just a little bit at a time.

Hoping Rocko is feeling better. Let us know how he's doing.

K

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

ZRabbits wrote:

1234bunnies777 wrote:

make sure he has enough hay and pellets and give fruits and veggies only as treats

I agree with 1234bunnies777.  Stick with hay and pellets until his poop is back to normal.  Then tread lightly with the veggies and fruits for awhile.  I'd definitely stop the corn.  Corn is so hard to digest, even for people.  Not good at all for bunnies.  Carrot tops are good.  Parsley too.  But just a little bit at a time. 

Hoping Rocko is feeling better.  Let us know how he's doing. 

K

:yeahthat:

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:

 

[SablePoint]

Thanks guys! His poops appear normal now! But here's a story, yesterday, I had him on his leash(I don't allow him to run freely through the yard cause there's areas he can get out) and walked him around in the yard. The dog who gets along with him, spotted him and she ran up to him. But Rocko got scared!
He started dashing about wrapping the leash around objects as the dog went after him. I dropped the leash so he wouldn't choke himself on it and went after him. He even tripped and rolled around on the ground. His harness was slipped onto his legs preventing him to run.
I caught him and instantly brought him inside. Blood was dripping from him - but the dog didn't attack him(infact she couldn't keep up with him) . I sat him on the bed to remove the harness and when I picked - blood was on my bed. I thought the blood was coming from his butt cause the harness might of squeezed him to hard. Thankfully after checking him all over it only turned out to be a split nail. He is fine, but I bet he's sore from all that running and flipping. I'll never put him outside again!

 

[SablePoint]

*and when I picked him up

 

[LakeCondo]

Outside in an xpen is ok, as long as you're right there.

 

[Kipcha]

Poor Rocko I agree, an x-pen would probably be the better choice for him, and obviously with constant supervision.

Glad to hear his poops are normal for right now.

You may want to consider switching over to a different brand of pellets, I just looked up Grreat Choice and it's an alfalfa based pellet, which may be contributing a bit to his loose stool. I know Babbitty tends to get squishy whenever he's exposed to alfalfa.

It's also appears to be rather low in Fiber (It's pretty agreed upon that a minimum of 18% should be in pellets, at least from what I've read, and this feed only has a 17% max), which would also explain a runny stool if he eats more pellets then hay. Is Rocko a big hay eater? It's also rather high in fat and calcium. It also worries me that corn is so high in the ingredients list.

I would recommend for sure, though, switching him to a Timothy based pellet.

Also, I agree with everyone else. Take that corn out of his diet ASAP. Maybe try giving him so other variety in his veggies, things like cilantro, lettuce (Romaine and Greenleaf are popular with my buns), carrot tops (Rather then the actual carrot), mint, etc.

Also, I would no recommend not giving him seeds or anything anymore. The dried papaya is good though.