Soft Stools in young bunnies

[Bucktooth]

Hey guys, sorry to bother you with this question, I did do a search and read what you've written to other posters but I would just like some reassurance here...

My bunnies are 5 1/2 weeks old. I was feeding them milk replacer twice a day (kmr) as well as oxbow young rabbit pellets and oxbow alfalfa hay. They have had the hay since 2 weeks old and the pellets since 2.5- 3 weeks of age.

At 5 weeks, I cut out the morning milk replacer feed. I still give them milk replacer in the evening when I get home from work because I didn't want to stop cold turkey and stress them out.

Since I have stopped the morning feed, their little poos have gotten stickier. They stick on their bums, and mush into the ground. They look dark brown/blackish, but are greenish when crushed. The alfalfa is very green and they only eat the leaves not the stems, I'm guessing this is why.

What should I do? They are eating and drinking fine, and I can take them to the vet for sure if you think this warrants that.

Should I cut out the pellets? Switch to timothy hay? Cut out the evening feed?

My gut feeling is that since I cut out the morning feed, they are eating a lot more hay and pellets and it's just the diet change, but I am certainly no rabbit expert.

Jessica

 

[majorv]

How much alfalfa and pellets are they eating now? A sudden increase in pellets can cause soft stool. Rather than just cut out one feeding entirely it might've been better to just slowly cut back on how much you were giving at the morning feeding. Gradual changes are best.

 

[JBun]

If their poop got worse when the milk replacer was reduced, then the milk itself is probably not the problem. Like majorv, I would suspect either the alfalfa hay or the pellets and the sudden increase from cutting out the one milk feed. I don't find it necessary to feed babies alfalfa hay when they are already getting an alfalfa based pellet. Plus the alfalfa can be too rich of a diet for rabbits. I much prefer to feed them a grass hay like timothy. You want a grass hay that is more leafy as they may have difficulty chewing thick stems, and you will need to watch them to make sure they are eating it. Since they are used to alfalfa, some rabbits don't like transitioning onto grass hay and may not eat it at the start. If this is the case, then you may need to gradually switch them to the timothy.

It might also be a good idea to temporarily reduce the pellet amount if they are eating the hay well. Like majorv mentioned, it isn't good to suddenly increase pellet amounts, or even a sudden increase in alfalfa hay can sometimes cause problems. You shouldn't have to worry about suddenly introducing timothy hay though, as most grass hay is well tolerated by rabbits and rarely causes digestive issues. Once you get their poop normalized with the timothy hay and reduced pellets, you can gradually start increasing pellet amounts again, unless they start having poop problems again. It might be good to return to the normal milk feedings for now, and then gradually start to reduce the amount. If you can get a non dairy probiotic powder like bene bac, to add to their milk feeds, that may help as well.

You may want to take a look at this article. It goes over rabbit digestion issues really well, though it isn't specifically about baby rabbits.
http://rabbit.org/disorders-of-the-cecum/

 

[Bucktooth]

I took the pellets away for now. I don't think they eat too many of them, I think they dump most of them into their litter but better safe than sorry. Also I think they are eating too many leaves from the hay and not the stems because they prefer the leaves and I give them as much as they want. Today I gave them smaller amounts of hay and they ate the stems too and then I gave them more once it was almost gone. I put acidophilus into their milk. I did that when they were little and it seemed to help.
I can indeed order bene bac powder at my work, it won't be in until Monday if I order it tomorrow but if I am desperate I can drive to the city and buy some at petsmart. I plan to take them to the Dr on Wednesday. Unless they worsen then of course we will go right away. They are eating, drinking, running and playing and have gained a bunch of weight.

Thank you for the responses and the article. I will also order some Timothy hay. I own a horse but am too paranoid to feed them hay from the barn. I probably will once they grow bigger though. It's nice hay and clean. What's the best oxbow hay for these guys? Straight Timothy? They have all kinds that I can get.

Thanks!

 

[majorv]

Rabbits can do fine on horse quality hay. We buy coastal hay by the bale to feed ours. Timothy is fine. Sometimes we'll get orchard grass for variety.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

What breed are your rabbits?

This is a common problem I see in Holland Lops. It came up occasionally in my Jersey Woolies too...I don't know that I've seen it on Dwarf Hotots yet.

Transitioning from milk to a dry diet can be a bit of a stress on their system. I haven't found that there is anything you can do to "fix" this...it's a transition all rabbits have to go through. KMR is not the same as what a mother rabbit feeds her babies, and I'm thinking that perhaps that is causing troubles. By 5 1/2 weeks old, the kits should be pretty much exclusively eating their pellets and hay. Sometimes if they are actually with mom, they'll nurse a little longer.

I'd recommend feeding timothy hay instead of alfalfa. Alfalfa can be too rich for babies, just like it can be for adults. Horse-quality hay is great, if that is available to you (cheaper too).

It's okay to offer pellets too, just limit them to about 1/2 cup per 5 lbs. adult body weight. I find this to be a good amount that gives them enough to grow, but encourages eating hay too.

Mostly it's a waiting game until their systems mature. Keep them clean with "butt baths" in the meantime, if you need to.

 

[Bucktooth]

Thank you for your reply. I will get some Timothy. I do have access to horse hay because I have a horse

I have had them since 2 days old. They were orphaned and I raised them. Their dad was a double maned lion head, and one person told me the mom was a wooly and one person said a Himalayan so I'm not sure exactly what the mix is. They are really fluffy except for the milk replacer crust on them. It seems the consensus is to wait to out. Switch to Timothy and give bene bac. I will have a dr check them over too. It's the night poos that are causing the problem. Their regular poops are fine.

How am I going to wean them?! I need a plan.

 

[Bucktooth]

here's a pic of them using my son as a jungle gym.

 

[majorv]

Just slowly start reducing the milk feeding so their systems have time to adjust. Keep the benebac on hand if the poop starts getting soft. Provide plenty of grass hay. As the milk is reduced they'll start eating more pellets...just do it all gradually.

 

[Bucktooth]

Of course I bought the giant bag of oxbow Timothy and those spoiled brats are like Ummmmm this isn't alfalfa....so I sprinkled a bit of the good stuff on top. I hope they eat it over night and aren't hungry.

 

[JBun]

That is one common problem with starting off baby buns on alfalfa and not a grass hay. Apparently it tastes better

 

[Bucktooth]

I'm such a noob. Jbun, they won't starve themselves will they? I can't believe how nerve wracking baby bunnies are!!!! 😜

 

[majorv]

Some rabbits can be pretty stubborn, but make them work for the alfalfa while you reduce the amount. If they have to get through the Timothy to find the good stuff maybe they'll acquire a taste for the grass hay. As long as their pellets are alfalfa based you don't need the alfalfa hay too.

 

[Bucktooth]

Only one of them eats pellets, I haven't seem the other one eating them. I will keep at it.

 

[Bucktooth]

Their stools looked completely normal today. I gave them butt baths this morning so I could be sure to tell. Thanks for the help. I was giving them a LOT of alfalfa. Oops 😒

 

[ladysown]

they look a bit rough but they should come along. I would lose the milk and replace it with oatmeal .. mix the probiotics in with the oatmeal if you must.
But with a hay based diet, with some pellets on the side they should be just fine.

I've raised 18 day old kits with goat milk oatmeal and hay (until they hit 22 days then I lose the milk) .. they look rough for quite a while but then they come along nicely.
once they hit three weeks, they'll look rough but they can make it just fine without the milk as long they have a base of oatmeal, hay and probiotics (only as needed). Add crushed pellets to the oatmeal and then eventually phase out the oatmeal to just pellets.

At 5.5 weeks they don't need milk.