Strange poop...

[maherwoman]

This afternoon, we let Bunny out, and she went into her litterbox and pooped something that looked kinda like a blackberry...regular sized and shaped poops that were stuck together. They weren't runny, and they didn't stick to her bottom...just came out like a cluster. It didn't have any odor at all.

Do any of you know what this means? I'll be watching her tonight and tomorrow to see if she continues to let out the same type of poop. Otherwise, she was just fine, hopping around and having fun. The thing was she had pooped just fine a few minutes before, so I wonder if it was just a one-time thing?

Any ideas?

Thanks, guys!

Edit: I read a few articles on this site, and didn't find anything that describes this particular type of poop. I just want to be sure she's ok. She's eating just a tad less than usual, so her eating habits aren't different, really. Everything else is fine.

Edit #2: I just checked Bunny out. There was nothing on her bottom, and she pooped several times just fine. So I wonder...could that have been just a lot of cecotropes that came out all at once, and she didn't want to eat them? They weren't smelly at all, so I don't think she has "night feces", but I'm not sure. She has been eating more of her alfalfa pellets than her hay recently...could she be eating too much? (Keep in mind, she's only about nine weeks old.) Should I take the pellets out of her diet for a bit? If so, for how long?

Edit #3: Sorry...lol...just wanted to add that, in reading about "night feces" and finding that really the only thing that doesn't match is the fact that they don't have a foul smell, I took her dish of pellets out of her cage. Again...how long should I do this?? Her poop looked fine a minute ago when she was out and running about, but I don't want to have a situation where I have to try to bathe her (when I've noticed that she's been a bit adverse to my holding her lately...not sure why, and was going to post a question about that, too...but will have to do so tomorrow).

Again...thank you guys!

 

[Tango]

Hi maherwoman!

my bunny is doing exactly the same thing! (he's 7 weeks by the by)its strange because its not all the time. sometimes during the day his poops are fine and normal, then sometimes they'll be individual but squishy and the next moment they're lots of smaller balls stuck together like you described! i've notices that the normal ones tend to be nearer or in his litter box (we're stil in the process of training) while the strange blackberry looking ones never are? seems more than coincedence? have you noticed anything similar? i have noticed the cage smellling different lately. I wouldn't say foul, but sort of a funny sweeter smell (though not exactly pleasant as the word sweet may imply) My vet said soft poop means i should remove veggies from the diet. Which i'm trying at the moment, but haven't noticed anything too significant yet. I must say i'm concerned abuo tthen clogging up his system (which aparently happens frequently with bunnies?)

Can i just ask as i'm new at this, what are "cecotropes" and "night feces"?

Good Luck!

I'mtaking bunny to thevet today (he has ring worm as well!!) so i'll let you know if anything useful comes out of it?!



May

 

[Beelzebunny]

Are you sure these aren't just thefirst time round poops - the ones that she later eats and then come out dryer and paler second time round?

 

[naturestee]

This article has pictures of cecals:
http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/diet/cecals.html

Which it sounds like Maherwoman's Bunny has. They're normal. Sometimes rabbits don't eat them, especially if they are too busy playing. Don't take away her pellets. She needs them to grow.

Cecals are a type of poop that the bunny is supposed to eat. It has lots of vitamins and such that are produced in the cecum, which is after the stomach, so they have to eat them to get the nutrients.

Spring, are all the poops looking like that? If so, that's a sign of problems. What did your vet say about it? Also, 7 weeks is awfully young for veggies as baby rabbits are much more sensitive to them and to diet changes. Either feed tiny amounts of one thing and slowly build up to more veggies over time, or just cut them out for a while. Many people prefer not to feed veggies until the rabbit is six months old because of their sensitivity.

As for "clogging the system," that's usually due to illness or hairball and it's called GI (gastrointestinal) stasis. Check here for info:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11918&forum_id=10

 

[JimD]

Here's a pic (gotta luv the poop pics!!)

Upper left = normal cecal

Lower right = runny poops

:sweep...........:jumpingbunny:

~Jim

 

[Tango]

hi naturestee.. thanks for all the info.. have never heard of the poop eating thing!! it could likely be that although i must say, i've never seen him eating any. he tends more to stand on them and squish them all over the place which is quite gross to clea.. especially out of his toes! I've also only found that veggies are bad so early on. i only give him tiny bits of apple and carrot really. nothing much but i think i'll stop that for now. its so hard cos he loves them SO much!!!

ok on a real lame note... eating poop sounds really gross... esp. cos he likes to lick people all the time! is this unecessary to worry about?? he he.. i must sound so silly!!

thanks for all the info!!!



PS... JimD.. thanks for that! ya, his are definitely the first kind!!! this forum rocks!!! i'm finding out SO much helpful new mom stuff!!! THANKS a STACK everyone!:great:

 

[maherwoman]

Could the problem be the fact that her pellets have a tad too much protein? We bought her the wrong kind to start with, but thought it wouldn't be too much of a prob. It has 17% crude protein.

Thanks!

P.S. That picture of the cecals is exactly what her poop looked like. Thank you!

naturestee wrote:

This article has pictures of cecals:
http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/diet/cecals.html

Which it sounds like Maherwoman's Bunny has. They're normal. Sometimes rabbits don't eat them, especially if they are too busy playing. Don't take away her pellets. She needs them to grow.

Cecals are a type of poop that the bunny is supposed to eat. It has lots of vitamins and such that are produced in the cecum, which is after the stomach, so they have to eat them to get the nutrients.

Spring, are all the poops looking like that? If so, that's a sign of problems. What did your vet say about it? Also, 7 weeks is awfully young for veggies as baby rabbits are much more sensitive to them and to diet changes. Either feed tiny amounts of one thing and slowly build up to more veggies over time, or just cut them out for a while. Many people prefer not to feed veggies until the rabbit is six months old because of their sensitivity.

As for "clogging the system," that's usually due to illness or hairball and it's called GI (gastrointestinal) stasis. Check here for info:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11918&forum_id=10

 

[naturestee]

I fed Mocha pellets with 17% protein when she was a baby too, and she also had excess cecals. Can you switch to something better? There's a lot of good brands, especially at feed stores, that have 16% protein which is just right for most young rabbits.

 

[maherwoman]

I was just researching in the 101 section of this site, and found a site that stated the recommended percentages. I researched on the Kaytee site, because my husband and I had noticed Timothy Complete in the store. I found that it has all the right percentages of things, as far as the site says, but it only has 13% protein instead of the 16% you mention. Should I find something with 16% and switch to Timothy Complete when she's older? If so, at about what age?

Thank you so much for your help!

Edit: Just found something called Kaytee Supreme Rabbit Daily Blend. Here are the details:

Ingredients
Alfalfa Meal, Wheat Middlings, Ground Grain Products, Plant Protein Products, Cane Molasses, Salt, Lignin Sulfonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, DL-Methionine, Vitamin A Supplement, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Copper Sulfate, Niacin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Iodate, Biotin, Folic Acid, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min)..........16.0%
Crude Fat (min).................2.0%
Crude Fiber (min).............15.0%
Crude Fiber (max)............18.0%
Moisture (max)................12.0%

Calcium (min)...................0.5%
Calcium (max)..................1.0%
Phosphorus (min)..............0.4%
Salt (min).........................0.25%
Salt (max)........................0.75%
Vitamin A (min)............1000 IU/lb

Sould like a good choice??

naturestee wrote:

I fed Mocha pellets with 17% protein when she was a baby too, and she also had excess cecals. Can you switch to something better? There's a lot of good brands, especially at feed stores, that have 16% protein which is just right for most young rabbits.

 

[JimD]

All but one of my buns gets Purina Complete Blend Rabbit Chow (green bag). The protein is at 16%, but the fiber is a bit higher than some brands ( this is a good thing). Here's what Purina has for an analysis:

Crude Protein, not less than
16.0%

Crude Fat, not less than
1.5%

Crude Fiber, not less than
17.0%

Crude Fiber, not more than
20.0%

Calcium, not less than
0.6%

Calcium, not more than
1.1%

Phosphorus, not less than
0.4%

Salt, not less than
0.5%

Salt, not more than
1.0%

Vitamin A, not less than
4000 IU/lb
Rabbit Chow Complete Blend Ingredients:
Forage products (alfalfa), wheat midds, roughage products (oat or rice hulls), plant protein products, grain products, molasses products, calcium carbonate, salt, dicalcium phosphate, choline, chloride, DL-methionine, ferrous oxide, magnesium oxide, niacin supplement, vitamin E supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B-12 supplement, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D-3 supplement, zinc sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, ferrous carbonate, copper sulfate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite.

_________________________________________________________________

One of my older buns has a problem with the higher protein so she gets the KayTee Timothy Complete.

Generally speaking, younguns need the alfalfa in their diet whereas older buns don't. And as I ALWAYS say....what works for one bun doesn't necessarily work for another .

~Jim

 

[maherwoman]

That would work great! Where do you buy it? Is it available at just your general pet store?

JimD wrote:

All but one of my buns gets Purina Complete Blend Rabbit Chow (green bag). The protein is at 16%, but the fiber is a bit higher than some brands ( this is a good thing). Here's what Purina has for an analysis:

Crude Protein, not less than
16.0%

Crude Fat, not less than
1.5%

Crude Fiber, not less than
17.0%

Crude Fiber, not more than
20.0%

Calcium, not less than
0.6%

Calcium, not more than
1.1%

Phosphorus, not less than
0.4%

Salt, not less than
0.5%

Salt, not more than
1.0%

Vitamin A, not less than
4000 IU/lb
Rabbit Chow Complete Blend Ingredients:
Forage products (alfalfa), wheat midds, roughage products (oat or rice hulls), plant protein products, grain products, molasses products, calcium carbonate, salt, dicalcium phosphate, choline, chloride, DL-methionine, ferrous oxide, magnesium oxide, niacin supplement, vitamin E supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B-12 supplement, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D-3 supplement, zinc sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, ferrous carbonate, copper sulfate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite.

_________________________________________________________________

One of my older buns has a problem with the higher protein so she gets the KayTee Timothy Complete.

Generally speaking, younguns need the alfalfa in their diet whereas older buns don't. And as I ALWAYS say....what works for one bun doesn't necessarily work for another .

~Jim

 

[Maureen Las]

Jim D. your close-ups of poop are :great::blueribbon:

 

[JimD]

angieluv wrote:

Jim D. your close-ups of poop are :great::blueribbon:

:thankyou:thanks:

 

[Lissa]

Thanks Jim I just lost my stomach! :vomit:

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

Don't know about you guys, but after reading this thread, I'm starving! I'm gonna go grab some grub! :eats

 

[Lissa]

:not listening

 

[JimD]

maherwoman wrote:

That would work great! Where do you buy it? Is it available at just your general pet store?

Yeppers.....I get it at the Pet Goods store by me. I buy it in 25# bags that last about 2 weeks. Just recently I started taking 1/2 the bag, rebagging it into smaller bags, and putting it in cold storage (aka "the garage".... it's cold here for now!!). We'll be getting an extrafreezer soon, so I'll be able to start freezing portions to keep it fresh.

~Jim

 

[2bunmom]

Just want to add that you can also buy the Purina Rabbit Chow at your local feed stores. It is very economical, I pay around $6.00 for a 25 lb bag. I think that you can also buy it in 50 lb bags. I have 2 buns soa 25 lb bag works great for me and they seem to enjoy it. Beckie

 

[peapoo_bunny]

i guess im not looking hard enough..but ive been looking for purina and havent found it yet for rabbits yet...theyve always got food for cats and dogs, but hardly anywhere has good rabbit food:X...gotta find a feed store somewhere! ....does anyone use hartz rabbit pellets?

 

[JimD]

Here's a link to help locate Purina dealers:



http://www.purina-mills.com/main.html