Watery and stinky rabbit poop, is this normal ?

[abbigail10398]

My rabbit is one year old and she has had some watery poops every know and then but they have never stunk. But today I found more then usual and they stink. Could it be stress related or could it be a health problem.

 

[Opal]

Immediately take her to the vet! This looks like diarrhea and it could be fatal. It looks GI stasis related. Does she live outside? If so it could be caused by weather change, sudden food change, or parasites

 

[abbigail10398]

She was doing alit better, she started eating and have normal poops but she is back to having watery poops and my vet is all booked up untell next weeks

 

[Blue eyes]

That does not look like diarrhea to me which is very watery and runny. Those look more like uneaten cecotropes or excess cecotropes (though difficult to see photo up close). From the photos, that does not look "watery" but just moist -- a huge difference.

Here is a good article about soft poos or mushy cecal pellets:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

If it is just occasional, it could be from too rich a diet.

At the moment it does not sound like a vet emergency. However, for future consideration, you may want to search out a rabbit savvy vet. Any rabbit savvy vet knows that anytime a rabbit needs to be seen for a health issue (as opposed to a regular check-up) time is always of the essence. A rabbit with a health problem can not wait even a few days. If a vet isn't aware of this, then they are not rabbit savvy (either that, or the scheduler is unaware of this).

 

[Imbrium]

^ What Blue eyes said.

What sort of diet is she on? In particular, how much pellets does she get per day and is she eating grass hay (such as timothy, orchard, etc.) or legume hay (ie alfalfa)? How often does she get treats, how much treats and what types? Most importantly, are you still seeing regular/normal fecal poops (the hard, round, odorless balls) in addition to the stinky and unusual poop (that looks to us like uneaten/unformed cecals)?

Also, if at any point she stops eating and/or pooping entirely for 8-12 hours or more, this is a life-threatening medical emergency and I'm sure your vet would surely be willing to squeeze you in if that should happen.

 

[abbigail10398]

^ What Blue eyes said.

What sort of diet is she on? In particular, how much pellets does she get per day and is she eating grass hay (such as timothy, orchard, etc.) or legume hay (ie alfalfa)? How often does she get treats, how much treats and what types? Most importantly, are you still seeing regular/normal fecal poops (the hard, round, odorless balls) in addition to the stinky and unusual poop (that looks to us like uneaten/unformed cecals)?

Also, if at any point she stops eating and/or pooping entirely for 8-12 hours or more, this is a life-threatening medical emergency and I'm sure your vet would surely be willing to squeeze you in if that should happen.

I'm not sure what brand of pellets she has but she free feeds. She does get Timothy hay and she is having some normal poops. She is not a big fan of treats but she does get veggies

 

[Hermelin]

Reduce the amount of pellets and her droppings will be better balanced. She might be eating too much pellets which cause her to produce more cecotropes than she can eat up.

If she’s a growing kit, reduce the amount until you stop seeing the cecotropes and it will be good

 

[Imbrium]

One year old is definitely too old for free-fed pellets. House Rabbit Society has a great article on diet, which includes recommendation for pellet amounts (gradually decrease until you're feeding the appropriate amount for her size). Too many pellets is the #1 cause of excess/uneaten cecals, so chances are you'll stop seeing them around once she's down to the correct amount.

 

[abbigail10398]

One year old is definitely too old for free-fed pellets. House Rabbit Society has a great article on diet, which includes recommendation for pellet amounts (gradually decrease until you're feeding the appropriate amount for her size). Too many pellets is the #1 cause of excess/uneaten cecals, so chances are you'll stop seeing them around once she's down to the correct amount.

Thank you

 

[Imbrium]

How is your bunny doing with the diet changes? Is her poop looking better?

 

[JBun]

You didn't mention if you free feed the timothy hay. So in addition to reducing pellet amounts, you also want to make sure your rabbit always has hay to eat. It should be refreshed each day and you want to make sure that your bun is eating a pile the size of her body per day.

If after these diet changes you are still seeing the messy poop, see if it coincides with anything you've recently fed like a veggie, or if your bun could be getting into something she shouldn't. I would also recommend not feeding any sugary/starchy treats like carrot, fruit, grains. If you can't link it to anything she has been fed, it's possible it could be a parasite issue and your bun may need deworming with the proper dewormer med.

 

[abbigail10398]

You didn't mention if you free feed the timothy hay. So in addition to reducing pellet amounts, you also want to make sure your rabbit always has hay to eat. It should be refreshed each day and you want to make sure that your bun is eating a pile the size of her body per day.

If after these diet changes you are still seeing the messy poop, see if it coincides with anything you've recently fed like a veggie, or if your bun could be getting into something she shouldn't. I would also recommend not feeding any sugary/starchy treats like carrot, fruit, grains. If you can't link it to anything she has been fed, it's possible it could be a parasite issue and your bun may need deworming with the proper dewormer med.

Thank you. Yes she does get unlimited Timothy hay, and she is doing much better know thank you ever one forntour help