Yucky Poop

[Kizza]

Hello everyone,

I have had a good look around and haven't found anything like whats wrong with my bunny Rocky so I thought I would ask.

Over the last week I haven't seen and normal 'cecotrope' poops around ( I think that's what its called, the poops that look like a mulberry, all bunched up). Instead Rocky has been doing really smelly, gooey poops. They smell terrible!

I think Rocky is a mini lop, although Im not sure what kind of lop he is. He is 5-6 months old, acting normal, happy and bouncy, eating and drinking normally.

I haven't changed his food at all. He eats mostly a pellet mix (which is mostly pellets, lucerne chaff and some kind of seed that looks like wheat that he doesn't eat) lucerne hay, a bit of grass and a piece of carrot every second day.

I inspected this poop, and it is usually roundish, quite moist and squishy, lighter than his normal droppings, has tiny little black dots in it, and quite large in general size. He does it mostly when he gets up after sleeping. He still does his normal droppings which are like they usually are except their sizes aren't consistent and when he does then they are a little wet on the outside.

Should I be worried? I thought that it might either be something in his diet or parasites/bacteria. People have told be that I'm being an over protective mum, But I know Rocky very well and this isn't normal.

I will still take him to the vet, I just hope they are good with rabbits, there is always a different vet there. Is there anything I should ask or tell the vet specifically?

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

Mushy cecetropes can be caused by stress,yeast buildup or poor flora growth. Is your bunny over weight? Sometimes an over weight bunny can't reach the cecels and they get smeared on the bottom. I would ask a good rabbit savvy vet to do a fecal panel on your bun to figure out the mystery. Good luck.

 

[Kizza]

Hi there thanks for your response.

I researched a fair bit and took Rocky to the vet, and she believes it is his diet, as he eats a lot of lucerne hay.

I have switched him over to 2 cups of fresh veg (bok choy, celery tops and broccoli mostly) and Oxbow timothy hay pellets (which are very expensive).

It is really hard to get any food for rabbits where I live which is a shame, and a bit silly because there are a lot of people with rabbits around here.

His poops haven't changed too much since he's been eating different, just less smelly. I will see how we go for a few more days and if there still isn't a lot of change change I will go back to the vet.

Otherwise he is very happy and energetic.

Does anyone have any other suggestions on diet? Preferably things that are easy to get and not expensive like the Oxbow pellets?

 

[tamsin]

Grass is probably the cheapest, easiest to get and most natural feed for bunnies. You can use it as a supplement or complete replacement for the hay portion of a rabbits diet.

I would try to gradually move him towards a small portion of the pellets 1-2 egg cups per day if he's average sized. The less you feed the cheaper it works out. The veg sounds great and then as much grass as he'll eat with a little of the hay to give him variety.

Obviously build up the grass quantity gradually but it's a great diet option, free and pretty tasty so works well.

Tam

 

[Kizza]

Thanks Tam. I will try to get him onto grass slowly, I didn't have much luck last time but I will try again

 

[Maureen Las]

I know that it hard to get what you need for rabbits in Australia . the Oxbow pellets are really high fiber but probably one of the few good foods that you can get .. maybe you can give it a chance as the pellet food with seeds is not a good choice
lucerne grass is similar to alfalfa and is high in calcium and also could be creating the poop problems

is there any way that you can get meadow grass or timothy hay

What kind of hay do horses in Australia eat? some hay that is good for horses is also good for bunnies.. and I am talking about meadow or orchard grass type hay and not alfalfa / or lucerne

Some veggies like broccoli can be problematic with some rabbits so keep thatIn mind ; some rabbits tolerate it well.
best to do one veggie at a time to see if one or another is contributing to the poop problem

I understand that you do not have many things available to you soI am not trying to put you on the spot..just some suggestions.

 

[Kizza]

I have been giving him the Oxbow pellets, I have been slowly changing him over by mixing it with his normal food first. He has been eating it although he tends to spread it everywhere so it is hard to say how much of the new pellets he is eating. He seems happy with it though because he does munch on it.

I have also just been giving him grass and just one or 2 different types of veg so he cant be as picky.

Horses where I live mostly eat lucerne and rye grass hay, the rye you can only buy in bails. Which is silly, they should make small bags of rye grass hay that you can buy for bunnies instead of the lucerne! Maybe I will talk to them about it.

I believe rye grass hay is fine to give my little Rocky, so perhaps I can get a bail and use it as bedding as well? There really isn't anything you can use for bedding here either.

His droppings have been a lot less smelly so I will keep his diet simple and see how we go.

I can't help but fuss over my little man I just want him to be happy and healthy

 

[tamsin]

Sometimes if you visit a horse feed shop and ask nicely + explain why you want it they'll give you a part bale