poop issues - cecotropes stuck everywhere

My gift rabbit from some folks down the road is having digestion issues - I don't know if it's something I've done or if she has always been this way. Right now she has normal poo except that there are always cecotropes stuck to the wire and I'm having to scrape and brush the wire almost daily and wash her rear sometimes.

She was eating some type of pet rabbit food with all the little dried bits of stuff and seeds. She came with a big bag of it and I slowly switched her over to the pellets I use (Manna Pro) They were also feeding her dried corn on the cob - Indian type stuff - that I stopped. I've given her hay which I don't think she's has ever gotten a lot of - The hay I use is local Bermuda, it's nothing special. I've tried to slowly introduce greens but I don't think that is going to work, no matter how slow I go she always gets runny poo.. about all she can nibble is plantain which she isn't wild about.

Other than that she is a very nice, easy to handle and fairly healthy bun - she did have some runny eyes when I first got her but it cleared up in about a week. She's not fat but I would say she's a bit flabby.

So, is there anything I can try that might get Alfreda-Milk Shake-Brownie bun cleaning up after herself?

Maybe she just needs a smaller amount of pellets? Sounds like her diet may be rich enough in nutrients that she doesn't need to eat her cecotropes. Hopefully, if you lower the amount of pellets, she will start eating them.

:shrug:

I would cut her pellets down and provide mostly hay for her to eat until she loses some of her flab.

If you have blackberry, raspberry, or other brambles to feed her they would be a good fresh feed for her since they are commonly used to treat loose stools. Strawberry leaves are also effective, as is the weed Shepherd's Purse.

Miss M and MSD have already covered what I would have said, so I will simply endorse their advice. Whether your rabbit cannot reach to consume the cecotropes due to her flab or whether she is not eating them because her diet is richer than necessary, I would reduce the pellets and give free choice grass hay.

The plants MSD suggested: blackberry, raspberry, strawberry leaves and, of course, shepherds purse and plantain all have the effect of regulating the stools and should be easily handled by the rabbit. If any of them cause runny stools, I'd be interested to hear about it.

Thanks, I'll cut her pellets back and see if it helps - I have plenty of blackberry I can offer as well. she's a cute little thing hopefully less food will make her less of a stinky mess

:clover:

Little update - gone 3 days without finding any leftovers. Ended up cutting all her pellets and feeding hay and select weeds. So far so good, I did give her about 2.5 oz of pellets at 6 this morning so hopefully that won't throw her off.

Glad the changes in diet seem to have solved the problem. Naturally you need to reintroduce some pellets as grass hay and greens is not enough to feed her permanently, but she may not need the quantity of pellets you were feeding previously. Just see how it goes.

Well, that's good news.

If you notice a change due to the pellets this morning, maybe split it into two meals, morning and evening. You could also give her hay first and let her fill up on that for a bit and then give the pellets. That was my protocol when I first started feeding fresh greens so the rabbits wouldn't gorge on them on an empty stomach, and it worked very well.

Thanks for the update! Glad she's doing better.

well, with about 2 oz of pellets she's making them but still not eating them. The diet adjustment has made them a lot smaller so they're passing through the wire instead of sticking to it or her butt. I can live with that... I'm thinking she's older than anyone thought and just a jiggly old granny rabbit that couldn't eat her poop if she cared to.

That's possible... how big is she?

She's 6 pounds by my bathroom scale. To feel her backbone and hips she feels to be in good weight. I took a few photos of her this morning and checked her vent area - ungroomed but nothing blocking output.



Her coat was bleached like that when I got her - feels like straw I've been waiting on her to molt but it hasn't happened yet -all my meat rabbits are shedding like crazy.

Wow, what a striking bunny!

If she's getting only 2 oz. of pellets, and still has uneaten cecotropes, it sounds like she just doesn't eat them. I have no suggestions to help with that.

2 oz. may not be enough to keep her from losing weight, but I'm sure you're keeping an eye on her. I'm sure she'll molt in the next few months, but I understand it can be induced sometimes by giving a couple tablespoons of sunflower seeds every day for a few days. She should do it on her own, though, and sunflower seeds would probably make the cecotrope thing worse again.