Do all Fuzzy Lops have messy poo?

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jimmywalt

jimmywalt

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We have had about 6 different fuzzy lops (adults) over the past couple years. We have them in pre-fab cages with wire floors.

It seems that this breed always has a "bathroom" issue and their poo doesn't drop through the wire floor as out other breeds of rabbits do. We also have lionheads, mini lops, Holland lops and Netherland Dwarfs and none have this same kind of issue. They all have nice little round poo that falls right though the wires and into the catch pans.

We are thinking about getting out of Fuzzy Lops because of this. It's a total pain to clean the wires in the cages at least weekly.

Just wondered, is this messy poo just part of this breed? If not, what can I do to remedy this ASAP?

Each day they have water and pellet food (16% protein). About once a week we give them a nice bunch of hay.

Thank you.
 
MaggieJ":11hih5f1 said:
I'd try feeding hay more frequently - even daily - and see if that makes a difference. :clover:
Click to expand...

Any certain type of hay you recommend? Is store purchased Timothy okay? Thank you
 
Any kind of grass-hay (timothy, orchard grass etc.) would be suitable. I would not recommend alfalfa hay for this purpose, since their pellets are probably alfalfa-based and it is rich.

Getting hay direct from a farmer would likely be cheaper than from the store (do you mean a feed store?) but it may be difficult to find some this time of year. You could try Craigslist.
 
MaggieJ":1y5jt1gx said:
Any kind of grass-hay (timothy, orchard grass etc.) would be suitable. I would not recommend alfalfa hay for this purpose, since their pellets are probably alfalfa-based and it is rich.

Getting hay direct from a farmer would likely be cheaper than from the store (do you mean a feed store?) but it may be difficult to find some this time of year. You could try Craigslist.
Click to expand...

Thank you again. Here are the 3 choices we have. A & B are both from last fall from different farmers. C is from Tractor Supply in a bag.

We have been using A when we have been feeding them hay. It seems somewhat dry and doesn't have much of any smell.

B is really green and smells really good, but I "think" that last fall when we get it to our various bunnies it might have made their stools soft so I stopped using it. Not sure if that really was the cause, but now I'm somewhat afraid to use it again.... Unless the experts here on Rabbit Talk say it's okay.

C is a bag of Timothy Hay from Tractor Supply.

So which do you think would be best? Thank you again!

01.JPG
02.JPG
03.JPG
04.JPG
 
That timothy from Tractor Supply - C -is likely quite expensive, buying it in bags like that.

B looks the best to me, and its fresh green smell is encouraging, but if it caused your rabbits a problem with soft stools, it might be better to give it a miss. Or try it with one rabbit only to see. I can't tell from the picture what types of plants it contains.

A does look a little dried out, but as long as there are no signs of mould (mold on your side of the border), it should be safe and you want it for its long fibre not for its nutrition.

I'd suggest a mix of A and C for the moment and possibly do that single rabbit test run for B. I can see no reason by looking at it why it should have caused a problem.
 
My experience with Holland Lops (basically the same) is that they are sensitive to protein levels. 16% is the max I give in the pellets, I prefer 15%. I generally give lots of hay. While coastal hay is generally considered to be around 12% protein, some of the fields around here have tested out at over 20%. If there is too much protein in the diet, the bunny will produce excess cecotrophs, which make a mess.

I am guessing that the really nice looking hay might be very rich, causing loose poo. I would feed "A", so long as it isn't moldy. And lots of it.
 
What kind of poops are they doing? Chained? I have a Satin doe that oddly enough, cannot handle high levels of fiber. She has terrible thick chained poops on a high fiber diet. She also very nearly got plugged up recently and I thought I was going to lose her. I feed fodder and hay with a dash of pellets on the side but after the plugged up incident she went right back on 100 % pellets and poop went back to normal and perfect. No more clingers, and no more daily hutch sweeping. So I'd agree it is something nutritional and experimentation is in order.
 
imajpm":1ko7m8wk said:
What kind of poops are they doing? Chained? I have a Satin doe that oddly enough, cannot handle high levels of fiber. She has terrible thick chained poops on a high fiber diet. She also very nearly got plugged up recently and I thought I was going to lose her. I feed fodder and hay with a dash of pellets on the side but after the plugged up incident she went right back on 100 % pellets and poop went back to normal and perfect. No more clingers, and no more daily hutch sweeping. So I'd agree it is something nutritional and experimentation is in order.
Click to expand...

Just big old messy poops that are too big to go through the cage floor (I believe 1" x 1/2"). We have been giving her hay continually since Friday and it hasn't helped yet. She is currently nursing her 3 kits born 22 days ago. I was thinking maybe it's because of the kits, but we have had this with other Fuzzy Lops that aren't pregnant at the time.

To best explain how the poo is.......... well it's moist, sort of the consistency of peanut butter.

Since a picture is worth a million words........ Here you go........... Sorry!

Any help or suggestions would GREATLY be appreciated!

Poop2_resize.jpg
Poop1_resize.jpg
 
That is really wet and messy, Jimmy. It doesn't look to me as though it is just excess cecotropes. I seldom saw that kind of problems with my meat mutts, but in the very rare case that occurred, I fed one of the "regulator" plants, listed below. They are all very safe for rabbits as forage or medicine.

plantain - several speciies. Plantago major, Plantago lanceolata, Plantago ovata etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major

shepherds purse -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsella_bursa-pastoris

The leaves of raspberry, blackberry and strawberry.

I realize that the season is against you here, but I'd suggest learning about these common and useful plants for the future. Another year you can dry some to have on hand.
 
MaggieJ":dsfl923t said:
That is really wet and messy, Jimmy. It doesn't look to me as though it is just excess cecotropes. I seldom saw that kind of problems with my meat mutts, but in the very rare case that occurred, I fed one of the "regulator" plants, listed below. They are all very safe for rabbits as forage or medicine.

plantain - several speciies. Plantago major, Plantago lanceolata, Plantago ovata etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major

shepherds purse -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsella_bursa-pastoris

The leaves of raspberry, blackberry and strawberry.

I realize that the season is against you here, but I'd suggest learning about these common and useful plants for the future. Another year you can dry some to have on hand.
Click to expand...

Maggie - Thank you. I looked at both links and I don't believe either of those plants grow around us here in Michigan.

As far as strawberries...... we would have to wait till June.

Any other suggestions between now and strawberry season. It's such a pain in the rear to clean her cage.

I probably should say that most of her poo is okay but then from time to time there's this messy stuff.

Thanks again.
 
It would appear that Michigan has both! Here is a good resource for Michigan flora.
http://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=1966
http://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=622

As for strawberries, you don't have to wait for June for the leaves, which is what you want in this case. The fruit is not useful for loose stools. If you have raspberry or blackberry canes, cut some and put them in a jar of water in a sunny window. They will soon leaf out.

Remember, it's the leaves you want!
 
Ohh I have seen that poop before, plenty of times. Thanks for the photos that is very helpful!

I think that is a gut flora problem. I'd bump up hay feedings to 3 or 4 times a week, or daily if possible. Add probiotics, and then keep an eye on food items. Any gentle on the gut herbs or weeds would be good also but with those guys I'd be conservative on the amounts until you can identify the triggers.

I see that in some 2-3 month old kits. It's pretty obvious in my adults and is always from a food change. It always occurs right after I give them a food that they have not had for a while. The kits have a less developed system so they do not even need a feed change for that to happen, nor would a rabbit with a sensitive gut. The last instance was a couple does and involved carrots. It had been several months since they had had any. It's seems to be individual rabbits rather than the whole barn. That doe I mentioned above, with the fiber intolerance, passes that trait to all of her kits so breeding for a more tolerant gut might be possible.

That is my guess anyway :)
 
Hmm might google that. I think yogurt is one of those don't feed it do feed it things. I'd just use hay for a while. Hay does wonders :) Feed daily and see what happens. Not sure where you are located but if you can find a bale instead of those small bags it will be much less expensive. Craigslist always has hay listed here. Grass hay or horse hay is what I try to get. When I am lazy I just go to the feed store and they charge me two or three times as much but you can still get a 80-100 lb bale of nice grass for $16 there.

I googled "intermittent soft stool in rabbits", and some interesting articles came up. It even has a name! ISS. Looks like most of them say more fiber/hay.
 
I've had problems when I tried a cheaper pellet. Analysis may be the same but ingredients are not. So it may just be the pellets.
 
imajpm":1hlyoazc said:
Hmm might google that. I think yogurt is one of those don't feed it do feed it things. I'd just use hay for a while. Hay does wonders :) Feed daily and see what happens. Not sure where you are located but if you can find a bale instead of those small bags it will be much less expensive. Craigslist always has hay listed here. Grass hay or horse hay is what I try to get. When I am lazy I just go to the feed store and they charge me two or three times as much but you can still get a 80-100 lb bale of nice grass for $16 there.

I googled "intermittent soft stool in rabbits", and some interesting articles came up. It even has a name! ISS. Looks like most of them say more fiber/hay.
Click to expand...

Here in ohio I get hay from 4 to 5 bucks. Depends on whether it is first cut or second.
 
Benebac for small animals is my go-to probiotic for rabbits.

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore ... lsrc=aw.ds

It contains bacteria that uncommon or simply not present in yogurt, like Enterococcus Faecium, and Pediococcus Acidilacticii, the latter of which is said to:

Though it is being used as probiotic supplements in treating constipation, diarrhea, relieving stress, and enhancing immune response among birds and small animals, human trials are still limited. P. acidilactici is also known to prevent colonization of the small intestine by pathogens such as Shigella spp., Salmonella spp., Clostridium difficile, and Escherichia coli among small animals.
from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pediococcus_acidilactici
Click to expand...

Using the benebac also avoids the risk of the rabbits getting further imbalanced from consuming dairy, which is high and sugar and can cause gas. As a human who is lactose intolerant, I can tell you honestly, the bacteria in yogurt does not fully compensate for lacking the enzyme, lactase, which is needed to break down dairy products.
 

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