3 week old Holland Lops with poopy bottoms

[TF3]

Our two lop kits are 3 weeks today.
These two were the ones I limited access to mom for the first two weeks because of excessive feeding.
They are in with her full time now.
Chubby chunks but moving about appropriately for their age.

However, both are having tiny yellowish (not mucous, just yellow brown) poops that stick to them and quickly was up and block their vents.
One night (5 days ago?) one had strings of dry sticky mucous but not since.
I have trimmed the hair.

They aren't expressing interest in feed or hay yet.
I am guessing maybe too much milk?
Something else?
Should I separate and try to get them to eat some hay?

They seem otherwise healthy but this is a literal pain in their butts and a figurative pain in mine!

 

[ladysown]

three weeks old, no interest in hay....runny, mucousy poops...

You have some sort of digestive upset going on with them...

 

[TF3]

How to address it?
To be clear.. the poop is sticky and makes small balls, and is yellow/brown rather than the usual dark pellets.
Because of its consistency it sticks to them.
Mucous was only once
Is mom just not cleaning them well and since they aren't eating hay/pellets, it is just that way from milk only diet?

Tomorrow I'll take them out and try giving them hay and pellets to check out.

UPDATE... no change, but today I put them in a big area with oats, hay and pellets to try out AND added in some of my runty almost 4 week olds (one is smaller than the lops and it is a Cali / FG X :x ) to show them just what to do with the food~ which seems to be working!

 

[MaggieJ]

Some plantain (Plantago major - that common lawn weed) or the leaves of blackberry, raspberry or strawberry should help firm up those soft poops. If you find a good supply, I suggest you dry some for use over the winter. These plants (and shepherd's purse) are excellent for regulating bunny poops. Plantago ovata and Plantago lanceolata have similar properties.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsella_bursa-pastoris

I suggest feeding grass-hay, kitchen old-fashioned oatmeal and these herbs for the present. Once they stabilize you can phase in pellets a little at a time. They probably will still need to nurse until they get accustomed to solid foods and are eating them well, but I would limit them to one milk feeding a day.

:good-luck:

 

[FourRingCircus]

Some plantain (Plantago major - that common lawn weed) or the leaves of blackberry, raspberry or strawberry should help firm up those soft poops. If you find a good supply, I suggest you dry some for use over the winter. These plants (and shepherd's purse) are excellent for regulating bunny poops. Plantago ovata and Plantago lanceolata have similar properties.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsella_bursa-pastoris

I suggest feeding grass-hay, kitchen old-fashioned oatmeal and these herbs for the present. Once they stabilize you can phase in pellets a little at a time. They probably will still need to nurse until they get accustomed to solid foods and are eating them well, but I would limit them to one milk feeding a day.

:good-luck:

I was wondering about strawberry leaves and kept forgetting to ask!

Silly question, but how many can I take off of the plant and still have it live through to next spring? I really need to get some stuff dried before all the leaves are gone... just haven't taken the time to do it

 

[MaggieJ]

I was wondering about strawberry leaves and kept forgetting to ask!

Silly question, but how many can I take off of the plant and still have it live through to next spring? I really need to get some stuff dried before all the leaves are gone... just haven't taken the time to do it

It's late in the season, but not too late. Just don't take too many leaves from any one plant . . . say no more than 1/4 of its leaves. An alternative, if you have a sunny windowsill, is to pot up some of the "good" plants to keep them available over the winter. One winter, when my rabbits were in cages in the front porch (south and western exposure) i grew plantain in tubs on top of the rabbit cages.

 

[TF3]

Excellent, we have loads of wild raspberry canes.
I'll set the kid to picking tomorrow

They were better today after their day apart from mom, so I will repeat tomorrow, but without any playmates because their mother ran them around pretty hard when I returned them to her... she was all like "where have you been and who were you with, you are in T-R-O-U-B-L-E" and then she fed them after a couple stompings LOL.

And I realized I haven't been free feeding mom~ well, I have, but she eats it all, so they haven't had much chance to get at anything but milk.
So I'll continue oats and hay tomorrow with some raspberry leaves.
They are happy and healthy otherwise, so I think it is just the combo of factors at play.

(do you just spread out to dry or do you use the oven super low?)

L

 

[FourRingCircus]

I was wondering about strawberry leaves and kept forgetting to ask!

Silly question, but how many can I take off of the plant and still have it live through to next spring? I really need to get some stuff dried before all the leaves are gone... just haven't taken the time to do it

It's late in the season, but not too late. Just don't take too many leaves from any one plant . . . say no more than 1/4 of its leaves. An alternative, if you have a sunny windowsill, is to pot up some of the "good" plants to keep them available over the winter. One winter, when my rabbits were in cages in the front porch (south and western exposure) i grew plantain in tubs on top of the rabbit cages.

DH's family already thinks I am crazy for wanting the stuff in my yard, not to mention that I actually had the nerve to suggest someone put it in their mouth to prep it for use on a bug bite!! ("How do you know dogs didn't pee on it or something?? That's just nasty!" Not to mention that we only have female dogs that are contained to a smaller radius with a wireless fence, and this was at a house that didn't have any at all :roll: )... can't wait to start growing some in the window sill and have them over :lol:

 

[MaggieJ]

I just air-dry everything: willow and raspberry canes in bunches (not too big) and smaller plants like strawberry leaves and plantain in those large mesh bags that onions and oranges come in. Don't pack it in - they need air flow so they don't mould. That way I can hang them from nails in the rabbitry or in the mudroom.

 

[FourRingCircus]

I just air-dry everything: willow and raspberry canes in bunches (not too big) and smaller plants like strawberry leaves and plantain in those large mesh bags that onions and oranges come in. Don't pack it in - they need air flow so they don't mould. That way I can hang them from nails in the rabbitry or in the mudroom.

I knew there was something I wanted to save that onion bag for! :slap:

I actually stood at the trash can holding it, trying to figured out what the heck I wanted it for :lol: . Alas, I never did remember so out it went :roll:

 

[MaggieJ]

LOL, Heritage . . . At least you have a tidy house. We're terrible here for saving stuff that might come in handy. Result: clutter.

 

[Homer]

...I actually stood at the trash can holding it, trying to figured out what the heck I wanted it for :lol: . Alas, I never did remember so out it went :roll:

How many you want? Around here they use mesh bags to pick chilies in. They hold over a bushel and are way stronger than onion sacks. If I don't grow enough (is there ever enough chili) I buy bags of them. After I'm done roasting I fold the bags and put them on a shelf in the garage. Weeellll...the shelf is full. :shock:

... We're terrible here for saving stuff that might come in handy. Result: clutter.

That would be me. :roll: