Rabbit with poo butt...AGAIN!

[LadyKarli]

I feel a bit dumb cause I just answered someone about their rabbit & how mine had booty problems & how I cured it. Then I go out today & she has poo but all over again. Here is the story. I got her for my Daughter for X-mas. She had a horrible case of poo butt & I did not really know crap about rabbits. A friend suggested vetericyn spray 3x per day. I also gave cranberry juice in her water. It cleared up & she looked fine. I bred her & as everyone knows she she lost the litter. Then she had weird poops. All clumpy & then today the poo butt has returned. She was re-bred so she is pregnant. I separated her from the rest immediately & now am at a loss if she has something I can cure or will just keep returning. Will others catch it?<br /><br />__________ Tue Mar 20, 2012 4:50 pm __________<br /><br />She lost the litter cause he milk did not come in. She was very healthy when I bred her & she had the kits.

 

[ollitos]

Knowing next to nothing about rabbit digestion... maybe she needs more fiber? Honestly, I'd give her a few months without being pregnant or having a litter to get this resolved before breeding again. It seems like it could be a nutritional issue maybe?

 

[LadyKarli]

Well i re-bred her as soon as her litter passed & she was totally healthy then. She ALWAYS has hay to eat & a small cup of pellets every day. Also sometimes fresh grass. What diet should I try before I get rid of this sweet wonderful girl?? Quaker oats??? I'll do it. My Daughter loves her & I would love her kits to be viable!

 

[arachyd]

What are you feeding her? Definitely start giving some oats. They help a lot with drying up the back end. If you are giving her any greens eliminate them altogether for a couple of days and reintroduce them very slowly in tiny amounts.<br /><br />__________ Tue Mar 20, 2012 5:23 pm __________<br /><br />Sorry, we tried to post at the same time.

 

[LadyKarli]

Done. Anything to help my baby girl's little love.

 

[ladysown]

1. treat for coccidia if you haven't already
2. realize that some rabbits when pregnant it throws off their digestive system.
3. I don't ever recommend keeping rabbits with digestive issues ever. Not even their kits as it often leads to the problem repeating itself.
4. any reason why you can't keep her as a pet? breed her sure...but use her kits for the table or sell them strictly as pets.
5. oats is good to help dry up the poops.
6. check the quality of the feed you are using, but if you have other rabbits doing well on it, I would have issues thinking it was the feed.
7. my best guess at this point is pregnancy hormones are throwing her off, and she needs a lower protein diet and lots of hay/oats. I don't keep rabbits like that either. I want to breed and keep EASY keepers.

 

[LadyKarli]

Yeah she is just a pet really. Am not breeding her again I think.

 

[MaggieJ]

As the other posters have said, give her grass hay and kitchen oatmeal (like Quaker Old-Fashioned) and nothing else for a few days. This should help with the poopy butt.

There are greens that are helpful to stop diarrhea, but only feed them if you are confident you have the right ones. Stop feeding all others for the time being.
1. common plantain - Plantago major
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major
2. shepherd's purse - Capsella bursa-pastoris
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weedguid/shepherd.htm
3. leaves from UNSPSRAYED raspberry, blackberry or strawberry plants.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Also, some kind of probiotic paste like Probios or Bene Bac will help get her digestive system back in order...

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I wonder if she might have a blockage- that might explain the malformed poop (not enough moisture) and the diarrhea (blockage increased in size and now only "liquids" can pass). I don't know if anyone has tried Petromalt or similar remedies for cat's hairballs, but that may help, and of course pineapple.

A friend of mine has a pug dog that had chronic diarrhea, and nothing prescribed by the vet worked- her sister suggested feeding a TBSP of canned pumpkin daily, and that cleared the problem up. She freezes it in ice cube trays and just thaws one out everyday.

She is losing a lot of fluids, so dehydration is a concern as well. I would get some electrolytes into her. Other posters have mentioned that orange Gatorade is a favorite flavor among bunnies.

 

[MaggieJ]

I've heard of people using Petromalt for rabbits. Never needed it here, so cannot speak to its effectiveness.

The canned pumpkin is a very good idea. I had forgotten about it, but I've heard very good things about its effectiveness over the years. Make sure it is pure pumpkin and not a sweetened pumpkin pie filling.

 

[LadyKarli]

Well I gave her all the oats she could want & the next day she was spotless! Getting that I am pregnant so stay away from me attitude as well.