Hi, my suggestion is to first have a physical examination with a vet. Do you have a rabbit experienced vet in your area?

Has your bunny ever had a stool sample checked- I would recommend that- there are many intestinal parasites that can cause loose stool.

Also as per feeding I would follow the House Rabbit Society guidelines…….. if it not what you are doing currently don’t make any huge changes to get there- do it gradually unless advised differently by a vet.

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO…fault.aspx

How old is she? I know the young buns should have pellets, but I would really suggest that you try to put the pellets on hold for a few days to see how she reacts. Pellets can often be the cause of loose stools. And make sure that she gets tons of hay.

I’d also recommend you while having her on pellet-free days supplement her food with FibrePlex.

I created a thread not so long ago about one of my bunnies who had loose stools…coincidentally at the same time I had started feeding him pellets. What I did was put him on a strict hay diet. He didn’t get any veggies for three days, only hay, which he never used to eat at all. I mixed up his hay with raisins and meadow mix in the beginning to make him eat it, and after three days I began to feed some veggies in the evening. Meanwhile he also got FibrePlex. His stomach was completely fine again after 3-4 days.

Now he has actually become a hay eater. It is fantastic. And I haven’t had any problems at all…until Sunday when I gave them a tiny bit of pellets (you’d be amazed about the limited amount) and voila – diarrhea! So back to the hay diet, and he is fine again now, Tuesday evening.

Bottom line: keep an eye on those pellets. They aren’t always that good for some bunnies.

Coco has had bouts of poopybutt too – the first thing I have always done is to increase her hay – and decrease any sugar source ( like carrots and fruit) from her diet. We have stretches of time where she is on a pellet free diet. When Coco gets too many treats ( sugar) it seems to throw off her internal balance. Rabbits need more greens and Fiber, versus the carbs/sugars from fruit and some types of veg.

Rabbits will fuss about the switch. Coco did. She hated hay when I first got her – looked at it and me like I was CRAZY. She now dives in and digs through to find her fave bits. They believe they can wait you out if they refuse to eat. I decreased her pellets over a couple of weeks, while still offering Lots of Greens – but greens only, and Hay ( and I tried several different types, Botanical, Oat, Meadow, Orchard etc)

The other thing I have noticed with Coco is that when her anal glands get blocked – she gets that smeary poo bum syndrome. I don’t know why exactly and I have no real science or advice to back it up, but when I see smears, I check her glands.

My bun always has extra cecals when he gets too many treats. I would totally cut out carrots and fruits for a few days. The extra sugar in them can cause an over production of cecals.

Otherwise, everyeone else gave much better medical advice than I would 😉

It could be caused by any number of things, only a vet would be able to tell. Have him checked for parasites especially since his origin was unsanitary from what I understand.

Also, you might like to read the information in this link

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

Definitely definitely definitely get her spayed… there is an 80-85% chance for female bunnies to get uterine cancer by age 4 otherwise. That’s just not a risk I’d be willing to take with my bunny. If you find a good, rabbit-savvy vet, there shouldn’t be a problem having her spayed.

I would not recommend switching her to a hay only diet- drastic diet changes can be just as bad as poor diet.  What type of pellets do you feed her- brand name?  are they timothy based or alfalfa based.

I would still recommend getting her spayed- she is not too old at all.

See here for cleaning scent gland directions- 

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO…fault.aspx

I also agree with Katnipcrzy NOT to do a drastic change to hay only. There may be other things that are contributing so once you’ve answered some of the questions about her diet, we can help get to the bottom of it.

She’s lovely. She is definitely ready to be spayed, so I would find a vet you like for that, and talk to them about the poopy butt as well.

I actually take a different recommendation from the earlier posts above – I had learned that bananas can cause runny stools, so my first step would be to eliminate the treats, not the greens. A bunny will react this way to any radical change in diet (even a minor change) as Katnipcrzy and BB said, so that may be happening too. A diet of unlimited hay, small (1/8th cup) pellets that are timonthy based with no nuts or things mixed in, and a small handful of simple greens – I like romaine, green or red leaf lettuces – is a well rounded diet. Cutting out the fruits and treats is the best way to see a change, then step by step, cut back on pellets first and only then the greens if you don’t see an improvement. Actually, any diarrhea that lasts more than a day should be checked out by a vet immediately. Hope this helps and doesn’t confuse the issue.

{{{{{{{{{{healing vibes}}}}}}}}}}}}

It is really expensive to have a bunny spayed. But remember that it is worth all the money. You only have to pay for it once in your bunny’s lifetime and by doing it, you take away all risks of her getting cancer in the reproduction organs. Thus, you actually pay for having your bunny’s lifespan expanded.

Furthermore, any hormonal behaviour is removed, which will make her a much greater pet and it will be easier to litter train her.

I didn’t mean to suggest that she be pellet free ( and I hope that I didn’t sound that way). Even when I moved Coco ( and later Jackson) from the not so good pellets to the Oxbow, I did the 1/4 ratio movement – week 1: 1/4th new pellet to 3/4ths old pellets, week 2, 1/2 new to 1/2 old, until by week 4, she/they were transitioned.

She was also not a very good greens eater at first – having only had pellets all her life. Her first salads were very straightforward. Romaine, an herb ( usually mint) and dandelion. It took her a bit to figure out that Here it Was. This was her meal. I wouldn’t offer pellets until the evening when she had plenty of opportunity to eat the Hay or greens, because if the pellets were there, she would dive in nose first to THOSE and ignore everything else.

I do understand about the treats – I gave Coco those yogurt treats when I first got her and of course, she thought those were THE BOMB. Which made her look at me more strangely when I took them away. That treat aisle is very deceptive.

As to spaying – Yes, it is expensive…but very very worth it. Have you looked at the House Rabbit society list of rabbit savvy vets yet? Coco came in at about 350 dollars, in Montreal at the exotics Vet. It is important to have an rabbit experienced vet, as others will agree, as rabbits are different from your run of the mill Cat and Dog spay. However, the hormone changes and the litter improvement are vastly worth it. The vet can do a gland cleaning too for you and nails.

As far as sugar, I just know that when She ( in particular) gets alot of treats from the husband – I see smeary poo. He snuck her a chunk of watermelon last night….extra blob of cecals this morning. Jackson doesn’t seem to have a sensitive tummy in the same way, but she is an easy tell to know when too many goodies have come her way.

In fact, you’ve reminded me that it is time to have Jacksons teeth re-checked and I should call in for an appt!

I definitely recommend a search on the House Rabbit Society’s website, http://www.rabbit.org. They have a link for looking for a vet in your area, where you go to the page and enter your zip code I think. Maybe it’s listed by state instead. But there usually are about 4 vets near a major location and you can call them to compare.

A spay of a girl is more expensive than a neuter. I think I was quoted 250 but then I added some meds and a nail trim so it went higher. But she did really well, they used dissolving stitches so I didn’t have to bring her back, she stayed overnight so they could keep a close watch on her, and I now have great peace of mind. A spay usually ranges from around $120 – 450.

Glad you got the timmy pellets. The alfalfa is best for baby bunnies, and if she doesn’t like it, and prefers greens to pellets, you’re doing well.

Most bunnies prefer alfalfa pellets to timothy pellets- and switching them can take some time. Alfalfa is not a grass like timothy is- so it is more appealing to most animals- but not as appropriate for adult, non-breeding bunnies. Cotton tried to reject the new timothy pellets mixed into her alfalfa pellets when she was at the transistion stage- but I was consistent and now she eats Oxbow Timothy only- and not only that- she begs and dances for her pellets.

She is such a cute bunny! I think that cutting out the alfalfa pellets will help a lot, that is great that you are on a plan to switch her to timothy pellets. Also, if she is eating a lot of veg and not a lot of hay, that could be causes more mushy poops, so as you are encouraging her hay eating I think you will see a lot of improvement as well. I am also currently transitioning my bunnies off pellets because we have had a few bouts of stasis recently, so we are trying to encourage more hay eating by reducing pellets. My bunnies used to get one Tablespoon of pellets in the morning and one at night, now we have cut that down to a half Tablespoon in the morning and half at night. Eventually we are going to cut out the half Tablespoon at night.