Cecotropes During Day and Squashed Every Morning

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This topic has 13sd replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 9 months ago by HollandLopz.

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- 07/10/2017 at 6:04 PM
  HollandLopz
  Participant
  16 posts
  Hello! This is my first post ever on Binky Bunny, I have always been on here for problems other people have had though. My rabbits have lately been having a lot of cecotropes that they will not eat, a lot of them are during the day. They also always have squashed ones on the floor every morning when I check on them. I currently feed them Science Selective and they love it, but I am worried I might have to switch them. However, I have had the squashed cecotropes before with Oxbow and Kent. Let me know of any thoughts, thanks so much for your time!
  
  -HollandLopz
- 07/10/2017 at 7:57 PM
  Mikey
  Participant
  3186 posts
  Do they have unlimited hay? How much pellets are you feeding them?
- 07/10/2017 at 8:35 PM
  ThorBunny
  Participant
  824 posts
  Excess pellets or the wrong pellets can cause uneaten cecotropes, but it could also be that they are sensitive to some veggies you are giving them. Have you been feeding any new kinds of greens lately? If so it might be worth eliminating things one by one to see if anything is the culprit.
  
  Another thing that comes to mind is that sometimes buns don’t eat cecotropes due to not being able to properly reach around to their bum. If they are old it could be arthritis, or if they are a bit overweight they could be having trouble reaching! In either case it would be good to get them a vet checkup to see if they recommend a diet change or would prescribe anti-arthritis medications.
- 07/10/2017 at 9:52 PM
  HollandLopz
  Participant
  16 posts
  Hello Mikey, I do feed them unlimited Timothy Hay and I give them the recommendation for amount of pellets(2-2.5 oz). Thanks for your response!
- 07/10/2017 at 9:57 PM
  HollandLopz
  Participant
  16 posts
  Hello ThorBunny! We recently increased the amount of vegetables because I thought that may be the problem. My rabbits are 1 and almost 2, so arthritis most likely isn’t the problem. According to my vet they are the right size for their breed. Thank you for your response I will follow up with my vet as soon as possible.
- 07/10/2017 at 11:43 PM
  Mikey
  Participant
  3186 posts
  Hmmm.. If multiple pellets have caused this issue, they may not be able to digest pellets correctly. Some rabbits do need pellets cut out because their tummies cant handle it.
- 07/11/2017 at 6:23 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  I agree about pellets. It’s best to reduce those a bit first and see if it helps. Are they on a timothy or alfalfa (lucerne) based pellet? Is it a new bag you are on? (Sometimes the pellets vary seasonally).
  
  What about treats? Could anyone in the household be giving them treats you’re unaware of?
  
  Are the 2 rabbits together? If so, can you see if it is just one over producing cecotrophs? Or is one eating more then their share of the pellets?
- 07/11/2017 at 10:33 AM
  HollandLopz
  Participant
  16 posts
  Hello jerseygirl and mikey! I will try reducing their pellets, they are alfalfa based. I have heard that Alfalfa is good and bad, we recently did buy a new bag about a week ago. I don’t really own treats in my house except these Timothy Hay and Apple cubes, but I will make sure no one is feeding them treats. The two rabbits are together, it seems like it is both of them because yesterday I saw 6-8 cecotropes. It is possible that one may be eating more because they always want to eat the others food and push each other out of the way. If it did come down to maybe eliminating pellets from their diet, I have heard it can be very difficult to get all the nutrients they need, could you give me an idea of how to keep them healthy? Thanks so much for your response.
  -Holland Lopz
- 07/11/2017 at 11:27 AM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  Not sure if this is what is causing the problem, but they should really have timothy pellets. Alfalfa is for growing bunnies. It’s very possible the pellets are too rich for your bunnies. I suggest getting a bag of timothy and switching them very gradually.
- 07/11/2017 at 4:07 PM
  HollandLopz
  Participant
  16 posts
  Hello LittlePuffyTail! I will try that I am going to the pet store tonight and I will pick up some Timothy based pellets. Thanks so much for your response!
  -Holland Lopz
- 07/11/2017 at 7:40 PM
  Clem&M
  Participant
  138 posts
  I just wanted to add in my bunnies had this problem too when they were younger, and what fixed it for me was switching pellet brands we were using Walmart brand (very bad choice) which is why I limited it a lot, and switched to Oxbow and it fixed it. But I can’t speak for every bunny.
  
  But seeing as how they still get cecals with Oxbow pellets is surprising to me. I did temporarily also switch their hay to the Oxbow brand and it also helped.
- 07/11/2017 at 10:14 PM
  HollandLopz
  Participant
  16 posts
  Hello, thanks so much for everyone’s help. I reduced the pellets and they did not have any cecals during the day. However, I still have the squashed cecotropes so I am going to switch them on a Timothy Based Pellet and see if that helps. I will reply again if the issue remains. Thanks for your help everyone!
  -HollandLopz
- 07/12/2017 at 8:34 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Hopefully they’ll take to the timothy ones well. Some rabbits love the taste just as much as the alfalfa ones, and some are more fussy. But they come around.
  
  I did see that Supreme do a alfalfa/timothy pellet aimed for older rabbits. It looks good in regards to protein, fibre, fat – and is supposed to be low sugar. It also has some other beneficial ingredients. So if that’s a brand more readily available to you, those pellets might be worth a look.
  If only we could get sample size packets to try!
- 07/13/2017 at 10:44 AM
  HollandLopz
  Participant
  16 posts
  Hey jerseygirl! I was wondering if that would be okay, because it says it’s for 4 years+. Thanks for your reply!
  -HollandLopz
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