Bun Not Cleaning Up ‘Down There’ Properly

[peppercorn_factory]

Hi all!

My little Pepper has gotten lazy in the last 2 weeks and isn’t cleaning her butt properly.

So every few days I’m noticing some clumps of leftover poop and then it pains both of us when I have to either attempt removal or bathe her rear end.

Her diet has been improving lately and I’ve cut her right back on treats and pellets, and she’s eating mostly fresh greens and hay/grass.

She’s 1.2kg which is her full size now as a dwarf.

Any ideas on why she’s gotten a bit slap happy in the self-cleaning department? And any suggestions on how I can help her improve?! She never used to be like this, so not quite sure what’s happened.

Thanks!

Anna (Pepper’s human)

[Bam]

If a bunny produces excess cecals that get stuck to the rear and perhaps get fecals stuck in them too, the rabbit won’t want to eat them and then you get a build-up of sticky-poop. A healthier diet takes a bit of time to take effect, because the intestine, esp the cecum, needs to develop a microbial flora that can process all the roughage properly and extract all nutrients out of this more fiber-rich food, and that doesn’t happen overnight. 

I have one bun who can be very sloppy with his downstairs cleaning, so I always have to check him to see if there’s sth I have to pick out, sometimes even butt-bathe off. He’s not fat and he’s not geriatric although he’s getting on in years now, he always had this problem though. I’ve fairly recently started giving him a probiotic that has e faecium (nasty name but still good bacteria) in it, same as is in f ex Benebac, and it has really helped.

Edit: Keep up the better diet + possibly a probiotic suitable for bunnies,  if problem lingers you can have her poop checked for parasites. Here is an article from the HRS on Intermittent soft Cecotropes, the medical term for this condition. As you’ll find, a change in diet is the first action to take: ISC rabbits

[jerseygirl]

I agree with everything bam has written and encourage you to read the linked article.

You may also like to experiment with taking out certain greens one at a time. It may be one of those that is causing an upset. Some rabbits can have one or two things that just disagree with them. My friend has a rabbit that cannot have banana. It upsets his gut. All her other rabbits can eat it without trouble.
There’s lots of different foods that cause this for some rabbits, eg.cilantro (coriander) kale, celery… yet these are fine for the majority of rabbits.

ETA: is she still getting lucerne in her hay mix?

[Gina.Jenny]

Our first bun needed daily help keeping clean down there, and I ended up keeping the hair trimmed. I used one of those small battery powered ladies facial trimmers. It meant it was easier for her to do what she could, and quick wipe with a fragrance free baby wipe could deal with most problems. Even limiting her to a postage stamp sized potion of greens a day still meant an icky bum.

[peppercorn_factory]

Thanks to all of you for your very helpful comments, and that article was very informative.
It sounds like it will take some time to get her used to eating more hay, but I’m pretty persistent
I think I will limit the fresh greens that I give her, and since she’s still not eating a huge amount of hay (although better than she was) I might increase the amount of fresh picked grass that I give her, and see if that also helps. More fibre!
Yes she is eating a mix of lucerne and meadow hays, and does seem to nibble mostly on the lucerne. I know it’s not the most ideal of the hay varieties, but since she’s so picky with eating hay I don’t think I should take that one away just yet. Thoughts?
Baby wipes are a great idea, I’ll grab some of those today!

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