Bunny Feeding question

[msbun]

Hello!  We are new to owning a 4 month old Holland Mini Lop.  He is not fixed yet but will be in a few months.  He has had a ton of wet/blackberry looking poops since we got him.  I know that these are his ceceil droppings but he has them like 3 times a day and they make a real mess!  Plus they get stuck in his fur.  I feed him hay and pellets unlimited.  Should I limit his pellets?  Will this pass with age? I would like to fix this as I am sure he does not like being cleaned off several times a day!  Any advice would be helpful.  Thanks.

[LittleBunnyPaws]

Babies do tend to poop cecils much more than adults do. When Midas was pooping a lot of cecils, I cut down on his pellets. It definitely worked, and he barely poops any cecils.

By the way, the cecils you are seeing are probably the ones that he didn’t eat, ew..

So yes, the cecils will pass with age, but if I were you, I would try cutting down on the pellets.

[litheandgraphic]

Also, are you feeding him Timothy hay pellets and Timothy hay as opposed to alfalfa? This shoud be the case if he’s at 4 months, so I’m assuming you’re doing that already. If so, cutting back slightly on pellets would be good. If you’re still on alfalfa, switch to Timothy hay immediately for both things.

[msbun]

I am feeding KAYTEE brand Fortified Daily Diet Supreme. I am not sure what timothy hay pellets are? He is eating Timothy Hay hay. Should I switch his food to something else? Also how much should I feed him? He maybe weighs 2 pounds. Thank you for your help! This new bunny owner is grateful!

[borken]

Check the ingredients on your pellets and see if they’re made with Alfalfa or Timothy meal. If you’re not sure, Oxbow makes pellets that specifically say young or adult. Some brands aren’t as clear. Also, make sure the pellets are high in fiber. They should say crude fiber 20% minimum.

[litheandgraphic]

Posted By msbun on 9/05/2014 11:44 AM
I am feeding KAYTEE brand Fortified Daily Diet Supreme. I am not sure what timothy hay pellets are? He is eating Timothy Hay hay. Should I switch his food to something else? Also how much should I feed him? He maybe weighs 2 pounds. Thank you for your help! This new bunny owner is grateful!

The Kaytee Fortified Supreme I believe is primarily alfalfa actually, but as [B]borken[/B] said, you can check the back of the bag to see the primary ingredients. If those pellets are primarily alfalfa, that would explain the excess cecals. At this age, you want the primary ingredient to be Timothy hay. Alfalfa meal will contain too much protein and too much fat for a bun of this age. Kaytee makes another Fortified Diet mix that is primarily Timothy, Orchard grass, and botanical hay, which is fine, but you’ll find a large number of rabbit owners, myself included, prefer Oxbow Bunny Basics Adult pellets due to its superior fiber content and 100% Timothy hay content. At this stage, the bun should be getting unlimited Timothy hay pellets.

[msbun]

That brand is not in any store around me! I can order it on amazon. So I should feed him unlimited of the timothy hay pellets or a certain amount per day? I just came home to a real mess in his hutch! 3 big piles of blackberry poos. Thank you all for your help!

[LittleBunnyPaws]

Certain amount. 1/8 cup a day per two pounds is how much you should feed him.

[msbun]

I went and bought different food. The first ingredient is Timothy hay. I hope this make things better! I will keep you posted! Someone said unlimited pellets and someone else said 1/8 of a cup per two pounds — which one is right? Thanks for your help!

[gingerg]

Msbun, different people have different strategies. I say just experiment and go with what works. For example, my bunnies were over-producing cecals when they were 3-4 months. I cut down their (alfalfa-based pellets) to 1/4 cup day (1/8 in the morning, 1/8 in the evening) and that eliminated the problem. I kept up giving them unlimited access timothy hay and they didn’t seem to be hungry.

That said, the House Rabbit Society says you are free to give unlimited pellets to a ‘teen’ rabbit up to 7 months old. http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/

My rabbits couldn’t seem to stop themselves from eating too much when I gave unlimited, so I restricted pellets. According to my exotic vet, they are perfectly healthy and at an excellent weight.

[msbun]

Thank you! It has been a few days and the poop problem is improving but not solved He is still pooping wet cecals a couple times a day and walking in them. Does it take time for the food change to adjust? I am giving 1/8 cup in the morning and 1/8 cup at night and unlimited hay. Is there anything else I should be doing? Messy poo is not fun for clean up!

[BunnyBrigade]

Are you still feeding him the alfalfa based pellets? Switching him to Timothy based pellets should work. Are you feeding him anything else? Like treats or fruit? Those can attribute to over production of cecals.

[msbun]

I switched his food to Timothy Based Pellets about 3 days ago – Should I have seen great improvement yet? No treats or fruit or even veggies yet. Just hay and pellets both Timothy. He seems like he wants more food than 1/4 cup a day (I split it up) – or maybe it is just me – I was free feeding alfalfa based pellets up until 3 days ago. He is 4 months old – maybe 2lbs he is a mini Holland lop. Thank you!!!!

[gingerg]

My buns stopped their overproduction of cecals almost immediately after I started restricting the pellets, so I’m not sure why your bun is still producing too many. I think there is a little bit of just being young going on there. Can you hold out another week and see? I wouldn’t be concerned, myself, unless my buns started looking thinner or had behavior changes (eg, not as energetic).

Regarding the hunger, my babies always attack the food (be it veggies, pellets or hay) as soon as I put fresh down. I would think they are hungry except 1) they’re gaining weight on schedule for their age, and 2) they don’t eat all the hay by the time I’m putting fresh down. So, I don’t think mine are hungry so much as excited to eat.

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