Help: Oval Poop

[GeorgieTheBunny]

Georgie, the cutie in my avatar, has been making oval poops all day, possibly last night too but I can’t be sure (I think so).

I did a lot of research about rabbits before bringing a bun into my life; it rang alarm bells when I saw a box full of these poops.

l

I don’t think I see a normal poop amongst these ovals. Georgie is a mini rex! She’s 1 year 2 months old and was fixed before I adopted her. She weighs 3.3 lbs aka 1.5kg. 

She isn’t the right breed for megacolon and is eating hay today like a tiny champion. I checked her tummy to see if she has bloat, I don’t think so but I’ve never felt her tummy for this reason before.

I did scare her this morning though:

I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and neglected to change her litter in the am as I usually do. I asked my bf to change it (it was late before I thought of it) but it’s a matter of having to take the box to the laundry room in the building and going to the garbage shoot – blablabla. He didn’t do it either. I went to bed early, he stayed up watching her; I awoke to a dry puddle and poops behind the front door in the am. Grumble, I went and gently “captured” Georgie. I take her to the puddle for her to smell, say no, and put in her a pen as part of the Peeing out of place training. It was upsetting for her, she ran from me and wanted away rather than picked up. I think she neglects her litter when it isn’t kept to her standard. When I put her in the pen she protest peed, I tidied it and showed her the soaked towel before putting it in her litter; because of that, for the first time she growled and boxed me .

Other notes:

• She is shedding
• I’ve been giving her raisins (cranberry raisins)
• She eats oxbow orchard grass (hay fever allergies in the house)
• 1/8 cup of Martin brand Little friends™ TIMOTHY ADULT Rabbit Food in a day
• 3/4-1 cup of romaine at breakfast and dinner 

Maybe she was getting too many treats? I was cutting the craisins up into smaller pieces and using them as please don’t hate me for grooming you treats. Maybe too many? (like 4 or 5 ) I usually go light on special treats but I’m having to groom her a lot more then usual. 

What do I do?  How ~ is the situation? 

[GeorgieTheBunny]

Since taking that last photo she has pooped beside her box annnnd we have a round one!

That’s a good sign right? 

I have a fair bit of ‘book smarts’ on rabbits – not any experience with this type of issue yet. Advice? 

[Benthebunny]

Ben does this sometimes. He scares me Right now, he is doing longer weird shaped poops But he has been neglecting hay a bit, but i put pellets in his hay rack, he eats all of the hay, so that is great. Right jow, increase hay.

[Mikey]

Having a rabbit smell where they go will only train them to go in that spot again. For reference so you dont do it again Many rabbits need clean litter in order to feel comfortable going. You wouldnt use a toilet that hasnt been flushed for a few rounds, would you? You also forcing her face down/towards the toileting is a sign of aggression towards rabbits. To her, you attacked her. Soaking the urine and picking up the poops to put into the litter box is a good idea, but if she already litter trained and only refuses to go when it is dirty, you will need to get used to cleaning it more often, and/or getting her another litter box

Youll want to cut back on the raisins. Any kinds of raisins are high in sugar and can upset a buns tummy. Shedding can also cause abnormal poops. I wouldnt worry about the shape too much, unless it happens for more than a week or you see them get smaller/she stops pooping all together

[Azerane]

It could be the shedding or the raisins, especially cranberry raisins because they almost always have added sugar in addition to the natural sugar content. The shape, while not standard isn’t too alarming, things just slowed down a tiny bit, but not so much that it’s cause for alarm. It’s possible that some hair passing through just slowed things down a little. As Mikey mentioned, things should go back to normal and it’s unlikely you’ll see it continue. Don’t worry, it’s not megacolon

[GeorgieTheBunny]

Thank you for the answers guys  

Calming about the poop now 
I typically visit the BB forums on my tablet – I booted my laptop to be able to reliably upload those images; I was concerned.

@Mikey: So much of litter training focuses on initial training… litter in a corner, put hay in there, relocate accidents to the box – but so little focus on “retraining”. I didn’t know that showing the puddle to her would be aggression, it makes sense though. I had seen that as advice somewhere. How do I connect, in Georgie’s mind, that tinkle out of place is the reason you are now in the timeout pen?

[Bam]

The only possible way for her to make that connection is if you immediately, and that’s immediately like while it’s on-going, take her and put her in the box. Same way you do with a puppy only you take the puppy outside, pee dripping if it has to. But gently and NOT as any form of punishment -you praise and reward each time the little one does its business outside (or in your case, in the box).
I had to use this method with my Bam, who was an adult and not litter-trained when I got him.

[GeorgieTheBunny]

@bam this is going to take some planning

A second box that’s easily accessible to humans (Georgie’s current box is inside her cage and it isn’t easy to put her in it), some picking-up Georgie safely drills for my bf…

I’m on it

[LittlePuffyTail]

My Sterling’s poops pretty much always look like that. It’s obviously normal for him because he’s been like that since we got him and is fine otherwise. I call them his “Easter Eggs” since he looks just like the Cadbury Bunny.

[Author]

Messages