how to help a young bunny with soft cecotropes

[LeahM]

I have a 6 w/o bunny that I have been bottle feeding since day 3.  His mom was taking care of three of her babies but not the other three.  The two other babies died at days 5 and 7.  This bunny had several very close calls but seems to be doing well now.  I have been feeding him KMR mixed with heavy cream and acidophilus (intended for cats and dogs).  When he was very young I was feeding him twice a day.  Then, around 2 weeks old, he was completely lifeless and dehydrated because he wasn’t taking in enough food 2x per day so I decided I would feed him 3x a day because he was clearly going to starve if I didn’t.  During this time I took him to his mom daily to nurse on her.  I’m not sure if he has ever gotten any milk from her but he sucks like crazy and I figure if he even gets a drop, it’s better than none. 

He finally started growing with the 3x per day feeding and I only rescently (around 5 weeks) cut him back to 2x per day.  He is still about 1/2 the size of his siblings (who are with their mom) but he is very active and seemingly healthy.  Last week he has some soft poop for the first time that concerned me.  I now believe that it is soft cecotropes.  What I am reading is that this is often caused by an inappropriate diet.  At first I thought he was becoming intolerant to milk, so I eliminated the morning feeding, but he still got the soft poop that then returned to normal later in the day.

He currently has Oxbow young bunny pellets, alfalfa hay, and then a variety of greens throughout the day (parsley, bok choy, dandilions, and grass).  What I have read about  soft cecotropes is that I should basically eliminate everything but grass hay (which he has shown no interest in when I offered).  I am worried because he is still very small and has essentially no fat stored.  He can’t afford the “healthy” weight loss that is suggested will acompany a grass-hay diet. 

He also refused his milk this morning.  I’m thinking that if I take away his greens, he will probably be hungry again and drink his milk… would that be better? 

Things I’ve thought about trying…

— I’m going to go pick up some small animal (intended for bunnies) probiotics, and see if that helps. 

— I also want to try to collect some cecotropes from his mom or siblings but I have NEVER seen them in the cage, I assume they eat them immediately…. So how do I get them?

— Possibly remove his pellets and alfalfa?  This seems like such a risky idea.  I thought that bunnies were supposed to eat alfalfa and then transition to grass hay when they were older.  He really needs all the calories he can get.  Especially because he LOVE to run SO fast and is doing so very cutely right now!

— Stop giving him the fresh greens that he loves so much, perhaps with the exception of fresh grass.

— Maybe wean him off of milk?

 

I know this got very long!!!!    Thank you for reading!  Any words are greatly appreciated!!!!!

 

[Sam and Lady's Human]

If his diet is consistent, unlimited baby oxbow and alfalfa hay, I wouldn’t worry about it? It *might* be the greens, because he’s not getting the probiotics from his moms milk his stomach might not be ready to process it yet. Normally its recommended to introduce greens at 4 months if the mother wasn’t eating greens during gestation and while feeding. Since he couldn’t benefit from moms milk, I would cut out the greens and stick to pellets and hay until he’s about 4 months, and start to introduce very slowly again.

[LeahM]

Thanks for the quick reply!!  What do you think about continuing to give him fresh grass from the yard?  Skip that too?

Also, what do you think about trying to get him some cecotropes from one of his healthy family members?  Important?

Thank you again!!

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I would skip the grass from outside as well, just until he’s a little older

And cetotropes are super cool in that, they are individually tailored to each rabbits needs. I’d skip taking them from the family member because of that And he’s probably getting enough of his own, the cecils that you see are just the extras possibly caused by the greens. Cut the greens for a week and see if he improves

[LeahM]

ok, I will tell him you said so because he is already NOT happy with me

 

[Sam and Lady's Human]

LOL poor bun. Just give it a few days sans greens, it could be something else but the process of elimination will help!

[LeahM]

Frank Jr. says, “But WHY can’t I have another dandelion???”

[Monkeybun]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww baby! *snuggle snuggle* He looks so sad at not getting his nommies!

[bunnyfriend]

AWHHHHHHHH. I want to steal him! So sweet!

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Awwwww what a little squish!

[jerseygirl]

Oh, that little muffin bun just melts the heart! You’ve done well to get him along this far!

At this age they would naturally be coming off the milk. If he can still get the occasional feed of mum that would be most beneficial. You could cut down the feeds you give or just give a little of KMR + probiotic. Skip the cream if you’re still using that.

Are the cecals formed or mushy? Babies can overproduce formed cecals initially. If they’re mushy, i’d consider running some in to the vet for a test. He could have a bacterial overgrowth…

Some members here had trouble with alfalfa hay and alfalfa based pellets. Even though alfafa is recommended, it seems some young rabbits do better on timothy. The timothy pellets would provide some nutrition. So if veggies are the culprit, you may have to look at the alfalfa.

[LeahM]

Thank you so much!  I do feel really good that he has gotten this far!!

I’ve been reading that 6-8 weeks is when they wean so I was shooting for the longer range, as long as he was tolerating/accepting it.  And I will certainly continue taking him to his mom as long as he wants!!  He is so cute when he gets a wiff of her fuzz!!

I have another day of KMR mixed with cream already mixed but I am going to get another can of KMR today and just do that straight.  He has been having more of an appetite for milk since I took away the greens.

I don’t really know what a formed cecal should look like.  I would say that they are generally formed but some also stick to his butt.  And they are definately smooshy/wet looking but they aren’t just mush. 

Yesterday there was NO sign of any sticky/mushy poop at all!!!  YAY!!!  He did have a few bites of dandelion so perhaps it was just the quantity of greens he was eating, and too soon?  We’ll see how today goes.  I see he’s eating something out of his butt right now   And looks very happy about it!  Maybe it was just too much for him to handle.

Good to know about the alfalfa pellets too.  I want him to get the extra protien because he is still so small, but not if it is causing problems.

Oh man, he’s washing his face, I LOVE it when he does that… and his ears

 

Thank you (everyone) for the help.  I’ll keep you posted!

 

Here’s some more pictures on another thread:

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/119104/Default.aspx#271865

[LeahM]

Also, I was just reading about fly strike!!    Is there never a shortage of things to worry about?????  We have tons of flies in this house, the kind that buzz around the middle of the room and are totally annoying!  Ugh. 

[jerseygirl]

Cecals look like a little bunch of grapes. Darkish and shiny. Bit like caviar. lol
I suppose it’s possible it was soft fecal poop also. It’s good you’re seeing an improvement anyway.

{{{Frank Jr}}} He is impossibly sweet. I hope he thrives.

[LeahM]

So Frank Jr has had no fresh greens at all for 4 days.  Two of those days I didn’t notice any yucky poop at all, and two I did.  I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just because I hold him a lot and so he can’t eat it up right away and it ends up getting smooshed.  Though I did notice that the top of his box had what appeared to be smeared poop that had been licked up.  So IDK, it doesn’t seem like an emergency but maybe still not resolved. 

He is thriving right now.  His coat is shiny and smooth (he was so scruffy before!) and he is definately catching up to his syblings (in size)!!

 

 

 

Here he is on the 7th…. notice, still a little scruffy…

This was yesterday morning… looking like a BIG bunny

yesterday he even had some hoppy time at the river.  I think it was the first time he had ever touched the ground… as opposed to just the carpet

 

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Awww he is getting big!!

Just a sidebar, lots of us don’t recommend letting bunnies outside without some sort of covered pen, as unfortunately they make good snacks for birds I imagine that that river is basically a diner for birds of prey so I’d just be really cautious.

And again, I can’t believe how much hes thriving!!

[LeahM]

He wasn’t really free-ranging at the river. Mostly he was in my lap. I just wanted the photo op He was hopping around a bit, but he stayed so close to me, within inches. And there was nowhere for him to dart away and hide. Don’t worry, I am ridiculously over protective of Frank Jr!! I have ducks too, and I have had 2 attacks by what we believe was a great horned owl. So no, Frank Jr will probably never have unsupervised outdoor time!!

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Good to hear!! I just wanted to comment on it, jic. Even for the sake of others who may not realize the dangers of free-roam outside

[LBJ10]

OMG, I want to squeeze him!

[Author]

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