Is this normal poop?

[BunnyMunchkin]

This is kind of a gross question but I have only had my bunny for  week and this is my first time owning a bunny. Is this poop normal or should I be concerned? It is a bit squished on one end because he hopped on it 

He is 9 weeks old and currently eating unlimited hay and 1/2 cup of oxbow young rabbit.

[GeorgieTheBunny]

That’s a cecotrope, aka night feces!

Totally normal!

The only unusual and/or negative thing is that bunny didn’t eat them. Rabbits make 2 different kinds of poops, bunny “pills” and these cecotropes. The cecotropes come from the cecum but come out the same place as the rest, they NEED to be re-ingested for bunny to get the required nutrients. So never shoo bunny away from these – it’s important they eat them.

Binky Bunny has a link they’ve posted about poop hosted here : http://m.imgur.com/a/5N4lD

Check it out- great info and reference.

[LBJ10]

Totally normal. It isn’t unusual for young bunnies on a rich diet to miss a cecal or two. I wouldn’t be terribly worried unless they are getting stuck to his butt.

[BunnyMunchkin]

Thank you so much for the chart!! What happens if he doesn’t eat it? Is there a reason he wouldn’t be eating it?

[Benthebunny]

This is very normal. Sometimes my rabbit misses a small cecal but this is a large one. I have never seen a large one.

[BunnyMunchkin]

I don’t know if it makes a difference but when I got him a week ago he was on pen pals food and I have been mixing the oxbow with the pen pals a little at a time to transition him into just eating the oxbow pellets. He usually eats the entire 1/2 cup of pellets by the next morning.

[Q8bunny]

They eat it as a vitamin supplement of sorts.
On a rich diet, the odd missed one is no big deal. As he gets older, he’ll probably snack on them as they’re coming out and you’ll practically never see one again.

[GeorgieTheBunny]

I’ve never had a baby bunny, my girl George was almost exactly 1 year when I brought her home soooo I put trust in the forum leaders and Q8bunny here because of their lengthily and varied experience.

Looking back on my first comment there were a lot of never and always type comments; I was trying to drive home the idea that it’s not a “gross” – it’s healthy because most new bunny parents think poop eating is abnormal.

If I saw my adult rabbit Georgie making extra cecotropes it would indicate her diet is so rich she’s making extra and I need to cool it on the decedent meals.
Your situation is different from mine.

Think of your baby bunny as a newborn human: whole milk fattens a baby up in all the right ways for healthy growth. Baby bunny food is the same idea, it’s an abundance of everything they need, the result is not so much a chubby baby but some extra cecotropes.

You’re doing all the right things by monitoring and asking questions

[BunnyMunchkin]

I am starting to think it might be caused by me switching his food? I switched his food last Monday and starting gradually adding more of the oxbow and less of the pen pals. I didn’t notice any of these before and now it seems like I am finding some every morning and night. I did notice that the oxbow food had a lot more fiber than the food he was previously on. Other than the excess cecotropes he is acting completely normal, running around, playing in his tunnels, and always eating his pellets and hay.

[LBJ10]

I’m not familiar with pen pals. Is that Timothy or alfalfa-based?

[BunnyMunchkin]

It is alfalfa based. It looks to be a show type food? It has more protein than the oxbow but less fiber.

[Bam]

This is probably due to the food change. The bunny (as well as humans really, only buns are more sensitive) need bacteria in their gut to break down food and make all nutrients available to the body. Different food requires different bacteria in different proportions. You often see poop irregularities when you switch to a healthier food with more fiber. The bunny gut needs some time to adjust, but it will adjust.
Show type food is, as you’ve figured out, too rich in protein and low in fiber to be really healthy for a bun long term. Show bunnies need to look pretty to be shown, but ideally, healthy rabbit food is low cal and full of fiber.

As others have said, the poop you are seeing is normal. There’s just too much of it.

[BunnyMunchkin]

Posted By bam on 8/22/2016 3:58 PM

This is probably due to the food change. The bunny (as well as humans really, only buns are more sensitive) need bacteria in their gut to break down food and make all nutrients available to the body. Different food requires different bacteria in different proportions. You often see poop irregularities when you switch to a healthier food with more fiber. The bunny gut needs some time to adjust, but it will adjust.
Show type food is, as you’ve figured out, too rich in protein and low in fiber to be really healthy for a bun long term. Show bunnies need to look pretty to be shown, but ideally, healthy rabbit food is low cal and full of fiber.

As others have said, the poop you are seeing is normal. There’s just too much of it.

Thank you! That is a relief to hear, I just get to worried about him. This is all very new to me and I just want to make sure that I am doing the best for him and that he is healthy.  

[Author]

Messages