large poop?

[graysonbun]

Hi everyone, hope you’re all doing well!

lately, my Netherland Dwarf ollie has been producing larger, egg-sized poops – if everything else is normal should I be concerned? I’ve seen no change in behavior. I’m thinking it may be a molt but it honestly doesn’t even look like he’s losing any fur, but I have seen a few droppings strung together with fur as well.

my boys at the moment are eating small pet select 2nd cut timothy, it’s a really good quality box, but it is a bit on the leafier side in my opinion, could this have something to do with it? 

should I cut back on the veggies/pellets for a while and see if anything changes? at the moment he gets a handful of pellets scattered in the morning and evening, and usually gets a handful of mixed greens in the afternoon. I’m wondering if he’s just not eating enough hay. The poops are a dry consistency, but a few of them have been a bit more moist than usual.

what do larger oval sized poops usually mean? Is this something I should be concerned about?

thanks in advance for any thoughts on this!!!

[Wick & Fable]

If you’re not too squeamish about it, I would break open the poops. I have found that when Wick is going through a shed, some of his poops are affected. You have the normal string of pearls, but then you have ones that are just large and when I break them, there’s a clump of fur inside.

There is a condition called megacolon in rabbits. I do not have personal experience with it, but there is a lot of information online.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Mega/mega_en.htm

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Bam]

Larger oval-sized poops means a slight gut slowdown. It’s good you’re being observant. I’d break open a poop like Wick suggests. As a rabbit owner, it’s good if you can overcome any rabbit poop-squeamishness you might have, because honestly, rabbit poop is one of the best tools we have for assessing a bun’s health =D =D =D

When I see string of beads poop, I brush my rabbit. If your rabbits are normal-haired, you can finish each brushing session with lint rolling. It’s generally well accepted by the rabbit and it gets rid of lot of loose hairs that evade a brush or comb. It’s not good for long-haired buns though, for obvious reasons.

Sometimes a change in diet, such as the introduction of new greens or a larger amount of greens can cause poop irregularities. In that case, it’s not something to worry about. Darker poop indicates higher moisture content, and that is common when a bun gets fresh greens. Even wild rabbits have dark poop in the summer when they eat fresh grass. (Yes, I do go around and look at wild rabbit poop =D)

[graysonbun]

thanks wick and bam!!

i’m not squeamish at all when it comes to rabbit poop, i’ve had rabbits for so long now that i actually am quite interested in it lol, like you said it’s a really good key to knowing if everything is okay with their health!

i broke open a few of ollie’s poops and it seems like there was quite a bit of fur in the larger ones, so i think he may be going through a molt, and after seeing another string of poops i brushed him for quite a while and got quite a bit of fur off of him! i’m hoping this is the problem!

i haven’t changed anything in their diet recently. but like you said bam i have noticed especially with my other rabbit, sometimes
different leafy greens make their poop look different!

thank you both for your help!!

[Bam]

Seems very likely that this is a moult issue, and that brushing him will help =) During a moult, you can serve him his greens freshly rinsed and dripping wet for extra water, because that helps the intestinal contents to move through.

[Author]

Messages