soft poo… HELP!!!

[x liddo bunny x]

my bun has been pooing soft, very dark pellets (not as big as normal ones). and they are usually all clumped together. sometimes they are so clumped up it looks like a big food pellet but u can still see the individual ones. is this bad? i know diarrhea is bad but it is not quite diarrhea. only thing shes had are pellets, hay and the once a day cherrios as a snack. please help.

[osprey]

This sounds to me like excess cecal pellets, or "night feces" as they are sometimes known.  Can you give us more information about the diet of this bunny?  What sort of foods does it get and how much is fed?  Many times these loose poops are caused by excess calories in the diet, like lots of alfalfa, or maybe too many carrots.

Cecals are pretty easy to detect, they are a little stinky, they are soft, and they often look like small clusters of grapes.  Does this sound like what you are seeing?

[x liddo bunny x]

yes that is what they look like, and yes, they do smell. well i asked someone on what i should feed my bun and they said alfalfa hay and alfalfa based pellets so that was what i am feeding my bun (9 weeks old) but when i first got her i was feeding her regular pellets and timothy hay but they said that because she is a growing bun, she needs alfalfa so thats what i gave her. but since then, ive kinda mixed a little bit of the alfalfa with the timothy to see if she gets better. anything else you need to know?

[osprey]

This sure sounds to me like the bun’s system is taking some time getting adjusted to the change in diet.  Is the bun acting sick any other way?  Eating and drinking OK?  If not, the bun should adapt to the higher calorie diet.  We usually recommend alfalfa hay and pellets for babies until they are 6 months old, then gradually change over to a fully timoth pellet/grass hay diet by a year.

As always, if you think the bun is in distress or stoips eating, get it to a vet ASAP.

[Gravehearted]

Are you only seeing the loose poops in the morning? If they look somewhat like a cluster of tiny grapes, then they are cecal pellets that Osprey was telling you about.

If diarrhea is continuing throughout the day, I would recommend taking your bunny to a rabbit savvy vet. Diarrhea is pretty serious business – and can be indicative of your bunny being weaned too young (which can cause serious health issues) or possibly an internal parasite.

here is a list of rabbit savvy vets in southern California: http://www.bunnyluv.org/veterinarians.htm

one thing to think about it the brand of alfalfa pellets you are feeding. some have little seeds, bananas or just are high in sugar. I’d recommend trying oxbow brand bunny basics pellets.

[x liddo bunny x]

i dont think it is diarreha but it does look like the cluster of grapes. but she hasnt been doing that lately. i took the alfalfa hay out of her diet and it seemed to have done the trick, however, i do put some here and there so she can still get her nutrients but not all alfalfa. she is still getting her alfalfa pellets. however, i havent been able to find oxbow at the pet store near my home but i found something else. it is supposed to be a balenced diet for bunnies for all ages and is alfalfa based but does not have the excess nuts and bananas and carrots my friend had bought something like that originally but i returned it because i didnt think it was correct for my bunnies. looked more like gerbil food even though it had a bunny on the front. now she is not doing that anymore and has normal poo, however, they seem to be pooing alot lately. maybe they are getting more comfey? its funny cuz now i can tell whos poop is whos because one of my buns picked up on the litter box and the other one hasnt so one poos in the litterbox and the other poos next to it.

thank you. they are doing well now. maybe because the person who raised them fed them timothy hay instead of alfalfa so i probably have to mix it with alfalfa.

[osprey]

Well fed and healthy bunnies poop A LOT.  As long as the poops are hard, not smelly and well formed (little balls not big unformed masses) your bunny is pooping properly.  A rabbit’s digestive system is built to process a lot of low calorie/high fiber plant material, so they produce a lot of waste.  Here is an excellent article that goes into great detail about rabbit droppings: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

[MooBunnay]

Hi Carolyn! I just wanted to say welcome and good choice on joining BinkyBunny – we’ve written back and forth a couple times on email (Betsy from the Foundation for the Protection of Companion Animals!), I’m glad you are posting here because there are so many people that can answer your questions.  Your buns are super cute, good luck with everything!

[Lucy]

i noticed on your first post that you were giving them cheerios once a day as a snack.. that’s not a good thing. bunnies shouldn’t eat stuff like that- though I know if a chip crumb will fall on the floor fujoe will be off with in a second.

try giving them a little piece of carrot as a snack or a tiny piece of fruit- but don’t do it everyday- your in cali- you have lots of fresh herbs that you can get for really cheap that will be a snack to them like mint or rosemary or basil

i have these oxbow carrot treats (which you can get on this site) that initally my bunny hated, but now goes crazy for. opt for something a little healthier than cheerios. good luck!

[x liddo bunny x]

really? i remember reading the bunny diet site (i think they have a link here) that says cheerios are better for a young bunny than introducing it to fresh greens too soon. because well when i got them they were 9 weeks old, now they are about 10 weeks old (12 weeks is when u should start introducing them to fresh greens a bit at a time) and they recommended plain cheerios (same case with some hamsters) am i truly wrong? i don’t want them to be introduced to greens too soon. i tried a week ago but they did not do so well with it. so i took it away. i do not want to give my bun something bad for them. however, it is doing well with them. the grape looking poo is close to none. giving them cheerios is helping me with training them as well. they are less scared when i pick them up to move them or clean the occasional crust on their eyes, brushing them or when i was clipping their nails. =)

please let me know so i can change their diet. =)

[x liddo bunny x]

hey Betsy!!! sorry i forgot to e-mail you about my account name. cant believe you found me. but i am glad you did and i am glad that you told me about binkybunny.com because i am having a blast on this forum. (i think i am addicted) when people see me on a bunny forum they kind chuckle but i dont care. it just means i love my buns that much. ^ ^ hope they love me too.

[x liddo bunny x]

how funny, i forgot my name is my signature….. – -” i can be so funny sometimes.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By xliddobunnyx on 04/06/2007 12:10 AM
really? i remember reading the bunny diet site (i think they have a link here) that says cheerios are better for a young bunny than introducing it to fresh greens too soon. because well when i got them they were 9 weeks old, now they are about 10 weeks old (12 weeks is when u should start introducing them to fresh greens a bit at a time) and they recommended plain cheerios (same case with some hamsters) am i truly wrong? i don’t want them to be introduced to greens too soon. i tried a week ago but they did not do so well with it. so i took it away. i do not want to give my bun something bad for them. however, it is doing well with them. the grape looking poo is close to none. giving them cheerios is helping me with training them as well. they are less scared when i pick them up to move them or clean the occasional crust on their eyes, brushing them or when i was clipping their nails. =)

please let me know so i can change their diet. =)

Fujoe is right about the cheerios.   And you are also right about waiting to introduce greens until 12 weeks.

Here is an excerpt from a House Rabbit Society article that mentions to be careful feeding Cheerios: 

"Do not feed grains such as oats, corn, wheat, crackers, Cheerios, bread, crackers, pasta, etc. There is research to suggest that high starch and low fiber diets may be two of the contributing factors to often fatal cases of enterotoxemia. Enterotoxemia can be caused by changes in cecal pH resulting in the overgrowth of certain bacteria that produce dangerous iota toxins that when absorbed into the body ultimately lead to death. I know the bunnies love this stuff and in small amounts, and in adult rabbits it wouldn’t normally be a problem, but often clients overdo and it may result in serious GIT disease."  SOURCE: http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/diet/rabbit_GI_physiology.html

So, if you are using them for training, you may need to be very careful about how much they are actually getting.  

A better treat might be an alfalfa cube or you could cut the cubes to smaller bits, or use their own alfalfa pellets to train during the time when you think they would be the most hungry.

Out of curiosity, how is training going? What are you actually doing and how quickly are they catching on.  I know baby bunnies can be much harder to train, but it looks like you are having some positive results, so share the details! 

[x liddo bunny x]

well now they are doing well, however, they seem to use most of the cage as a litterbox (near the litterbox) but when i take them out they dont really poo and pee anywhere else. my shy bun likes the bathroom. she may not look like it but as she gets more comfey with the house she goes in the litterbox really well. as for my other one…… any box and near hay. she is the one that likes to go near the litter box. not exactly in but near. or wherever she has hay. =P silly bun. but hopefully she will catch on later. i am trying the treat (tiny leaf of mint, about a cm) in the litter box and she seems to like that but still the poo near the litterbox (only been a day though) but NO MORE CHEERIOS. thanks. =) better tell the lady that told me i could.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By xliddobunnyx on 04/11/2007 12:18 AM
well now they are doing well, however, they seem to use most of the cage as a litterbox (near the litterbox) but when i take them out they dont really poo and pee anywhere else.

Hey, now that is very good, especially for a young bunny!  Good for you.   Are they doing pile poops right outside of their litterbox, or scattered poops?  Also do they urinate outside of the box?  I don’t know how big their space is right now, but you may try adding a second litterbox and see if that helps.  And then once they are going in both litterboxes for awhile, you can try and take one away and see if they are actually "box trained" not area trained.

[x liddo bunny x]

Hey, now that is very good, especially for a young bunny! Good for you. Are they doing pile poops right outside of their litterbox, or scattered poops? Also do they urinate outside of the box? I don’t know how big their space is right now, but you may try adding a second litterbox and see if that helps. And then once they are going in both litterboxes for awhile, you can try and take one away and see if they are actually “box trained” not area trained.

it is sorta like a pile of poop outside the litter box. they dont have a ton of space because they are kinda in a cage right now. i should take a pic of it next time but i do let them run about my living room. and so far they have not peed on my carpet. however, occasionally they like to pee and poo in places that look like a litterbox, for example, i have a paper lid and i put a towel over it to give them a comfy place for them to lounge but my bun mochi peed and pooed in it. =P and often times while outside their cage they would poo. my bun emo, when she is scared she poos as she runs so now i just started squerting them however it makes them fear me a little which i dont like. so i try to earn their trust again after. emo likes that surprisingly. she would let me wipe the water off of her and fluff her fur. but sometimes that doesnt work.

[BinkyBunny]

Do they use the box together?  Or if one is in, will the other be forced to poo outside of the box?  Could that be what’s happening?

[x liddo bunny x]

hmmmm that actually might be the case. when i finally gather all the material to create their new bunny condo, ill have to be sure to get a bigger litterbox. thank you. i never thought of that. that might be addign to the problem of them pooing next to the litterbox.

[Author]

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