soft poop – update and more questions

[Sunny]

i made a post some time ago concerning Sienna’s soft cecotropes. since then i’ve been noticing some patterns and i’ve also added some Oxbow pellets into her diet so she’s actually receiving the extra nutrients i’ve been concerned about.

i’ve been realizing that when i feed less veggies (and less of a variety), her feces do become a bit tougher, but they’re also rather small. when i offer her more veggies (and more of a variety), they grow in size but are much softer. when she eats more greens, does she require more hay every day? is she just not ingesting enough hay in general? i always feed her less than a cup, by the way.

[DanaNM]

She sounds like she may not be eating enough hay in general. She should be eating a pile about the size of her body every day. If you smoosh a fecal, it should be mostly chewed up hay. 

Could her teeth be bothering her?  Or maybe the batch of hay you have now isn’t as fresh? 

. . . 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.  

[Deleted User]

When my bunnies get extra veggies they do poops normal size but they are a bit softer. I’ve always thought that it could just be the extra water from the veggies. I think as long as the poops are normal size/color and inside still look the same, it should be fine. But, if your bunny doesn’t eat much hay you need to get her to eat more. I give my bunnies a heaping pile in the AM and then again in the PM.

[joea64]

Posted By BunNoob on 8/28/2017 7:27 AM

When my bunnies get extra veggies they do poops normal size but they are a bit softer. I’ve always thought that it could just be the extra water from the veggies. I think as long as the poops are normal size/color and inside still look the same, it should be fine. But, if your bunny doesn’t eat much hay you need to get her to eat more. I give my bunnies a heaping pile in the AM and then again in the PM.

Same here (as I noted in another thread). I was actually thinking just a few minutes ago as to whether I should augment P&F’s diet by giving them a smaller bowl of salad in the morning to go along with their pellets, as I always worry they don’t get enough to eat, as vigorous as they are about chowing down, but I don’t want to risk doing anything to upset their tummies either, so ???

[Deleted User]

Posted By joea64 on 8/28/2017 7:37 AM

Posted By BunNoob on 8/28/2017 7:27 AM

When my bunnies get extra veggies they do poops normal size but they are a bit softer. I’ve always thought that it could just be the extra water from the veggies. I think as long as the poops are normal size/color and inside still look the same, it should be fine. But, if your bunny doesn’t eat much hay you need to get her to eat more. I give my bunnies a heaping pile in the AM and then again in the PM.

Same here (as I noted in another thread). I was actually thinking just a few minutes ago as to whether I should augment P&F’s diet by giving them a smaller bowl of salad in the morning to go along with their pellets, as I always worry they don’t get enough to eat, as vigorous as they are about chowing down, but I don’t want to risk doing anything to upset their tummies either, so ???

I think they are fine as long as the poops seem to be normal aside from additional moisture. Oh- I have been meaning to tell you! I remember us having several conversations about spring mix salads and where to buy them. I don’t know if you have a Sam’s club in your area, but I do and I just thought to check for spring mix salad there. I can get a 1lb plastic container for $4.69, which totally beats the grocery store price of $3.99 for a 5 oz bag… Just thought I would pass that along!

[joea64]

Posted By BunNoob on 8/28/2017 9:13 AM

Posted By joea64 on 8/28/2017 7:37 AM

Posted By BunNoob on 8/28/2017 7:27 AM

When my bunnies get extra veggies they do poops normal size but they are a bit softer. I’ve always thought that it could just be the extra water from the veggies. I think as long as the poops are normal size/color and inside still look the same, it should be fine. But, if your bunny doesn’t eat much hay you need to get her to eat more. I give my bunnies a heaping pile in the AM and then again in the PM.

Same here (as I noted in another thread). I was actually thinking just a few minutes ago as to whether I should augment P&F’s diet by giving them a smaller bowl of salad in the morning to go along with their pellets, as I always worry they don’t get enough to eat, as vigorous as they are about chowing down, but I don’t want to risk doing anything to upset their tummies either, so ???

I think they are fine as long as the poops seem to be normal aside from additional moisture. Oh- I have been meaning to tell you! I remember us having several conversations about spring mix salads and where to buy them. I don’t know if you have a Sam’s club in your area, but I do and I just thought to check for spring mix salad there. I can get a 1lb plastic container for $4.69, which totally beats the grocery store price of $3.99 for a 5 oz bag… Just thought I would pass that along!

There are two Sam’s Clubs in Northern Virginia, but neither of them is really convenient to where I live in Manassas; one of them is in Woodbridge, the other in Sterling, both at least half an hour’s drive away. The good news is that that’s not an issue since Walmart appears to have reduced the price on spring mix – I went to pick up the buns’ salad for the week yesterday morning and there’d been a price drop from $4.66 last week to, I think, $3.99 for 16-ounce containers.  Hard to beat that, and Panda and Fernando find that brand of spring mix scrumptious; they go after their big evening bowl with great gusto every day!

[Deleted User]

Oh that’s good! The Walmart in my town is atrocious……I try to avoid it at all costs lol. I shop at Publix so everything tends to be a bit more expensive there. But I loooveeeeeee Publix!!!!!

[Wick & Fable]

You can view veggies as mac&cheese, and hay as salad. While eating a lot of mac&cheese isn’t bad for you, when you eat more mac&cheese, you have much less of an appetite to eat salads; however, we all know it’s important to eat salads! If you increase how much mac&cheese you’re eating, attention and energy needs to be used to make sure you’re still eating salads too!

— So, in rabbit terms, it is difficult to encourage hay eating when a rabbit is offered an alternative, tastier item, like veggies, pellets, and treats, which is why the common method is to lessen one, two, or all of those items in quantity/frequency, as to force the rabbit to eat more hay. You can also adjust the presentation of the tastier items. If you do a pretty constant presentation throughout the day, your rabbit may be more likely just to wait it out to get that mac&cheese, rather than fill up on salad; however, if you only present in the morning, and at night, the entire day needs to be hay-based for your rabbit! That’s one suggestion.

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.

[joea64]

Posted By BunNoob on 8/28/2017 9:58 AM

Oh that’s good! The Walmart in my town is atrocious……I try to avoid it at all costs lol. I shop at Publix so everything tends to be a bit more expensive there. But I loooveeeeeee Publix!!!!!

I do most of my own (human) grocery shopping at Food Lion (I don’t think they’re in Florida now though they used to be), and they have Fresh Express spring mix there – sometimes. However, it’s prey to the $3.79 for 5 oz. bag problem.  A 16-oz. container lasts for four days or so, at least the first one I used did; I fill a bowl to heaping with spring mix, about equivalent, I think, to a four-cup measuring cup. Individual rabbits are supposed to get at least 1 cup greens per day up to 4 cups, so I think that works out to 2 cups or 2 (solid) ounces or so for each bun, which should be about right according to HRS; both buns are about 4 lbs. and HRS recommends 1 cup per 2 pounds of adult body weight.

[Sunny]

just now realized this post has some responses. i’ll see if i can get her to eat more hay somehow. i always thought she was getting enough every day, but i can see it being a thing.

[joea64]

Posted By Sunny on 9/10/2017 7:55 PM

just now realized this post has some responses. i’ll see if i can get her to eat more hay somehow. i always thought she was getting enough every day, but i can see it being a thing.

Try giving her a bunch of hay equal to her body size/volume twice a day and see how it goes. I do this with my own two buns and they nosh on the stuff very actively during their dawn and dusk hours (which sometimes irks me when I want to spend some time with them during their evening play hours but they’d rather eat hay instead! )

[Author]

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