soft stools with hay in them

[cainan]

Please help!

I’m a brand new bunny owner – got my little girl on Saturday.  She’s happy, eating well (hay, veggies, pellets), and playing and all that, but I noticed that her poop is a little soft (slightly soft if you squish it between your fingers).  I figured that it might be that I gave her some kale which I don’t think she’d ever had before.  (OMG I think she just now did her first binky!)  I have noticed that it seems lies she hasn’t been drinking much water if at all, but I can’t really tell.

Weirder still is that some of her poops look kind of like barbells – two pops joined together with a piece of hay joining them.

What should I do??

 

cheers

alex

[jerseygirl]

Welcome Alex
Just some questions for you. How old is your bunny? Are you feeding her the same diet she was on before you got her?

Sometimes poop is strung together by undigested plant material and hair. Especially when rabbits are molting. Best thing is to provide plenty of fibrous hay and keep them well hydrated.

Do you use a water bottle or a crock of water? You can offer both and see which one she prefers.

[cainan]

Hi, thanks for the response!

She’s 3 1/2 – and yes, I’ve been feeding her what her foster-mom was (with the exception of the kale) – 1/8c. morn and eve of kaytee timothy pellets, 2 c. morn and eve of greens (lettuce and then parsley, escarole, etc. – she’s been getting parsley). Morn = thin slice banana and eve = thin slice apple or pear. Bedtime is 2 papaya enzyme pellets.

She’s got tons of hay and I know she’s eating it – oxbow timothy and then some local hay from foster-mom.

It’s a crock of water – that’s what she had then. Foster-mom did tell me that she didn’t pee a lot. I’ll buy a bottle and see if maybe she tries that.

Should I go to an all hay diet for a day or two, or eliminate anything?

thanks so much! She seems so happy otherwise – 5 binkies (first time!) this morning alone!

alex

[jerseygirl]

It might be what her poop is often like. It sounds like you got great hand over info from her foster mum.

With water, it does vary bunny to bunny. If she’s getting veg then that’s probably giving her enough fluids. Usually they opt for a bowl over a bottle but you never do know. Won’t hurt to offer both.

Personally I don’t think it warrants putting her on all hay and it does sound like she’s active, happy and eating well. I can tell you are going to be a great bunny parent if you’re already doing poop squish tests. lol

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Hi cainan! PICTURES PLZ THX!

: D

I’ve actually heard from a bunch of bunny parents that, while their bunnies loved kale sosososo much, it gave them serious GI problems, especially over time.

The House Rabbit Society suggests kale only 1-3 times a week, but from the stories I’ve heard I just leave it out entirely when it comes to our buns’ diet.

I giggled a little at the mental image of a poop barbell, lol

[cainan]

Sounds like it may have been the kale – so I’ll definitely eliminate it.  And yes, her foster-mom was great – she rescued Merry 2 years ago and the poor little baby was injured and needed surgery, etc. etc. so I know that it was really hard for her to say good bye.  Foster-mom said that Merry could be a little bit of a “growly girl” but so far she’s been a total snugglebun and has only yelled at me once.   LOL and barbells were really the only way I could describe it – I was doing the poop squish test along with the “what’s holding it together test” (hay).  hee hee

I’ve attached pics – hopefully you can see them.

    

 

thanks again for the help!!!

 

[LizzieKnittyBun]

EEE! She’s such a cutiepie! Let us know if the barbells clear up!

: D

[RabbitPam]

She’s very pretty, and reminds me of my Samantha, so maybe the growlies go with the girls of their breed?
The strings of poos should have improved by now. How is she today?

If the soft poos have a smell, they could be her cecals, too.

[cainan]

Aww, they do look alike!

I noticed one barbell last night – this morning some of her stuff was squishy, some was normal.  She’s still eating hay like a monster, and seems happy and healthy.

If stuff is still squishy when I get home… what should I do?

[cainan]

p.s. not stinky at all – normal balls that are squishy. Sometimes two balls joined by hay to form the barbell.

[cainan]

I was also just thinking, after looking at other posts/sites… did I misinterpret her instructions on feeding?
Should it be 1/8 c. pellets for the WHOLE day? Not 1/8c. morn and then another 1/8c. eve…

eek, it’s hard being a new bunny mama!

[Sarita]

Yes, 1/8 cup per day – however, I probably would not fill or would adjust the amount of she doesn’t eat the whole 1/8 cup.

[cainan]

oh boy, could that have done it? I’ve been giving her 1/8c. twice a day!

[Sarita]

Let us know how it goes with the adjusted pellets – she may not be happy though!

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Just make sure that, if you do lower pellets, do it veeeeeeeery gradually

: D

[jerseygirl]

Can you check back with her foster carer about the pellet quantity?

[cainan]

She had a string of pearls last night… I did a really good job of brushing her after that. Email was sent to foster mom. Thanks for the advice on weening!

[cainan]

Okee dokee, heard back from Foster Mom, and she said it really is a scant 1/8 c. of pellets 2x a day. She suggested that maybe it’s the lettuce I’m feeding her? They’re definitely still soft…

[Author]

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