Every morning when I go check on our 5 week old bunny, there is always one pile of what looks like diahrea. However, all of her other poop is perfectly normal. It is hard to the touch and not squishy or anything. I guess what I\'m wondering is if that is diahrea or not because wouldn\'t all of her poop be the same?
I think what you are seeing is a cecotrope. These are also known as \"night feces\" (though rabbits can produce them anytime). They are of a different consistency than normal \"bunny marbles\". Rabbits actually consume them directly from the anus (copraphagy) and get extra nutrients this way (kind of like a cow chewing its cud).
If you are seeing the leavings of these cecotropes on a frequent basis, it could indicate a diet that is a little rich for your rabbit. 5 weeks is right on the cusp of being a bit young for a rabbit to be sold or given away as a pet.
What are you feeding your bunny? Do NOT feed greens or fruit at this age. I prefer to wait \'til the rabbit is 10 - 12 weeks old. Feed a good, basic 16% protein pellet with no added bits of fruits or dried veggies in it. Offer grass or Timothy hay at least 3x/week. You can give old-fashioned oatmeal (a pinch on top of the pellets once a day) for a treat.
Good luck.
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
the only thing i have fed her are pellets and timothy hay. she had been chewing on newspaper that was iin her litter box and wasnt sure if that was good or not so i took it out. Thanks a lot for your reply!!
Charlcie, would they do that more if they were pregnant for added nutrients? I was going to open a new thread on diarrhea but saw this one. My hopefull pregnant doe had a few squirts of this and I was concerned since she had the warbles last week -but seems to be healing fine. Can they \'get anything\' from having warbles, do you know?
None of my rabbits ever have noticable diarrhea. They\'ve all been inside away from the heat and she gets pellets and hay. I\'m careful with the greens -not a habit.
In treating the post-operative wound following removal of the warble, did the vet prescribe antibiotics? Often antibiotics will throw the balance off in the gut, which can result in diarrhea or the animal going off-feed. Pregnancy in and of itself shouldn\'t cause loose stools. Your diet sounds right.
I know I\'ve mentioned this product before, but I can\'t say enough good things about
Systemajuv.
The Rabbit Medicine Chest also makes a good probiotic that can help a rabbit get regulated again if they are having digestive disturbances. If interested, you can access the
Rabbit Medicine Chest via my Website (Links page). You will find a link on the left of their page that will take you to a page discussing diarrhea...
http://www.zodiacsatins.com/Links.html
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
She gave me a light antibiotic (since I thought she may be pregnant) for the external wound so none of it actually was ingested. She seems fine and definately hasn\'t gone off feed -oomp loompa! LOL She looks good considering her past problems this month!
I will certainly check out that link and add that product to \'my\' medicine chest -even if for future use.
I\'ll just watch and make sure it not reoccurring daily. This heat has a way of getting to all of us! Thanx