Holland & Poopy Bottoms

[ratmom]

Is it normal for a holland to have poopy buttsall the time. I know they have long hair, but I'm thinkingI'm going to have to trim it down there a lot. He's almost 2 years oldand I have him on a combination of purina complete plus and timothypellets mixed together. The last time it happened we had to soak hisbutt in the sink for a while, because the poo got hard as a rockandmatted in his hair down there. Any help would be greatlyappreciated

 

[Snuggys Mom]

My Fuzzy Lop has that problem because of excess cecotropes.

Does he have a lot of soft stools?

 

[ratmom]

No not really that I've noticed, most of themare nice and solid. Could that buildup be excess cecotropes then? Ialso forgot to mention he gets veggies everydaytoo

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Cut down on the veggies, especially lettuce and see if that helps.

Is he overweight? Sometimes they just can't get down there to clean and it builds up.

 

[ratmom]

We give him collards everyday andsometimes we mix other stuff in it like parsley, cilantro or a tinypiece of fruit, depends on what I find at the grocery store. He's notoverweight either he's under 4lbs and he cleans down there all thetime.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Collard greens are higher in calcium and protein than things like Romaine or dark leaf lettuce.

I wouldn't give collard greens (or mustard/turnip greens) everyday. The extra protein can contribute to excess cecals andthe extra calcium can lead to urinary problems.

Do you know the protein content of the pellets you use?

 

[naturestee]

Could you switch him to only timothypellets? He might be sensitive to the protein in the alfalfapellets. That has more than vegetables, although if he's verysensitive then you might have to be more careful with vegetables too.

 

[ratmom]

Well shoot I thought collards were good forthem. What other kinds of veggies then can I feed him that would be ok.The protein for the purina is 16% and the timothy I'm not sure I thinkit's oxbow. I'll slowly switch him over to the timothy too then and seehow he does. He gets bite size shredded wheat &cheerios occasionally as a treat is that bad too? I read that is was okon a texas holland lopclub website.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Mine all get an occasional shredded wheat and a pinch of rolled oats daily.

The protein for Oxbow (Timothy based) pellets is a littlelower. Just make sure it has the "T" on thepackage. They also sell alfalfa pellets in a similar package.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Oh, I forgot to answer your otherquestion.

Dark leafy lettuces are good (not iceberg). Cilantro is alsogood. Parsley is okay once in a while, but I think it's highin calcium.

There are some vegetable lists here in the "sticky" section with nutritional values.

 

[ratmom]

I do the rolled oats also, but notdaily. Is there a certain amount of pellets we should begiving him a day? Normally it's 1/4 cup a day sometimes alittle more. He started slowing down on eating the timothyhay and I bought some orchard grass and he goes crazy for that. I needto find a better source for timothy I think, because it was kayteetimothy hay. Also if I feed him the dark leafy lettuces can Igive him that everyday or just stick with every other day or so?

Thanks for the help guysand putting up with me & all my questions lol

 

[naturestee]

Some rabbits are more sensitive to certainveggies than others. Collards are good for rabbits that don'thave issues with calcium. I have protein-sensitive buns andthey do fine with high protein veggies, it's just pellets and alfalfathat cause their problems. It's more concentratedthere. But that doesn't mean that your rabbit isn't sensitiveto collards.

I'm actually growing collards in the garden just for the buns. But like I said, mine are fine with them.

There's lots of info, including numerous safe bunny veggie lists, in the Bunny 101 thread:

Vegetables

 

[naturestee]

The amount of veggies and pellets you feeddepends on the bun. I feed about 1.5 cups of veggies a day toeach of my (small) buns, but some do better with more, less, or noveggies. 1/4 cup of pellets sounds like a good start.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Glad to help! It's nice when folkslike you care enough to ask questions and make an effort to do what'sbest for their animals.

Here's a good place to go for more info:

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12046&forum_id=17

 

[ratmom]

You guys are wonderful thank you somuch.I've been owned by rats for over 11 years now andgetting a completely different animal is a whole new learningexperience for us. Of course I didn't plan on getting a bunny, but wefound him as a stray well over a year ago and fell in love with him:bunnyheartThank you for the links I will go and do somereading now

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I just went back and found some pics of your Wilbur.

He is SOOOOOO adorable!!!

:inlove:


*Edited for spelling

 

[pamnock]

Along with the diet changes, try trimming excessfur from around his butt and apply a very small amount of vaselinedaily, which will help to keep poops from sticking.

If he's outside, daily checks must be made due to the danger of fly strike. (Also a problem indoors if there are flies).



Pam

 

[ratmom]

Thanks, he's a cutie. I still can't believe someone just let him go like they did.

The more I go through these links, I think it's his cecotropes that arebuilding up down there.Then when we cleaned it down theretonight he has a ball of matted fur down there right below his tail, IfI can't trim it I will take him to the vet and have them do it for me.

 

[kenna]

My holland buck has the same problem.He's on Purina Rabbit Chow and freefed timothy hay. We trimdown there and bathe him when needed, but it clogs up without failallll the time. His stool is solid and normal, so it's just acase of checking him everyday and keeping it all clear.

He's not overweight and is a pretty clean rabbit, also.

 

[ratmom]

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one, we finally switched him to all timothy pellets and no more collards so I'm hoping things get better