Leafy hays, mushy poops

[Beebun]

Hi everyone.

My 4 year old rabbit, Chito, received a new shipment of hay today. We usually eat 2nd cut hay, but this harvest, everything is very leafy and it's not as...stalky.

Chito eats it though, and then I noticed that although he's eating so much, his poops are small and dark. It's also not rounded as usual.

This afternoon he made a mess of goopy poops. It matches the pictures for cecal dysbiosis that I see on some sites. He also produced a lot of those dark, small poops.

I gave him some benebac and his appetite and energy is up a bit. He didn't want to drink on his own before, now he drinks on his own. He's still eating the hay. My seller said all hays from this season is very leafy.

Could this decrease of fiber (he usually takes something far more fibrous) be the cause of his poop thing? Yesterday he had a lot of pellets because I was so alarmed by the hay and the fact that he was eating so much but his poops aren't healthy as usual.

Please advise

 

[JBun]

It sounds like this new batch of hay is too rich for your bun, which some rabbits can be sensitive to. I would get a different hay if possible, and today if possible, as it sounds like it's causing some discomfort to him and you don't want to risk further digestive upset. I would get one that is at least a medium coarse grass hay, even if you have to switch brands or the type of grass hay.

 

[Beebun]

Thank you so much, Jenny :' I thought so too, but all my peers said that it's really uncommon or just downright impossible for a rabbit to react that way to hay. I contacted my seller saying that I want to switch my unopened bags to another brand (oxbow) that she also carries. Our preferred brand (Rabbit Hole Hay) is unfortunately out of stock at the moment :'

Thank you so much for the reply, it really helped...

This is the picture of the super leafy hay that he's currently nibbling on. Almost no stems at all....