My buns poo size changes. Is this bad?

[PhoenixTheMiniLop]

Hey guys I have a 10 week old mini lop, her name is Phoenix and she's lovely I just have a question about her pops: they are what I would think are normal size and then they can get bigger and smaller and sometimes little bits of Poo but aren't pellets size. She eats her alfalfa pellets every morning and grazes on oaten hay all day as well I give her Lucerne too which she loves!!! I used to notice her cecal poos and then they disappeared (guessing she was eating them) then I was noticing more now I'm not seeing any at all again...
She isn't as happy as she usually is, hasn't been binkying but still seems relaxed as she lays like she is relaxed. But recently I have put a play pen around her hutch to allow her to be always out of her hutch other then when it's bed time. So not sure if that she is acting a bit different because her surroundings have changed.

Sorry for the essay but she's my baby and I just want to know if everything is ok, so please let me know anything yous are thinking thanks

 

[PhoenixTheMiniLop]

????

 

[squidpop]

No, they should not be different sizes and if they are smaller than they are supposed to be that can be a sign of the gut slowing down called GI stasis. With GI stasis many believe the gut needs to be well hydrated so I would encourage drinking water first off. You can do this by whizzing up some fruit in a blender and mixing the puree into a bowl of water. I usually whizz up 1 part real apple with some grapes or blueberries into 3 parts water. Hopefully if her gut is dehydrated she'll drink lots and that will fix it.

When you mentioned what you feed you did not mention any greens so it would also be good to feed her some nice leafy greens like romaine lettuce or green/red curly leaf lettuce (not iceberg) and wet them first with water for more moisture.
What ever fresh greens you give her, if she hasn't had them before only give her a small amount at first so her gut can adjust and get used to it.

I'm not saying your rabbit has GI stasis for sure but making the above changes can't hurt and if she is heading in the direction of GI stasis it should help.

Here's more info on GI stasis
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=484

If her poos start all getting smaller or stop all together you should seed a good vet .

 

[PhoenixTheMiniLop]

Ok thank you very much for your reply! I appreciate it. I will give that a try, it's weird cause sometimes they will be real big and then some much smaller but all of her ones this afternoon/tonight have been large so that's good I'm guessing.
The reason I'm not feeding her any veggies yet is because I've been told by a number of people that you shouldn't introduce it to them until 6 months??

She is quite active in the mornings but not so much at night... So it's good she's still active she's a very curious one!

Thanks for everything

 

[Azerane]

You can introduce veggies quite young, you just have to take it really slow. Introduce one thing at a time and only a tiny piece and see how they go on it for a week before introducing the next leafy green. If they don't respond well, then you need to stop the introduction and wait a week before perhaps reducing the amount to try again, or trying a different type. I tried introducing greens to Bandit at around 14 weeks and he didn't cope with it very well, so I stopped and held off for a couple of weeks before trying again and he was completely fine. It really depends on the rabbit.

Personally, if bunny is having issues, the last thing I would want to do is introduce new foods. Yes greens are good for hydration, but so is water. Having excess cecal poops is often a sign of a diet that's too rich, and the varying poop size could indicate that too, so you could either reduce the pellet amount slightly, or reduce the added lucerne hay. Do you notice the change in poop sizes in relation to what days/time of day you feed the lucerne?

 

[squidpop]

Giving my advice I missed that yours is 10 weeks old, I was thinking 10 months. At that age just introducing the pureed apple in the water mixed 1 part apple 4 parts water will probably be enough to keep her from being dehydrated. I do actually think you could start introducing fresh greens but only tiny bits like a lettuce leaf the size of your thumb for 3 days, and if no mushy poo then two lettuce leaves the size of your thumb. I actually think if you have access to fresh grass that's not sprayed its easier on their tummies than green lettuces because its more like hay. Then you would introduce just a few blades at a time.

Feeding baby rabbits fresh greens is a bit controversial. I've raised 8 litters of baby rabbits and I introduce fresh green grass as early as 5 weeks. Just 1/2 a blade of grass to each baby, then after a few days they get a whole blade of grass, then by end of week 6 they are eating 4 or 5 blades of grass. Then I start feeding a little bit of lettuce a little bit of dandelion leaf with the grass. By the time babies are 8 weeks my goal is that they have tried a number of greens without any tummy upset. If I see a mushy poo they all go back to hay. The reason I introduce the fresh greens so early is because people I sell to will feed fresh greens- even if I tell them not to- and I want them to be ready for it. Out of all these litters I have had - I haven't had any babies with upset tummies, or weaning interitis and they have all lived.

All that said, I got a 8 week old mini lop from a breeder and tried to feed it a small amount of grass and the result was mushy poo- asked breeder and she only fed her babies hay so.... if the mom and babies are on only hay and pellets then then if you feed fresh greens you will run into problems.

 

[PhoenixTheMiniLop]

Sorry for the late reply everyone!! And thanks to you all for giving me some info
I'm not entirely sure but I think after I give her some lucurne they become a tad smaller but I will keep a closer eye on that now! Sometimes I will find some cecal poos and then other times I wont see any at all and I go through her hutch everyday so I would see them if they were there..
The breeder who I got her from said she had already introduced grass to her so it fine for me to feed it to her which she loves!!! I give her around 6 blades at a time and she chomps them all down and she gets that 1 to 2 times a day so I don't overload her on it.
I will put some photos up :

The poos are the middle are smaller with the bigger ones around the edge, not the best examples but you get what I mean haha.


Her water bottle was filled to the top last night and that was it this morning (yellow is where water is) is that enough water for her to be drinking through the night?

 

[PhoenixTheMiniLop]

Also sorry to keep sending comments but I just want your opinions on her area, I put her in the hutch through the night and then in the mornings around 6am I get her out into her play area as you can see.. Is this enough room for her? I've opened the gates up and offered her to explore further, she gets curious and then decides she doesn't want to..
She is in this pen all day long until bedtime so she is never locked away in the hutch through the day.

So is that ok??

She also stomps her foot at about 6am, is that because she wants to be let out???

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!!

 

[ladysown]

Her poops are normal, her water intake is normal. has a nice sized enclosure, she seems fine from what you've shown. I would be inclined to put her hay into a feeder. Cleaning out her poops daily is a good thing to do from a health-maintaining viewpoint.

 

[PhoenixTheMiniLop]

Ok great, that's a relief!! I only want to do right by her we have bonded so much in the last week, she is getting more confident with me and even in the past couple of days she is starting to lick me on my fingers (can smell food but still!!) and then she gives them a little nibble but doesn't bite down hard... Is she showing affection??
And she is putting her 2 front paws up on me which she doesn't usually do.
One other thing: I need to trim her nails I've noticed they are getting quite long and scratchy but she doesn't like to be picked up really even though i will be trying, I just want her to be more comfortable with me before I start picking her up... So how can I clip her nails easily? I've never done it and I'm not confident with doing it!!!!
Thanks

 

[ladysown]

if you wait for her to be comfortable you'll never be able to pick her up. Just be confident, hold her firmly keep her feet on level ground and pick her up. Settle her, and then smoothly turn her over and pin her between your arm and body and get those back feet trimmed. Do it smoothly and confidently and you and bunny will be just fine. Allow her to squirm and wiggle and you can cause her to damage her back.

KEY WORDS ARE confident, smooth, firm and safe.

 

[PhoenixTheMiniLop]

Ok thank you! I have my partner to help me so I will try it this weekend when we are both home. I know she won't like it but she doesn't really have a choice!!
I also got told if I have a lot of trouble, I can let her have a run around on the concrete and it will wear her nails down???

 

[squidpop]

This is a good video for cutting rabbits nails- but I think they make it look easier than it really is- I guess because she's a pro.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9KemnaTGIs[/ame]