Poop stuck on bottom of rabbit feet

[pinknstink]

My rabbit has pretty bad sore hocks and also poopy butt because of some birth defects, anyways he gets poop stuck on him a lot and now there is some caked and hardened on the bottom of his feet. I bathe him a few times a week but it doesnt seem to soften at all. I also don’t want to try to pull it off of him because I am afraid of hurting his sore hocks. Do you think I could take him to the vet and they could get it off? Or is there something I could try at home to avoid a big vet bill for something simple? Thanks!

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Are you only doing butt baths? Full body baths are not recommended unless absolutely necessary. Is it in his fur on the bottom of his feet or like attached to his skin? Can you post a picture?

 

[pinknstink]

Yes I have just been doing butt baths, and the hair on his feet is pretty thin because he has been losing hair because of his incontinence, so it seems like it is on his skin. I am going to bathe his butt tonight so I will try to post a picture.

 

[Morgan Mayon]

Constipation occurs when there are hard faeces which are difficult for the rabbit to expel. There is a much higher risk of constipation when a rabbit is moulting; as they groom they ingest hair which passes into their intestinal tract and sometimes forms blockages so brush moulting rabbits frequently to remove hair.
Constipation can generally be prevented by feeding the correct diet of 80% hay as the high fibre content keeps the digestive tract running smoothly. Feed your rabbits much of liquid foods. Water can be a good option here. The other treatments are:

• Rabbits with constipation should be seen by a vet without delay.

• Very small doses of olive oil given orally may help with mild constipation.

• Remove the rabbit's dry food, feed more hay and fresh vegetables and ensure it has plenty of fresh water.

• Encourage the rabbit to exercise.

 

[pinknstink]

Here is a picture of the bottom of his feet after his bath. As you can see, there are two little spots where poop is practically on his skin. During his bath, we spent a lot of extra time working his feet around, and we were able to get the edges of the patches to lift up, but I was a little too scared to try and peel it off since I know that he has some sores underneath there. I didn’t want to peel his skin or something like that. Does anyone have any advice? Should I just take him to the vet and have them get the patches off?

 

[Donna Standar]

Love to know an answer to this,because my bun has a patty stuck to his fur under his tail. I've tried to put warm soaking cloths to it to soften, he doesn't like me touching it and I've failed to get it off every time I try.

 

[pinknstink]

Donna, my bunny sometimes gets poop stuck to his tail and I have been able to get it off by rubbing some corn starch on it and kinda massaging it, but that might not help you much if your bunny doesn’t like you touching it.

 

[Donna Standar]

Donna, my bunny sometimes gets poop stuck to his tail and I have been able to get it off by rubbing some corn starch on it and kinda massaging it, but that might not help you much if your bunny doesn’t like you touching it.

Today I was able to put a bowl of warm water under his tail while he was lying down. Did soften it , but couldn't remove it . But afterwards he was picking at it. Not sure if much came off...So cornstarch won't hurt him if he licks it?
May have to try that next. Thanks

 

[Sunshine's Fine]

View attachment 44745
Here is a picture of the bottom of his feet after his bath. As you can see, there are two little spots where poop is practically on his skin. During his bath, we spent a lot of extra time working his feet around, and we were able to get the edges of the patches to lift up, but I was a little too scared to try and peel it off since I know that he has some sores underneath there. I didn’t want to peel his skin or something like that. Does anyone have any advice? Should I just take him to the vet and have them get the patches off?

One of my girls is quite large and has a difficult time cleaning her bum. She's very clean and the rest of her is spotless. She grooms herself and her sister all the time, but just can't reach her own butt. She eats well, poops well, but will often have hard poop stuck to the hair around her 'special area'. What I do, is take a round plastic basin, pour 4 or 5 inches of warm water into it and place an old cloth on the bottom. I pick Pippi up with my right hand under her "arms" and my left under her butt. I put her feet into the water first, all the while kissing the top of her head and talking softly to her. I slowly lower her into the basin and let her front paws rest on the rim of the basin. The poop that sticks to her becomes like concrete, even if it's only there a couple of days, so I just let her get used to the water, then begin swishing the water so it's constantly moving around with my left hand. The warm water softens the poop and the swishing helps loosen it from her fur. I reach down and feel around to ensure it's all off before I take her out. You'd be surprised how easily and quickly it comes off, and she's only wet on her back feet, butt, and her belly. When it's all off, I lift her out, squeezing the water out of her back feet and tail, then wrap her in a big towel and cuddle her while I rub her dry with the towel. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Anna R.]

My girl had the same issue with poops on her butt. They would form a large like patty just below her tail. I did the same thing you did to get it off, it comes off pretty easily. Then I started reading more about "poopy butt" and found it could actually be related to her diet. It's not that they can't clean there, it has to do with her digestive tract. Rabbits are all different, what is good for one might not be for another. I found out she had a sensitive stomach. I completely took her off pelts for a month (only hay, no greens, pellets or treats) and the "poopy butt" completely went away. Then I found the best pellets I could buy and started her slowly on those. She never got "poopy butt" again after that. I started really monitoring her, introducing foods slowly back into her diet. If she got poopy butt I then knew what was causing it.

She never showed any signs of being sick or unhappy while she had her poopy butt, she was just as active and sweet as when she didn't. So, I wouldn't have known anything was wrong. And, it wasn't that it was "wrong" it was just she was more sensitive to foods then her bonded mate was.

In the end the poopy butt went away, no more washing her. A relief to both of us.

 

[Sunshine's Fine]

My girl had the same issue with poops on her butt. They would form a large like patty just below her tail. I did the same thing you did to get it off, it comes off pretty easily. Then I started reading more about "poopy butt" and found it could actually be related to her diet. It's not that they can't clean there, it has to do with her digestive tract. Rabbits are all different, what is good for one might not be for another. I found out she had a sensitive stomach. I completely took her off pelts for a month (only hay, no greens, pellets or treats) and the "poopy butt" completely went away. Then I found the best pellets I could buy and started her slowly on those. She never got "poopy butt" again after that. I started really monitoring her, introducing foods slowly back into her diet. If she got poopy butt I then knew what was causing it.

She never showed any signs of being sick or unhappy while she had her poopy butt, she was just as active and sweet as when she didn't. So, I wouldn't have known anything was wrong. And, it wasn't that it was "wrong" it was just she was more sensitive to foods then her bonded mate was.

In the end the poopy butt went away, no more washing her. A relief to both of us.

Thank you, Anna, for the advice. It's possible she has a sensitive tummy, although she is extremely clean and never has anything on her anywhere except right on her private parts. Occasionally she'll step in poop and if it's on the bottom of her feet, she chews and licks and cleans until it's all gone. It just seems like it's the only place she can't quite reach. I've thought about reducing their pellets so she can lose a bit of weight. I feed them this: http://www.martinmills.com/little-friends-timothy-adult-rabbit-food.php. What were you feeding yours? and what did you switch her to? Also, do you keep your buns together all the time? If so, did you just take the greens and pellets away from both of them? My 2 are together 24/7, so I'm not sure they could be on different diets. I'm definitely going to do some research on "poopy butt." Thanks again.

 

[Anna R.]

Hey Sunshine... My little girl was always extremely clean too. She was also overweight, or so I thought. She was with her mate 24/7 so when my other girl was just fine and had no "poopy butt" I started to investigate what was going on. I found the poopy butt can be diet related, and some rabbits have sensitive stomachs. So, I had to quit giving both of them pellets. I felt so bad for my other girl there was nothing wrong with her and she was fine. However, she was a trooper and was just fine eating an only hay diet for 1 month. What happened was my poopy butt girl immediately lost a bunch of weight, very noticeable weight. At first I was so freaked out; but, then realized her weight wasn't really body weight...She was bloated and holding in much so water. Then I knew I had made the right call. She was a different rabbit almost overnight. (again, she was never unhappy or unhealthy. Always a happy rabbit and so loving. I never would have known something was wrong if I didn't start researching poopy butt)

After the month was up I searched for the best food I could find. I asked my vet what was the best and this is what he recommended https://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/our-products/fortified-food/essentials-adult-rabbit-food/. I don't remember what I was feeding them before. I started introducing it slowly to make sure would be OK with it. Luckily she was great and the poopy butt was a thing of the past. Once I knew she was OK with pellets then I started giving her greens. If something gave her poopy butt I knew what it was and stopped giving it to them. Just trial and error until I came up with a list of things she could eat and avoided all others.

Yes, I felt so horrible as I mentioned taking away my other baby's foods and giving her only hay for a month. However, I had to weigh the good and the bad for both of them. Both girls were happy and healthy and love their hay, so an over abundance of hay was fine for them. I don't know if you have to go a whole month, that is what I read when I researched. I do admit I did sneak the non-poopy butt girl some treats now and then when the other was far away and preoccupied with something else.

In the end, they both came out happy and healthy. No more "poopy butt", so it was worth it.

 

[Sunshine's Fine]

Thank you so much for all the info, Anna! The pet store I buy my supplies from does carry Oxbow, so I will definitely try that and see how it goes. They LOVE their "crunchies" (pellets), and I've always given them each a small slice of banana at bed time. When I first brought them home it was a nightmare to try to catch both of them when I wanted to go to bed! I started saving part of their pellets for bedtime, which usually got them into their pen and I'd give them the banana as a reward. They're not spoiled at ALL They will be sulking and giving me the stink eye, but it's for their own good. It would be great if I didn't have to worry about poopy butt baths anymore. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Anna R.]

I know it was a hard month for me. It broke my heart not giving them treats or pellets, especially my baby girl who had nothing wrong with her. I think it hurt me more than it hurt them; but, in the end it was worth it.
Good Luck. I hope you have the same out come I did. Let me know how it works out.

All pets, especially such sweet innocent rabbits that bring so much joy to your heart should be spoiled. Otherwise why have them? They are ours to spoil and love, and they deserve the very best we can give them.

 

[Morgan Mayon]

It is very natural for any rabbits. Don't worry, sometimes they hop and flip on the place they poops. And if they are hairy then poop may be stuck on their feet. But notice the poops should not be too sticky or lequid. You can try this article for knowing how to clean rabbits feet.

 

[Sunshine's Fine]

It is very natural for any rabbits. Don't worry, sometimes they hop and flip on the place they poops. And if they are hairy then poop may be stuck on their feet. But notice the poops should not be too sticky or lequid. You can try this article for knowing how to clean rabbits feet.

 

[Sunshine's Fine]

It is very natural for any rabbits. Don't worry, sometimes they hop and flip on the place they poops. And if they are hairy then poop may be stuck on their feet. But notice the poops should not be too sticky or lequid. You can try this article for knowing how to clean rabbits feet.

Sorry about the above empty post. I was just in the middle of editing it when my 2 brats got into a fight and I had to break it up! When I tried to post the edit it had expired.

So anyway.

Morgan, I don't know if the above site you linked is one you've used before, but it's full of spelling mistakes and looks to be possibly badly translated from some other language to English. I wouldn't trust this site for health info for my rabbits. There are lots of legitimate sites for health information that are reputable and can be good resources. Here's a link that might help: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

 

[Donna Standar]

Donna, my bunny sometimes gets poop stuck to his tail and I have been able to get it off by rubbing some corn starch on it and kinda massaging it, but that might not help you much if your bunny doesn’t like you touching it.

Is cornstarch safe?

 

[saylor]

My rabbit has pretty bad sore hocks and also poopy butt because of some birth defects, anyways he gets poop stuck on him a lot and now there is some caked and hardened on the bottom of his feet. I bathe him a few times a week but it doesnt seem to soften at all. I also don’t want to try to pull it off of him because I am afraid of hurting his sore hocks. Do you think I could take him to the vet and they could get it off? Or is there something I could try at home to avoid a big vet bill for something simple? Thanks!

My rabbit has pretty bad sore hocks and also poopy butt because of some birth defects, anyways he gets poop stuck on him a lot and now there is some caked and hardened on the bottom of his feet. I bathe him a few times a week but it doesnt seem to soften at all. I also don’t want to try to pull it off of him because I am afraid of hurting his sore hocks. Do you think I could take him to the vet and they could get it off? Or is there something I could try at home to avoid a big vet bill for something simple? Thanks!

Sorry to hear this is happening to you too. I cry every time my rabbit gets poop caked on the bottom of his foot producing sore hocks. Seems like an endless battle as he cannot seem to grow back the fur pads. I hope we find a solution

 

[Anna R.]

Have you tried wrapping their hocks? I have heard this is very effective. I have seen links on this site to "rabbit socks". They go on their legs and cover most of the hock. Rabbits don't mind them either. Then the poop will get stuck to the sock and give their hocks a chance to heal. Another lady I know just uses ace bandages to wrap their legs. She says she just does a thin layer and it doesn't bother them at all. They don't pull it at or chew it off either. Something you might want to try. Getting the poop off can be hard and you end up pulling fur out. Poor little rabbits.