Poopy Chat

[Bailey ❤️]

My new little sunshine bunny, Hazel, 11 weeks now. She used to produce lots of cecals, but now I don’t see anymore whenever I go check on her throughout the day, so I don’t know if she’s still producing them, or if she is, and I just don’t see her eating them.

She’s on unlimited Timothy Hay, measured Timothy Hay-based pellets, and fresh greens daily.

How do we go about helping little buns produce more cecals?

Also.....grooming Qs:

I’m scared now of trimming her nails because the first time it was okay, but then once, I accidentally snipped a little too far and hit a nerve so now she’s a bit sketchy when she sees the clippers. Also...my bun has thick fur (purebred Lop), so I have to hunt for the nails when I trim them. Can I take her to the groomer to sheer her coat - is that even okay??

 

[JBun]

Actually not seeing the cecals is s good thing. Typically you should never be seeing them if your bun is healthy and eating them like they normally should. Usually they will eat them at night when you aren't around, buy once in a while you might see her reach down to her bum then come back up munching on them. Usually the only times you will see a rabbits cecotropes is with a young bunny or a rabbit in a new home because they become distracted from eating them like they normally would, or if they have a diet too high in protein and they are producing too many then they might leave some fully formed cecals behind. There are some health issues that might cause a rabbit to not eat their cecals, such as if a rabbit is too fat to reach down there to eat them, or with old rabbits that are too sore to reach down there to eat them, and there are a variety of other health issues that could cause a rabbit to not eat its cecotropes, like too many sugars and carbs in the rabbits diet causing the cecals to not form properly and come out mushy. I would suspect your bun was leaving them behind because she was in a new home and is a baby bunny, so was too distracted to remember to eat them.

The only type of rabbit that would need it's fur clipped is angora rabbits, because they don't shed their coat like short furred rabbits do. Does your bun have long fur for some reason, is she a fuzzy lop? The nails you just need to carefully practice doing it, have someone help you, or find someone you can pay to do it that has experience(like the vet).

 

[Blue eyes]

For trimming nails, some rabbits are easier than others. Someone here on RO posted the following video and I found it immensely helpful --even though I've had rabbits for decades.

In one part of the video she explains how she first puts pressure with the clippers before actually clipping and the bunny will react a certain way if the clippers are in a spot that will be too short if cut there. Hard for me to explain but the video makes it clear. I doubted it would work as she said but found that it really did. It will give you a measure of comfort to see how to be sure to not cut the quick.




And since the cecotropes things is all new to you, I thought I'd post this video that shows a rabbit eating his cecals. As JBun stated, it is isn't often you get to see them doing this. I think it is rather subtle and unless one knows what is going on, would dismiss this as simple grooming.

 

[Bailey ❤️]

Actually not seeing the cecals is s good thing. Typically you should never be seeing them if your bun is healthy and eating them like they normally should. Usually they will eat them at night when you aren't around, buy once in a while you might see her reach down to her bum then come back up munching on them. Usually the only times you will see a rabbits cecotropes is with a young bunny or a rabbit in a new home because they become distracted from eating them like they normally would, or if they have a diet too high in protein and they are producing too many then they might leave some fully formed cecals behind. There are some health issues that might cause a rabbit to not eat their cecals, such as if a rabbit is too fat to reach down there to eat them, or with old rabbits that are too sore to reach down there to eat them, and there are a variety of other health issues that could cause a rabbit to not eat its cecotropes, like too many sugars and carbs in the rabbits diet causing the cecals to not form properly and come out mushy. I would suspect your bun was leaving them behind because she was in a new home and is a baby bunny, so was too distracted to remember to eat them.

The only type of rabbit that would need it's fur clipped is angora rabbits, because they don't shed their coat like short furred rabbits do. Does your bun have long fur for some reason, is she a fuzzy lop? The nails you just need to carefully practice doing it, have someone help you, or find someone you can pay to do it that has experience(like the vet).

Thank you! That makes total sense! The first week we had her, at eight weeks, is when we saw most of her cecals, and even saw her eating a few, so we were happy to see she’s a healthy bun. Then the cecal activity (or visibility) started to peter out a bit last week, so I wasn’t sure if there was cause for concern. She does groom herself incessantly, like a cat, so I was curious if her long fur getting into her digestive system was maybe contributing to tapered cecal activity or visibility. We try to groom her with a grooming brush every day or every other day, and it helps a little but I’m sure we’re not able to get all her loose hairs out.

 

[JBun]

As long as she eats her hay really well, the fiber will help keep any ingested fur moving through. You may see strings of poop held together by a little bit of fur, which is normal. If you start seeing the poop held together by thicker strands of fur, then that usually means too much fur is being ingested and you may need to increase your grooming. But excess fur ingestion usually only happens when a bun has a heavy molt and is losing a lot of fur.

 

[Bailey ❤️]

For trimming nails, some rabbits are easier than others. Someone here on RO posted the following video and I found it immensely helpful --even though I've had rabbits for decades.

In one part of the video she explains how she first puts pressure with the clippers before actually clipping and the bunny will react a certain way if the clippers are in a spot that will be too short if cut there. Hard for me to explain but the video makes it clear. I doubted it would work as she said but found that it really did. It will give you a measure of comfort to see how to be sure to not cut the quick.




And since the cecotropes things is all new to you, I thought I'd post this video that shows a rabbit eating his cecals. As JBun stated, it is isn't often you get to see them doing this. I think it is rather subtle and unless one knows what is going on, would dismiss this as simple grooming.

Thank you so much!! That nail video is so helpful! My bun is a long-haired lop, so the trick about wetting her paws is a really great tip and will try those other techniques ~ thank you so much!!

 

[Popsicles]

In addition to everything said above, my rabbit is a lionhead x lop, with super fluffy paws. I use a bandage (or piece of lace) to poke the nails through and hold the fur back, which makes it a lot easier to visualise the nails and not get fur caught in the clippers.

 

[Bailey ❤️]

In addition to everything said above, my rabbit is a lionhead x lop, with super fluffy paws. I use a bandage (or piece of lace) to poke the nails through and hold the fur back, which makes it a lot easier to visualise the nails and not get fur caught in the clippers.

Oh I like that idea!! Thank you!!

 

[Ava martin]

DONT GIVE A RABBIT UNDER 6 MONTHS GREENS OR VEGGIES

 

[Bailey ❤️]

DONT GIVE A RABBIT UNDER 6 MONTHS GREENS OR VEGGIES

Oh wow, why six months?

I read in the article above you can introduce them as early as three months.

 

[Blue eyes]

Rabbits under 6 months of age can be introduced to greens. 12 weeks (3 months) is a fine age to introduce greens.

Actually it is even fine for newborn rabbits to have greens IF the momma had been getting greens all along and continues to get greens while nursing. In these cases, the momma's milk passes on that ability to digest greens ok.

Unless this fact is known for certain, then the safe option is to wait until 12 weeks of age and then slowly introduce greens (one type at a time and just a little at a time).

 

[JBun]

Really the only times you would need to wait until 6 months is if you have a bun with an extra sensitive digestion and you were worried that veggies would be a problem at the younger age. Or if you had tried greens/veggies at an earlier age and all types caused mushy poop and/or upset stomach. Then you would want to wait til the bun is older before deciding if you wanted to try veggies again.

Otherwise 12 weeks is the average age it is suggested to introduce veggies when they didn't grow up eating them with mom. As long as the veggies are fresh and not spoiled, and as long it is done correctly trying a small amount of one veggie at a time, then gradually increasing the amount if there is no digestive upset, it usually doesn't cause any digestive problems, except in some cases a bun might be sensitive to certain veggies, but is ok with others, which is why you only try one at a time.

 

[Imbrium]

For trimming nails, some rabbits are easier than others. Someone here on RO posted the following video and I found it immensely helpful --even though I've had rabbits for decades.

In one part of the video she explains how she first puts pressure with the clippers before actually clipping and the bunny will react a certain way if the clippers are in a spot that will be too short if cut there. Hard for me to explain but the video makes it clear. I doubted it would work as she said but found that it really did. It will give you a measure of comfort to see how to be sure to not cut the quick.

Works like a charm! My first two rabbits as an adult, one had clear nails... the other has dark nails that make it very difficult to see the quick. I was tentative about Nala's dark nails, so from the start, I would instinctively do a soft "test" squeeze before clipping - if I'm even remotely "too close," she can feel the slight pressure of the clippers and will startle.

Another way to deal with fur being in the way of the nails is to dip the paw in water so that you can push the fur out of the way without it springing back into place. Also, if you have trouble seeing the quick and you have someone else to help, you can get them to shine a flashlight through the backside of a dark nail to make the quick visible .

 

[Ava martin]

There stomachs are very sensitive and it can give them gas and they can’t pass gas