Hair in Poop, what to do?

[Fiercebad]

Hi guys, this is my first time posting on this board, and since this community as a whole has such good information I thought I would ask here.   I have two lovely little buck rabbits at my house, who are about 9 months old.  Their lineage is uncertain, as they were found abandoned in a bucket when they were babies, but whatever breeds contributed to their genes left them with funny little mops of hair between their ears and a fluffier than normal coat.  My problem is that one brother of the duo, Theo, has been consistantly having weirdly shaped droppings, often strung together by small ropes of hair.  I’ve been trying to follow all the advice (brush him, make sure he has plenty of hay and vegetables) but I can’t seem to rid him of the problem and I am concerned about the potential for GI issues.  Theo has a big appetite (He dances in circles for his hay!) and I haven’t seen him chewing his fur, so I can’t be sure what is causing the trouble.  He’s active (Binkies galore!) and seems relatively happy.

For reference:

Diet: Unlimited Orchard Grass Hay, 1/4 cup daily Oxbow Young Rabbit Formula, A small bowl of vegetables every morning.

Excercise: At least 2 hours outside their pen of free running time.

So, any ideas?  Mugi, his brother, has good poop.  Theo is the fluffier of the two, nowhere near angora levels, just with a thick, soft fur not long enough to trim.  I try to groom him weekly.  What would you do?  I’ve heard papaya tabs are good for digestion, but other than that, I am at a loss.

 

[jerseygirl]

Welcome : )

They sound very cute!

It’s good that the hair is coming through and not staying in the gut at least. What you’re doing so far is great and it’s also great that he loves his hay! Maybe try add some more fibrous hay in with the orchard grass hay. Something like oat or coarser timothy hay.
I have one rabbit who gets poop like this regularly and it’s mostly because of lack of fibre. I have lots of trouble getting her to eat hay.

Are the boys living together? It could be that Theo grooms Mugi a lot and he ingests more hair that way.

[Tate]

As far as hay goes- you could try American Pet Diner timothy hay. They have two cuts- one if called “Timothy Gold” and it tends to be a pretty big hit for picky hay eaters (and hay lovers, too!). They have another one which I almost ALWAYS have for my two boys and it’s called “Timothy High Fiber”. It’s a bit coarser and some rabbits don’t take to it, but it may be worth a shot.
Are you *sure* that it’s being held together by hair? I’ve heard that’s fairly common, but rabbits also produce cecals- small, dark, moist poop that is usually together in a bunch. It seems like it should be held together by *something*, but it’s not. Hehe. If that were the case, the diet may be too rich. One of my rabbits, Fievel, did not do well on Oxbow Young Bun OR Oxbow Adult Bun food. He would over produce cecals and they would be everywhere. He was switched to a few different brands and then kinda settled on one that was less rich.

[LoveChaCha]

Have you tried lightly plucking fur? I don’t use a brush much anymore, but plucking does the job well. Rabbits have loose furs sticking out.

[angie-la]

sometimes my buns have what I call barbell poops as well =P if it’s once in awhile, I wouldn’t worry too much since, as jerseygirl pointed out, it’s not staying in their tummies. definitely load on the hay, and limit their pellets. once the bunnies hit 1 year, I started giving them pellets every other day. giving them fresh, washed greens also helps their digestive systems.

[Fiercebad]

Timothy or Oat, huh?  I’ll give that a go.  Yeah, Theo is serious about his hay and he eats quite a bit. I give him a bunch in the morning and evening and he always puts a pretty big dent in it by the time I give him a refill.  It might be that Orchard is too whispy/grassy so I will give Timothy a shot.

As far as the mutual grooming thing goes, the two of them have been territorial stinkers since they moved to a new apartment, so for the past few months they have basically been living in a duplex pen, with a fence between them.  They do get to groom and socialize while supervised in the hall, the bedroom being the contested zone, but since they started being aggressive toward each other they mostly take turns running around, so the amount of each other’s hair they ingest should be pretty minimal.
Re:Cecals.  Pretty positive it is hair.  They are like normal marble droppings, except weirdly lumpy and full of stings of fur.  I’m pretty used to what a bunny cecel pellet looks and smells like, and these are a lot larger and aren’t nearly as mushy and smelly. 

Posted By angie-la on 09/08/2011 10:15 PM
sometimes my buns have what I call barbell poops as well

That is just what they look like, little barbells!  Heehee.
I worry a lot when anything is amiss, because even though I grew up with house rabbits and did my fair share of litter box cleaning, this is my first time as a “bunny mom” as opposed to a “bunny sister,” and I feel a great deal of responsibilty for the little guys.  I appreciate the advice.  I like this forum a lot so far!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Brush and pluck; add hay (different kinds helps) and reduce pellets (so long as that results in increased hay consumption) So long as bunny is passing hay that’s ok but of course you don’t want them grooming all that hair. So pluck, brush with a wet paper towel, pluck and increase hay

[bunnyfriend]

Sounds like everything is okay with your bunny. A suggestion I have though is Petromalt. The cat kind is the same as the rabbit and given as directed it can help keep things passing through, especially during molting (when you can give it more often than once a week). Plus a lot of rabbits think it’s tasty so they think they’re getting a treat (:

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