I have retrieved my English Spot back from my friend as I considered she was not getting the attention she needed.  I inherited her some 3 years ago and have had her ever since, apart from a 7 month period she was with my friend.

She has some unusual habits (but won't go into all those)  ... I know BinkyBunny knows some of them LOL!  She has always deposited large amounts of cecotropes early in the evening around her pen area.  I know bunnies are supposed to eat these for nutritional value, however she seems to do an awful lot and leaves them about her pen ... they generally end up getting squashed into her bedding and then I have an awful job cleaning up the mess!

I took her to the vet last Friday as she was not her normal self and the vet indicated she has the first stages of a bacterial infection  ... he checked some of her poop under a microscope.  She is on antibiotices and appears to be back to her normal self.

However, I am concerned about the amount of cecotropes she is doing ... does anyone else have this problem.  Or maybe it is only me with Sprinkles.

Dawn   xx

My understanding is that excess cecal production is the result of something in the diet (usually too rich in calories) or a problem in the digestive system.  What does this bunny eat?  What kinds of pellets and snacks does the bunny get?  Does she get fed carrots or fruit?

Sprinkles has a very good diet ... generally I feed her good quality pellets ... just under 1/2 cup a day of Milne pellets (you probably have not heard of this brand of feed as I live in Australia).  In the evening she has her greens, consisting of bok choy, chinese brocolli and some parsley.  She is not overweight and has a very good appetite.

Sometimes I may give her a sliver of apple or carrot but they may only be every other day.  Other than that she gets no other treats.

Abundance of hay of course too.

However, I did notice last night that there were no stray cecotropes in her pen.

I poked around a bit and found this analysis of the Milne Rabbit and Guinea Pig pellets:
www.milne.com.au/feed/rations/rabbit/feed/rations/rabbit/Rabbit_and_Guinea_Pig.pdf

Is this the food that you are using?  These are alfalfa based (lucerne is alfalfa) so they are fairly high in calories.  If the problem with excess cecals comes back (vets in the US call this ISS or Intermittant Soft Stools), you could try reducing the amount of pellets and increasing the hay.  The reduction in calories might help.  If you'd like to compare, here is an analysis of a Timothy hay based pellet that is used in my area www.oxbowhay.com/Shop/showProduct.sp

I know that the rabbit products available in Australia are different than what we have here.  Are you feeding oaten hay?  I have read a bit about it, but do not know much about it.  You cannot get grass hay there, right?  I don't know if you are familiar with BoingOnline, but it is a good Australian bunny site (boingonline.com/)

Osprey - what great sleuthing skills! I would agree that it could be the alfalfa pellets might be contributing to the problem. How much does she currently weigh? I'd be included to cut back on pellets (or entirely cut out the pellets gradually) and increase the amount of hay you're feeding.

Sprinkles weighs about 2.4 kilograms (about 5 pounds).  I have reduced her pellet intake .. the ones I am feeding her are the lucerne pellets.  I am trying to source another brand other than lucerne, but having some difficulty.  Rabbits are not very common pets in Australia, therefore feed brands are extremely limited.  She is getting the oaten hay and I give her bundles of it. 

I had to take her to the vet again last night ... she was lathargic, had not eaten or drank all day, even though she was fine when I left her for work in the morning.  Generally, she is bouncing all over the place when I get home, but she was hiding in the corner with pee on the floor and very small poops.  The vet gave her two injections and she has perked up again.  She ate her greens last night and no mushy poops this time.

Is it ok to feed celery stalks and the leaves to bunnies ... I peel the celery before I give to her.

I have checked out the Boing Australian website on several occasions and I am awaiting on replies from them to my emails.   Thanks for the information.

Dawn    xx

Hi Dawn!  
 I am so sorry about what you are going through.  I know how much you love Sprinkles and this must be frustrating.   I'm glad you saw she was in a situation that was not the best for her and took her in.

I am also extremely relieved to hear that she is doin better right now.  I hope it continues.

How long ago did you get her from your friend and when this happened was there a drastic changes in her diet?  I know that that can cause serious problems sometimes, so could that be a possibility too?  OR did she have these problems at your friend's house too? 

Broccoli and Bok Choy are both things that I also feed my bunnies, but I do feed that to Jack & Rucy in moderation because if given too much it causes digestive problems in Rucy. (and i can't feed it at all to Bailey because of all her health issues, she reacts negatively to it)

Parsley is great!  Do you have access to more "leafy" type of greens? Like Romaine, cilantro, dandelion... instead of using solid veggies as an equal part of the meal?

You can use celery but be sure to cut in small pieces because the strings can cause digestive problems.  But again, if you can get more leafy greens that would be ideal.   What selections do you have there?

Regarding the pellets, are the Lucerne ones Alfalfa based too?   If so, then I think you are also making the right decision to cut back.

Sprinkles has been back with me for one week now ... her diet then and now is pretty much the same.  What is cilantro?  Excuse my ignorance but we may call it something different here LOL.  Romaine ... is that the dark leafy type of lettuce ... If its what I am thinking of we have that here.  I can't get dandelion from the store, but we have that growing wild (the weed type).  But reluctant to give her that because of poisoning.

I generally feed her the chinese leafy veggies, like bok choy, chinese brocolli ... can she have english spinach (think I have heard that can cause tummy tum problems).   I give her plain old brocolli with the leaves, but she does not eat that (Fussy!). 

I think I will try sticking to a hay/pellet diet and see how she goes from there.  The pellets are I think just lucerne, but I cannot get a definite answer as to what is actually in them.  I am going to call a breeder friend of mine and find out ... she is very knowledgeable.

Could the move from my friend's place to mine have upset her to this extent? 

Thanks Again for your efforts.

Cilantro is call Coriander in Europe, I'll bet they use that name in Australia too

Oh yes we call it Coriander too ... thanks for that.  I can get that in a bunch for $2.

 

I was at the farmer's market this weekend and dug through all the yummy super green leaves.....I got swiss chard, kale, and leafy bok choy.  Jessica LOVES the swiss chard.  I'm kinda dumb when it comes to greens, so I always ask if I don't recognize them right away.  Check in your produce section of your grocery store...I believe as w/ people, the darker the leaf the more healthy the green!