Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE Dark flat poops?

Viewing 7 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • Poppyhani
      Participant
      52 posts Send Private Message

        Hi guys! I’m back again, sorry for all the question posts.

        Long story short, Sorrel was surrendered to a local Pets At Home adoption center, and I picked him up roughly a few hours after he was shop floor. He’s a shy little thing, timid, thumps at nothing a lot, and I’ve been worried about him from day one, so on day two when I noticed his poops were wet, dark and dried up into flat patches, as well as having very orange pee, I took him to the vet. They assured me he was just timid from his new home, that his stomach felt and sounded fine, but mentioned he may have a urinal problem from the stress of moving, and so prescribed me some pain killers and antibiotics. Sorrel took them well, and his pee is absolutely fine now. The only problem is that his poos are still, well, the same. Don’t get me wrong, I have two bunnies and their stools are pretty much healthy otherwise. Both pass normal pellet like poos that are a light brown or mostly hay, and it’s consistent in their litter trays and around the pen. The only issue is, of course, these little brown patches of poop show up every day.

        I’ve been told some buns are just timid, and do these anomalies when they get frights. Sorrel has calmed down amazingly since having bonded with Poppy, taking to pets and cuddles, where he would run away from me otherwise. He still thumps at danger every so often, and although I don’t know what at, I assure him and act like there really is something there, which calms him down. I never see do these strange poos during the day, but I wake up to them every time, meaning he’s doing them at night.

        As far as their diet goes, both get Burgess Mint pellets and rocket, with a very finely chopped up baby carrot. They both eat from the same bowl, and Poppy never passes these poops, so I’m wondering if his gut is particularly sensitive otherwise? Sorrel doesn’t really like fruits much, he’ll eat a raspberry, but I stopped giving him them after he finished his medication. He adores blueberries, but hasn’t had them in a while, since I was worried it may be causing this. Poppy loves strawberries, so she’ll get one every so often, but he doesn’t touch them. Like I said, his normal stools are very healthy otherwise. I’m just worried because this is the one thing that hasn’t improved since we got him. Should I take him back to the vet to inquire?

        Sorry for the long post! I wanted to cover everything.


      • jerseygirl
        Moderator
        22338 posts Send Private Message

          Those sound a lot like excess, dried out cecals droppings. They’re sometimes called “night-droppings” due to when most rabbits produce them. They have important nutrients and microflora so rabbits need to reingest these.

          It could be that he’s over-producing them, only reingesting what he needs. You could modify the diet more to see if anything is causing this. Go quite basic with just hey and pellets and if still happening, you may need reduce pellets or try different type.

          Is he a faster eater than Poppy? Could he be eating more then his share of pellets?


        • Poppyhani
          Participant
          52 posts Send Private Message

            Thanks for the reply! I’ll try them on a hay and pellet only diet for the next few days to see if that will help! They’ve been on two different types of pellets, and it seems they’re staying the same.

            As far as eating goes, Poppy definitely eats more. Sorrel will eat his share, and then bounce off. Sometimes, when Poppy comes back to their bowl, he’ll join her for a little but, but she definitely eats the most of them.


          • Muj Mom N Bun
            Participant
            352 posts Send Private Message

              I agree with jerseygirl, they do sound like pieces of leftover Cecals. My Bun does this every so often… I wake up to a little dark stain or flat tiny bit here and there… when I see this, I know it’s a sign that I have to clean up her diet a bit… and with that, it lessens


            • Poppyhani
              Participant
              52 posts Send Private Message

                Hi guys!
                So I’ve converted them to a pellet-hay diet only, and unfortunately, Sorrel is still producing too much of these. Tonight I witnessed him leaving one behind, actually, and his little bum was very poopy when I wiped him down after cleaning the place up. Aside from this, he’s still a calm and normal bun, so I’m really not sure what to do. I don’t mind cleaning up after him (I’d like not to, but if this is just how it’s going to be, it’s fine) however I’d hate to think he’s in pain and I just don’t know.

                Should I take him to the vet again? They did have a RAW week and I’ve seen a few rabbits there, so I’m assuming they’re rather rabbit savvy, but they didn’t seem to flag up too much of a problem when I told them about his poops the first time. I recall they gave him something to help his digestive system, though I’m not too sure what the shot was…

                I’m just so worried about him. He’s completely normal otherwise, he gets no veggies, and I’m now at loss of what kind of treats to give him because of this. Anyone any ideas?


              • jerseygirl
                Moderator
                22338 posts Send Private Message

                  Was it a single cecal you saw or the cluster that looks like bunch of grapes? Or was it more of a unformed, mush?
                  This article is long but worth bookmarking. https://rabbit.org/disorders-of-the-cecum/

                  It could be the antibiotics he had previously have upset the balance of gut bacteria. Trying a probiotic for him certainly wouldn’t hurt.

                  How much pellets do they get each day? Are they alfalfa/lucerne based?
                  You’re in the UK right? I have read of other owners reporting their rabbits a bit sensitive to Burgess and getting messy poop. Supreme’s Science Selective range seemed to be one those rabbits did better on.


                • Poppyhani
                  Participant
                  52 posts Send Private Message

                    It kind of looks like a bunch of grapes, but also sort of unformed…? It’s kind of like a mixture between these two (https://i.imgur.com/sNiqgYV.jpg/https://i.imgur.com/V2Na5AH.png) from the bunny poop thread, but it’s not mooshy enough to be the last, and not entirely… recognisable as just cecotropes either? I can tell the berry like structure is there, I’m sure it’s just weird from his sitting on them, but they’re much smaller than that image. I’m not too sure what a probiotic is, so I’ll look it up!

                    They get two cups a day, so one between them. Like I said, Poppy eats more than him anyway, but the cup is very small, not even the size of my hand. It’s just a tiny cardboard cup (about half the size of a coke can) I got from the gardening section to play treat games with them; the ones where you put a treat under a cup and your bunny has to figure out which cup it is. They definitely get less than the rabbits at the shelter I volunteer at, so I wasn’t too pressed about the amount before. Now…

                    They’re the Burgess ones with mint, but Sorrel has been on different pellets before that from our Pets At Home and his poop has been the same. Like I said, he’d done this from day 1. I’ll try the Science Selective range, but I’ll also call up the Pets At Home to see if his previous owner left any indication of what he was on before they gave me him. I kind of wish they’d told me, now. OTL

                    Either way, I’ve decreased their pellets to just one portion instead of two. I feel bad about it, but I’m just worried it really is the pellets or he’s getting too much of them. Thanks so much for your help, I think I’ll call the vet after if Pets at Home can’t point me in the right direction.


                  • Poppyhani
                    Participant
                    52 posts Send Private Message

                      Hi guys! Double posting, but I wanted to update. I hate when I find these threads on Google and there’s no conclusion, haha.

                      Sorrel was taken to the vet this morning, and we agreed we’ll be moving him onto Science Selective range like Jerseygirl suggested, as well as some fibafirst treats from the same range. They wanted to put him on a recovery food to reset his diet, but they had none in stock, so I’m going to move him onto this food as I wait. Good thing is neither of my buns are picky, so I’m hoping the move won’t be too harsh. He also has another medication that he gets every 8 hours, but I’m not too sure what it is, or how I’ll get around work haha. I’ll figure something out.

                      Generally, the vet says increasing his fibre intake will hopefully help, so the food doesn’t solve it alone, they’re considering giving him some Fibreplex since Poppy has been on it, and she had the most healthiest poops while on it (so much that I lovingly called her Poopy). If it helps, we won’t have to do the recovery food, so here’s hoping!

                  Viewing 7 reply threads
                  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                  Forum DIET & CARE Dark flat poops?