Undigested hay in rabbit poop

Question
Hi,
We have a lionhead lop bunny. We often see distinct pieces of hay sticking out of his poop, and his poop are strung together by strands of hay. He does not like to eat hay. We tried all sorts of ways to encourage him to eat hay, including cutting the amount of vegetables and pellets, syringing him with lots of water, and giving him unlimited amount of hay. Yet he eats little of the hay and most of it became his bedding. Is the presence of undigested hay in his poop and his reluctance to eat hay cause for concern? He is not drooling and doesn't have ulcers in the mouth/cheek. At the last dental check he had some slight spurs at the side of the mouth but the vet said it's not crucial to file them down now.

Answer
Dear Sue,

Are you sure the residue you are seeing is not fur?  This is a much more common thing that strings poops together.  I doubt hay would make it through the digestive tract in long strands like this, unless it is extremely lignified hay.

Make sure he gets lots of wet greens and oral liquids to help hydrate his intestinal contents and push things through easily.  If he won't eat hay, then at least he needs fresh greens (try fresh, wet grass that has not been sprayed with insecticide or fertilizers, and is very clean--it's even better than hay).  That will help keep his GI tract healthy.

I hope this helps.

Dana