Small Poos

Question
Hello, I just have a question you might be able to help with. A week ago I bought myself a pet 7 week old Mini Lop (making him 8 weeks old now). For the first 4 days his poos were quite larger and he was pooing more often (which could possibly be because he is marking his territory). However im now into my 8th day of having him and his poos are smaller and he doesnt seem to be pooing as often (he probably still goes once every 1-2 hours). Hes still very energetic, doesnt seem to have any problem eating/drinking and doesnt seem to be in any kind of discomfort. Could this just be because of the difference in foods that I feed him and that the breeder fed him before I recieved him, or something else? Thank you.

Answer
Hi Peter,

well it could be a couple of things that are responsible for his smaller fecal pellets.

First, diet.  Hay is the thing he should have the very most of, it should make up 75% of his diet.  Unlimited amounts, he will not get fat from hay.  Give him both Timothy Hay and Alfalfa Hay (at one year, stop the alfalfa hay).  And make sure he has enough at all times.  Oxbow seems to be the tastiest hay by my rabbits' and other owners rabbits that I know.  The more hay (long fiber) he eats, the larger his fecal pellets will get.  And trust me, larger is better because the more long fiber material he can eat the better and healthier his gi tract (and overall health) will be.

Next comes timothy pellets.  Give him a good pellet (again Oxbow is excellent) without extra 'crap' in it like seeds and fruit and nuts and corn.  None of the extras - these lead to gut problems.

For now avoid greens and carbohydrates - he is borderline too young for them and you will probably already be making big changes to his diet from above suggestions.  I suggest going to the House Rabbit web site (www.rabbit.org) and reviewing their diet and nutrition articles.

The other possibility is that he may be dealing with a partial blockage of his gi tract with hair, as this is the time of year they shed pretty hard.

If you weren't givng him enough hay, this is the reason.  If you are and he is still eating a lot of hay and they are still getting smaller, he probably has a blockage and then you should take him to a good rabbit vet for this.  they can treat this with medicines or if it becomes a full blockage, surgery.  But I am betting as you are a newer owner, you probably were not aware how important and how much hay (unlimited) your rabbit needs.

Write back anytime.  Lee