Green Poop !

Question
Hi there, I hope you can help, while checking my rabbits rear end this morning (we don't want fly strike :o) ) I noticed that she had produced some green faeces, it was quite soft, and more "gooey" than normal and they were actually quite bright in colour, and not the usual dark brown shade. I was wondering whether this is likely to be serious, should I take a visit to the vets? She is perfectly happy in herself, hopping around, eating and drinking normally. Something that I have recently changed however is her food, this brand seems to contain a lot more colouring in some of the pellets, could her green faeces be down to this? Thank you so much for your time, you do a great job!

Zara Austin

Answer
Dear Zara,

If the pellets you just bought contain a lot of green food coloring, that could be the reason for the bright color of the poops. But then I'd ask...why do they need the food coloring?  A good quality pellet is green naturally.  I'd switch her to a good quality brand (NO seeds, dried nuts, or other "treats"!) such as Purina or Kaytee Fortidiet (NOT Fiesta).  Please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/feeding.html

for more information on good bunny diet.

The soft poops you saw were probably cecotropes.  You can read more about this here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

Once you've read that, please write back if you still think this isn't normal, or if you have any other questions.  Hope that helps!

Dana