Rabbit poop is important! Poop is at a core the perfect way of telling if your rabbit is healthy!
Rabbits are herbivores which means they eat grass, weeds and hay as a primary part of their diet.
Their digestive system is extremely sensitive when it comes to processing their diet and this is easily spotted in their poop!
Your rabbits quality of poop can be thrown out of whack by giving too many treats, not having the right quality or quantity of hay and even over-feeding them pellets.
If you notice a change in your rabbit droppings that means there’s either a digestive disruption or other health issue!
A typical rabbit will poop around 200-350 times a day, this changes in volume based on how big your rabbit is and how much they eat and how their mood is.
Rabbit poo that is fresh should be soft and brittle, a little bit of pressure should result in your rabbits poop falling apart into a small dusty like substance.
Rabbits produce two types of droppings:Hard round balls called faecal pellets and soft dark colored droppings called cecotropes!
Faecal pellets are small in size and usually black, dark brown and green in color filled with plant and grass pieces.
Droppings that are too small, dark and irregular in shape show that your rabbit isn’t processing food well.
If your rabbit stops pooping suddenly and hasn’t pooped for around 24 hours it’s a life threatening condition and should be treated by your vet immediately!
Cecotropes look squishy in appearance as the droppings are stuck together. They're dark brown almost black in color and the mucus covering gives them a glossy appearance.
Rabbits consume the cecotropes to obtain extra nutrients.
Rabbits eat cecotropes straight from their butt. You may notice your rabbit ducking it's head underneath and then sit up chewing.
The production of too many cecotropes is caused by a diet that is rich in carbohydrates, sugar and protein which disturbs the balance of the bacteria present in the caecum.
Coprophagia means the consumption of one’s poop. It’s normal in most animals and highly gross for humans!
If your rabbit's butt is covered with sticky poo, you may be feeding them too many sugary treats and not feeding your rabbit with enough hay!
Rabbits can carry parasites like tapeworm and roundworm but their waste does not transmit any diseases to humans.
If your rabbit has golden poops it means your rabbit has an extremely good diet and their gut is digesting food well!
Golden poop is even brighter than a healthier looking poop and the inside is as it says, golden! It will have a nice yellow tint to it and look like a golden nugget!
You can help your rabbit produce good poo by feeding them with lots of hay that help in the production of normal poo and cecotropes.
Soft or sticky poo gets stuck to the rabbit butt which can cause health issues like flystrike.
Whenever you find your rabbit dirty, gently clean their butt with warm water and dry it.
Rabbit poop can even be great fertilizer for your garden!Find out more by clicking the rabbit below!
If your bunny doesn't eat it's poop, go to the vet!Rabbits must consume appropriate portions of feces, otherwise they will suffer several digestive problems and blood poisoning.
Although it's gross, don't try to stop your rabbit consuming their cecotropes! It's essential for their health!