What is the feces in a rabbit? Causes of eating stool

Normal stool is one of the most important indicators of the health of any living organism. By changes in his character, one can judge in advance the various shifts in the work of the gastrointestinal system and the organism as a whole. In this article we will talk about how normal should be feces in rabbits, as well as what can be indicated by certain changes in its normal structure.

Norms of feces in rabbits

A normal rabbit stool with its digestive system functioning correctly consists of two parts - it is the feces themselves, as well as the so-called cecotrophs, which play an important role in the work of the rabbit body. They have the form of the so-called mulberry berries, that is, elongated, molded together with mucus, soft, slightly shining in the light, small balls.

Learn how to choose a rabbit when buying for breeding, as well as consider what breeds of rabbits to choose for breeding.

The bulk of the feces laid by the rabbits and available to our constant observation and interaction with it are rather hard, round or oval dry pellets of medium size, most often of a neutral brown color. Usually rabbits do not eat this type of feces and do not show any interest in it.

Why does rabbit have feces

It often happens that among normal-looking rabbit feces come across a variety of incompatible inclusions, such as blood, mucus, pus, excessive amounts of water, etc. Below we consider the possible causes of the appearance of certain impurities in the feces of your pets, as well as the likely ways to most effectively solve these problems.

We recommend that you read about how to properly treat constipation in rabbits.

With mucus

The presence of large amounts of mucus in the feces can be a symptom of several different pathological conditions at once. If it is a serous (watery) mucus, then most likely it is caused by a viral enteric infection.

In the same case, if the mucus has a pronounced putrefactive shade, then the bacterial pathological process is most likely the cause of its appearance.

Do not forget that the appearance of a certain type of mucus can also be provoked by helminthic invasion or poor nutrition. In the latter case, all the symptoms go away at the time of diet change, and banal de-worming with the help of drugs from vetapteks will help get rid of worms. As for the treatment of bacterial and viral pathological processes involving the intestine in its course and development, the so-called etiotropic therapy, that is, therapy with the use of agents to which the pathogens have sensitivity, is an adequate technique.

It will probably be useful for you to learn how to apply: "Penicillin", "Lactic acid", "Chiktonik", "Yod", "Gamavit", "Baytril" and "Dithrim" for rabbits.

For bacteria, these are antibiotics, for viral infections, antiviral drugs. The sensitivity of pathogens to specific drugs is most often determined in the course of a special test, which is called the “susceptibility test of pathogens”.

The black

If the color of the feces of rabbits has become too black, then this is a reason to think about latent bleeding in the cavity of the gastrointestinal tract or about recent changes in the diet of animals. If you have recently changed food, or introduced any new product into the diet of fluffies - try to mark it and watch the reaction of feces. If the changes have regressed, you have successfully discovered and eliminated the cause.

If this did not help, and the rabbits, in addition, show growing concern, refuse food, react poorly to the attention of fellows and those around them, demonstrate a reduced vitality, then this is a reason to think about the development of intestinal bleeding with small volumes of blood loss.

You should not try to self-cure this condition - contact your veterinarian; he will prescribe hemostatics and other medications for the animal.

Unfortunately, poor nutrition, poor living conditions lead to the fact that rabbits are sick and dying en masse. Get acquainted with all the subtleties of breeding rabbits at home.

Soft / liquid

The softening of feces, starting from a slight loss of its round regular structure, and ending with profuse diarrhea, can be a symptom of many very different conditions and diseases.

For example, the development of dental diseases, changes in the diet and the frequency of food and drink, changes in the mode of the day and night of animals, as well as the already mentioned various causes (parasites, infectious and bacterial diseases, injuries, etc.) and the reaction to excessive stress - All this can cause the softening of the feces of animals.

The only adequate method of dealing with such a manifestation of the disorder of the act of defecation is to search for its true cause and promptly eliminate it. Some ways of troubleshooting possible problems have been described above. The only thing that needs to be remembered is that prolonged and plentiful diarrhea is a deadly hazard to health, and sometimes even the lives of your wards.

Why do rabbits eat their feces

Here one should return to the cecotrophs mentioned at the beginning of the article. Cecotrophs are special clots of feces that contain many of the necessary nutrients for normal functioning of the nutrients that are synthesized in his cecum, and which he allocates most often once a day, separately from the rest of feces.

Did you know? In Japanese Fifah it was said that rabbits live on the Moon, where they make mochi, rice cakes.
As you can understand, eating cecotrophs is an absolutely normal process and even necessary for rabbits, so try to simply ignore this process if you don’t enjoy it. Cecotrophs contain a large dose of vitamins, amino acids essential for the body of the rabbit, and macro and micronutrients. But in the event that the rabbit suddenly began to eat his usual feces, it is necessary to urgently show him to the veterinarian. It is likely that the poor guy is experiencing serious problems with digestion and / or is experiencing acute protein-energy deficiency, for which an expert’s help may be needed for an adequate correction.

Rabbit breeders should learn how to treat: cysticercosis, flatulence, viral hemorrhagic disease, conjunctivitis, pasteurellosis and scabies in rabbits, as well as get acquainted with infectious diseases of rabbits that are transmitted to humans.

So, not always the changed feces of rabbits may indicate any pathology, sometimes it is evidence of changes in the diet, but attention is still not worth loosening, because the timely identification of the problem largely contributes to its successful solution. Feel free to contact your veterinarian if necessary. Health to you and your pets!

Watch the video: Why Do Rabbits Eat Their Poop: The SR Rabbit update 5-2-17 (April 2024).