Small animal advice

All you need to know about rabbit poo: a retailer’s guide Claire Hamblion

Marketing manager at Supreme Pet Foods

“ “ More caecotrophs can also be a sign of underlying health problems.

There is no doubt that the popularity of small pets has increased in the last few years, in part due to the impact of the pandemic. In fact, the UK pet rabbit population has now reached a grand total of one million, with 2.4 percent of households having a resident rabbit. Even better, rabbits are no longer thought of as the low-maintenance child’s pet that they once were. Today’s ‘pet parents’ recognise the complex requirements of these fi nely tuned herbivores and consider them very much one of the family.

You are what you eat

Feeding a high-quality diet that mimics fi bre-rich natural nutrition is key to keeping rabbits in optimum health. Knowing what is normal and monitoring for early signs that a pet is under the weather should also be high up the priority list. However, as prey animals, rabbits are experts at hiding signs of illness, a behaviour that would help save them from becoming prey in the wild. So, how can owners overcome this innate ability that rabbits have to say: ‘I’m fi ne?’ By monitoring the one thing that they cannot hide: their poo.

With a highly specialised digestive system optimised for dealing with a fi bre-rich diet, poo production is pretty important and owners need to be able to recognise what is normal for their four-legged friend so they can spot when things are not quite right.

Poo: knowing what’s normal

In order to get maximum nutrition from a diet packed full of fi brous plant material, food must pass through the digestive tract twice. During this process, rabbits produce two different kinds of poo — caecotrophs and pellets. So, what’s the difference?

Caecotrophs are the sticky grape-like clusters of poo that rabbits usually eat straight from their bottom. Larger than poo pellets, they are black and shiny and may have a strong smell. They are the end stage of fermentation in the caecum, a process which allows all of the digestible parts of the diet to be absorbed by the rabbit. Normally owners will not see many of these; if any do get left in the environment, owners often mistake them for diarrhoea.

In contrast, pellet poo is light brown, small and dry and tends to crumble when squashed. Full of indigestible fi bre, an average sized rabbit will produce 200 — 300 of these every day.

From nugget to poo: a step-by-step guide

The journey through the rabbit digestive system, from tasty nugget full of crunch, to caecotroph or poo pellet is a complex one.

1Rabbit eats the nugget: a high fi bre content and crunchy texture encourages a long chewing time. This is important to wear down continually growing rabbit teeth and start the process of digestion.

2Food passes through the stomach and small intestines and some nutrients are absorbed.

3Onward to the lower digestive tract where the food enters the caecum. Here, ‘good bacteria’ ferment the partially digested material, unlocking useful nutrients.

4In the colon and caecum, gut contents are separated into digestible and indigestible fi bre. The latter is important for gut motility, and once it has passed through the last part of the digestive tract, it is excreted as hard poo pellets.

5Digestible fi bre may return to or remain in the caecum for as long as four hours for further fermentation.

6After coating in a layer of mucus, digestible fi bre is passed as a caecotroph.

7Rabbit eats the caecotroph and the whole process starts again.

Too much of a good thing

Normally, owners will not see many caecotrophs because if all is as it should be, these will be nibbled straight from the rabbit’s bottom. Add to this the fact that rabbits often do most of their caecotroph eating at night and it is easy to see why owners may not spot this behaviour. Even if they do, it is easy to misinterpret as grooming.

So, if owners start seeing caecotrophs in their rabbit’s living quarters, what does this mean? When it comes to rabbits, it is always better to be safe than sorry and owners should be advised to seek veterinary advice if their pet seems unwell. However, in a rabbit that is otherwise well, it may be a sign that their diet is not spot-on. A diet that is too rich in concentrates with insuffi cient hay could be the culprit. Make sure owners are feeding their rabbit unlimited good quality hay, together with a measured portion of high fi bre nuggets containing no added sugar.

More caecotrophs can also be a sign of underlying health problems. For example, mobility issues caused by arthritis or obesity can make it diffi cult, or impossible, for rabbits to reach their bottom, greatly reducing their ability to eat this all-important poo. Dental disease will also have an impact, as will any illness that causes a reduction in appetite.

Not enough poo

While less may be more when it comes to caecotrophs, the opposite is true with pellet poo. A reduction in the number of pellets being produced, always warrants a vet check and if no pellets are being produced at all, rabbits need urgent A rabbit’s diet is so important.

veterinary attention. Why? Well, it can be a sign of gastric stasis, a life-threatening condition.

The reduction in gut motility that is a feature of gastric stasis, has many possible causes, including stress, dental disease, pain, dehydration, intestinal blockages, or simply a lack of dietary fi bre.

Signs of gastric stasis include:

● Reduced number or size of poo pellets ● Reduced appetite ● Lethargy ● Hunched appearance suggesting abdominal pain ● Teeth grinding ● Drooling ● Bloated abdomen

Diet and nutrition for ‘good poo’

First and foremost, the importance of feeding a nutritionally balanced high fi bre diet that mirrors that of wild rabbits should be emphasised. Getting this right is the single most important thing owners can do to optimise their pet’s health and well-being. ● 80% of the diet should be hay or grass. Different types of hay vary in terms of their taste and nutritional content, and rabbits can often be picky, preferring the higher quality options. Science Selective Timothy Hay and Russel Rabbit Tasty Hay are both nutritious choices that bunnies love. Rabbits should be offered unlimited hay and a good guide for owners is that their rabbit should eat a bunny-sized portion every day. ● Feed a carefully measured portion of high-quality rabbit food every morning and evening. This food should be high in fi bre and no added sugar diets are preferable to those that contain sugary ingredients like molasses. There are various types available to suit all tastes from muesli-style mixes to extruded nuggets, such as Supreme’s Science Selective range. ● Selective feeding can be a problem for some rabbits that are fed muesli. To get full nutritional value from a diet, rabbits should eat the whole portion, but if some ingredients are left behind, particularly the pellets, they are unlikely to be getting a balanced diet. Retailers can help to overcome this by suggesting a mix that includes tasty extruded nuggets, such as Russel Rabbit Tasty Mix, or switching to a single-component nugget diet, like Science Selective Adult Rabbit or Russel Rabbit Tasty Nuggets. ● Feed a handful of leafy greens to add variety. Healthy treats and high sugar veg, like carrots, should only be offered occasionally.

Point of sale

To support retailers, Supreme offer a comprehensive range of POS material from traditional barkers and wobblers to care guides and free samples with money off next purchase coupons, as well as posters and FSDUs.

Poo may not be top of the list of conversation topics, so why not use in-store displays to start things off? To get the most out of these opportunities, make sure that all your staff are happy discussing rabbit needs and linking these to the key features of the products you offer. If your team needs a recap on your stock, think about arranging some product training. At Supreme, we offer this as an effective way to help retailers promote products and drive sales.