I recently adopted a rabbit from the pound after I lost mine. This rabbit eats its own poop! Why does she do it and how can I get her to stop?
Answers:
Rabbits produce 2 types of feces, the harder pelleted feces normally found in a rabbit cage, and the soft, greenish, mucous covered feces. These softer feces are actually called cecotropes. The cecotropes usually won't be found in the cage, as the rabbit normally eats these as they are produced. As gross as it sounds, cecotropes are quite nutritious being high in some vitamins, etc. In fact, the production of cecotropes is a very important and significant part of the digestive sytem function of rabbits. Proper function of the digestive system (and a proper diet) will ensure that rabbits get optimal nutrition from their diet and the production of these cecotrop
It is eating the round pelleted poop, or does the poop it's eating look a bit more like a bunch of grapes? If so, these are cecals and are full of beneficial bacteria. It's perfectly normal for the rabbit to eat them.
This is normal and actually healthy. Rabbits eat a lot of hay and other grains which take a long time to digest. The first time a rabbit eats, they only digest about half of what they eat. What they poop out isn't really "poop", even though it looks like it. It is half digested food which is rich in many of the nutrients the rabbit could not absorb the first time it ate. So your rabbit must eat the "poop" in order to get these missing nutrients. The second time it comes out as actual poop and your rabbit will not eat this.
You should not do anything to stop your rabbit or you could cause lots of health problems.
www.rabbit.org for more info
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