# Size of poop



## Snowballbun (Apr 14, 2010)

Hi, 
I was just wondering what it means about the size of your rabbit's poop. Sometimes my rabbit's poop is fairly large, and sometime it's very very tiny. What might cause this difference? Also, one time there were 3 poops strung together. Was this possibly because of hay or fur in the digestive system?


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## AngelnSnuffy (Apr 15, 2010)

Small poos are a sign the bun isn't drinking enough. The strung together ones mean he's ingesting hair from shedding/molting. You want to encourage water drinking for both cases. You can even flavor the water with some apple juice to entice them to drink.

And always push hay.


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## Pipp (Apr 15, 2010)

*AngelnSnuffy wrote: *


> Small poos are a sign the bun isn't drinking enough. The strung together ones mean he's ingesting hair from shedding/molting. You want to encourage water drinking for both cases. You can even flavor the water with some apple juice to entice them to drink.
> 
> And always push hay.



I'm not sure this is true. The size of poops depends on the indigestible fiber intake and output. From my experience, a rabbit eating all vegetables can have small, compact poops and still be hydrated and healthy. Rabbits eating mostly hay will have big crumbly poops and may have less hydration. 

And its really not recommended you flavor their water at all, that's been taken out of context. A separate crock of water spiked with a bit of apple juice can be given to them in addition to their normal water supply, but it shouldn't be left for more than part of a day (depending on the weather). It can be a petri dish for bacteria. 

You do want to encourage fiber and fluids when a rabbit is molting or hair is stringing the poops together just to make sure the hair is moving out of the system though. 


sas :bunnydance:


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## AngelnSnuffy (Apr 15, 2010)

*Pipp wrote: *


> *AngelnSnuffy wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Small poos are a sign the bun isn't drinking enough. The strung together ones mean he's ingesting hair from shedding/molting. You want to encourage water drinking for both cases. You can even flavor the water with some apple juice to entice them to drink.
> ...



Sas. the small poo thing and needing to hydrate actually was a post to me from angela (Naturestee) when I first asked that question a long time ago, so, I felt it ok to post as it "could" be a cause. I should have said "...could be a sign..." Also, about the apple juice, also have been told that or read that multiple times if a bun isn't drinking to entice with apple juice and even spritzing the hay with the apple juice I've heard to do, but def not leave it long, as it causes mold... Hmm. Thought I was posting appropriately...:?


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## Snowballbun (Apr 15, 2010)

Thank you both of you for your help  I have been feeding a lot of veggies lately so maybe that is one reason. And she also is shedding a lot. She seems pretty picky about only eating fresh hay though, not some that is a day or 2 old haha. 

I just know from reading how important poops are in a rabbit that they are important to always watch  I will try to push more hay. Thanks as always you guys are the best.


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## Pipp (Apr 15, 2010)

*AngelnSnuffy wrote: *


> Sas. the small poo thing and needing to hydrate actually was a post to me from angela (Naturestee) when I first asked that question a long time ago, so, I felt it ok to post as it "could" be a cause. I should have said "...could be a sign..." Also, about the apple juice, also have been told that or read that multiple times if a bun isn't drinking to entice with apple juice and even spritzing the hay with the apple juice I've heard to do, but def not leave it long, as it causes mold... Hmm. Thought I was posting appropriately...:?



Hey Crystal, part of it is that rabbit care and knowledge is ever-evolving, we did think that way a long time ago (although not that long ago at all, really).  But a dozen rabbits and thousands of posts later, it's being 'honed' and revised. 

Its also all about context and details. A rabbit with increasingly small poops may have a blockage or a gut slow down and needs fluids and fiber to move it through, but small poops can also be the result of less indigestible fiber and more roughage from veggies.

And I'm not disputing the juice, but that's been taken out of context a lot on the board as its regurgitated -- 'putting an extra crock of flavored water down for the bunnies' has turned into 'put apple juice in their water'. With summer coming, need to be emphasizing that its more complicated than just putting juice in the water, a practice that could hurt a lot of rabbits without the additional advice. 

So this is the updated info. 



sas :bunnydance:


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## AngelnSnuffy (Apr 16, 2010)

*Pipp wrote: *


> *AngelnSnuffy wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Sas. the small poo thing and needing to hydrate actually was a post to me from angela (Naturestee) when I first asked that question a long time ago, so, I felt it ok to post as it "could" be a cause. I should have said "...could be a sign..." Also, about the apple juice, also have been told that or read that multiple times if a bun isn't drinking to entice with apple juice and even spritzing the hay with the apple juice I've heard to do, but def not leave it long, as it causes mold... Hmm. Thought I was posting appropriately...:?
> ...


Thank you for the update, Sas!!!! Man, we need to add this to the library asap.


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## jamesedwardwaller (Apr 16, 2010)

*Snowballbun wrote: *


> Hi,
> I was just wondering what it means about the size of your rabbit's poop. Sometimes my rabbit's poop is fairly large, and sometime it's very very tiny. What might cause this difference? Also, one time there were 3 poops strung together. Was this possibly because of hay or fur in the digestive system?


here is a link you,ll find very useful the mystery of rabbit poop http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html --sincerely james waller wave::rose::bunnydance:poopologist)


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