Poo too Big

[norcal]

My does poop doesn't fall through the holes of the bottom wire, some of it's too big.
Then it gets peed on & turns into a mess. I try to bang it out once a day (hubby takes care of them, as I work more).

Help?

We have 9 babies in w/ her right now, & it's kind of stressing me out.

 

[hoodat]

Maybe you need bigger openings in your wire, I use 1/2X1 on the floors of most of my cages. What is probably happening is that hay or other debris is blocking some of the openings. Once it starts to pile in one spot the pile has a way of spreading out.

 

[rockdoveranch]

Yep, I agree with hoodat. We use 1/2 x 1 inch wire too.

 

[rabbitlady4433]

just a random side note. Those grill scrubbing brushes with the wire on one side the pumus on the other and the scraper on top work wonders for cleaning the wire on cages. And the long handle helps keep your hands out of it.

 

[norcal]

just a random side note. Those grill scrubbing brushes with the wire on one side the pumus on the other and the scraper on top work wonders for cleaning the wire on cages. And the long handle helps keep your hands out of it.

Thanks for the ideas. Is using the wire brushes hard on the cage wire? I use a plastic scrub brush, it's not as effective as I would have hoped.

 

[rockdoveranch]

Is this weird or not?

I have never had to scrub down the bottom wire of our rabbit cages, not even when we had rabbits in the 1980s. They all look clean to me. Nothing messy on the wires.

Nothing has ever not gone through the wire with the exception of cecotropes hanging under the wire that were not eaten and had the stringy thing keeping them from falling to the slant board under the cage. I just knock them off when cleaning the slant board.

Weird?

I weighed two of our rabbits yesterday and one came in at 11 pounds and the other at 12.4. Oh and the baby weighed 2.8.

Now I do have a rabbit with a litter pan. The wire sits on pine shavings in the litter pan. The wire stays pretty clean as long as I change the pan every couple of days. When it is not, I soak it and the pan in water with bleach.

 

[norcal]

Our wire is 1/2" x 1" on the cage floor. ??
Oh well, it's been getting better, I guess she's just a big doe w/ big poop. I'm usually able to bang it out, if it doesn't get peed on before then.

 

[rabbitlady4433]

I notice I only really have to 'clean' the wire bottom when my does throw hay around and then poop on top. It will build up BIG in one day. I just do a thorough scrubbing on the frame, which is wood, before I rebreed after the kits are weaned. But, I'm sure that's because I'm a slight germ freak and like to keep my cages pristine. I live in town and my rabbitry can be seen from the road. There are a few people in town that do not like the fact that we raise them for meat, so I give them no reason what so ever to have any complaints, other than their personal opinions.

 

[Augusta]

I have a five month old doe doing the very same thing,not sure if its stress or what I'm feeding...I notice it more when I feed dandelion leaves and oats....Its very large and I have to clean the cage daily as well...I also 14 days ago changed her feed..So,still trying to figure it out as well....

Has yours improved...?

 

[Augusta]

Hey ya'll,,

Been awhile since I've been on here,but in case this will help someone,,,My doe with the large poo problem turned out to be a hair blockage...I fed her fresh pinapple, all she could eat and hay...Took awhile,but when she had two inch pieces of hay in her poo and her poo was normal I new all was well....and still is,thankfully....

I also lost a doe due to fur block ...Turned out her stomach was full of it,the size of a womans fist....This is the first time with this for me and I've raised em for awhile....

The poo isn't as clean under the pens with hay in it,but hay and pineapple from now on...I found that it molds pretty fast in summer though...{pineapple} that is...

Mike