icky bottom

Does your bunny ever get a bit of a wet, dirty bottom??

This problem is quite common and often relates to a dietary issue.

A dirty, wet bottom is of prime concern over the summer months when flies are in excessive numbers. The risk of flystrike to an outside
rabbit increases by 90% and this can kill your bunny. Flystrike is a dangerous and horrible condition caused when flies lay eggs on a
dirty or wet part of your rabbit. The eggs hatch & maggots remain on your bunny. Flystrike is deadly and if not caught early, a rabbit
may not survive.

To work out what may be causing an icky bottom for your bunny, keep a record of what your bunny has eaten. If you can pinpoint what
vegetable or other food causes a wet bottom, runny droppings or excess cecals, you can make a huge difference to your bunny's quality
of life.

Try to identify the dietary causes of these issues through a process of elimination. A rabbit's digestive system is very sensitive to
changes in the diet or from problem foods. Stick to a routine diet for a period of time. Remove one of the veggies at a time (alternate until
you've tried removing each veggie to see any difference).

If you can see the difference after removing a certain veggie, them eliminate that from your bunny's diet permanently.

At BOING we have quite a number of bunnies and we find that some can tolerate some veggies whilst other bunnies just can't eat them at
all.

Always wash your veggies thoroughly

From our experience, there are a number of our buns who cannot eat carrots, parsley, pellets or any fruits. After eating any of these
foods, we can guarantee that the affected buns will end up with a terribly icky bottom. The buns we have that can't eat any of these foods
are Princess, Dingleberry, Lily and Annabelle. After removing these veggies & treats from their diet, we noticed an immediate
improvement & they have not had botty problems since.

Treats

If your bunny is suffering any runny stools or an excess production of cecals, you will need to avoid treats for the time being. Most sweet
fruits will cause an upset tummy.

People food

Any food that is not intended for rabbits, such as bread, cereals, chocolate or any other
people food should not be given to rabbits at any cost. A begging bunny is cute but they
have no idea what is harmful to their health. If they are excited that you are eating a
chocolate biscuit and climbing all over you, have some bunny foods on hand to provide
instead. Sweet sugary biscuits or other people food id incredibly harmful to a rabbit.