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Do rabbits eat their feces

Updated: 10/8/2023
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10y ago

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Yes, as disgusting as it sounds, rabbits do eat their poop! Rabbits produce two types of poo. 1. Harder, pellet type poo 2. Soft mucus covered poo. The softer poo is called cecotropes. These aren't normally found in a rabbit's cage as these are the type they eat. These types of poo are very high in nutrition and contributes to a major part of the rabbit's diet. It also gives the rabbit's digestion system another opportunity to use up all of the goodness out of the original food.

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14y ago
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10y ago

Rabbits don't really eat their feces, but they do eat cecotropes and this looks a lot like they're eating feces.

Rabbit feces are small, round, dry, fibrous droppings that have little-to-no smell and are easily swept up. A pet rabbit's feces can be found in the litter box and on the floor around the rabbit's habitat. Sometimes a rabbit might nibble a feces pellet, perhaps out of curiosity, but it won't really eat its feces. Sometimes if rabbits are bored or their cages are dirty, they might eat their feces.

Cecotropes are what rabbits do eat. Cecotropes, also sometimes called "night feces" or cecals, are not technically feces because they're not waste: rather, they're loaded with nutrients that rabbits need to survive. They have all the goodness a rabbit needs and you should never prevent a rabbit from eating them; eating cecotropes helps them digest their food, so they digest it twice. Rabbits produce ceoctropes in the cecum, secrete them from anus, and ingest them immediately. Often, owners don't ever see their rabbit's cecotropes, but they're darker, softer, smaller, and mushier than feces (when you try to sweep them up, if they're fresh, they smush on the ground); also, they're sometimes grouped in a grape formation, and they sometimes smell badly. Rabbits ingest cecotropes a few hours after eating, often in the early morning. Rabbits will re-digest their food over and over until the rabbit sense there is no more nutrients remaining inside. New Response below:

I professionally raised & showed rabbits for 15 yrs. Rabbit poop is perfectly round balls when the animal is healthy and being feed properly. If they produce a long clump that is darker brown and looks like a string of pearls, this is referred to as "night feces" and contains special bacteria to help with their digestive system and is usually produced at night and eaten. However, it sometimes will fall thru the cage floor. If a rabbit has very soft feces the diet is incorrect. Rabbits need very high fiber and low protein pelleted feed. Do not make sudden feed changes this can give them a stomach ache that turns deadly. Buy the same brand without colored bits (for human amusement) with 15-17% protein and close to 18-20% fiber. Limit feeding to a measured amount ONCE daily - for example 1/4 cup for dwarfs, 1/3 cups for holland lops amd supplement with loose hay (not straw), hay cubes - timothy grass alone can be too rich. Limit treats to carrot pieces, few raisins, cabbage leaf, broccoli stalk, sunflower seeds - these are not necessary. If rabbit has smushy feces offer only dry hay & water - doesn't rectify soon, call vet or rabbit breeder.

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13y ago

Yes, rabbits and all other living things need to excrete waste to be alive!

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12y ago

Yes, all living creatures do.

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13y ago

yes if it didnt find its own food

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Q: Do rabbits eat their feces
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Related questions

Do baby rabbits eat their feces?

No rabbits eat their feces, although all rabbits eat cecotropes. Rabbits have two kinds of droppings: feces, and cecotropes. Baby rabbits that aren't weaned yet eat their mother's cecotropes; once they're weaned, they eat their own cecotropes.


Do you need to let your rabbits eat their own feces?

Yes, you must let your rabbits eat their own feces because it's an important part of their digestive system. Rabbits need to eat their feces in order to get all the nutrients they need out of their food. If a rabbit is prevented from eating it's feces, it will become ill. (Actually, to be technical, rabbits don't eat their feces at all: they eat their cecotropes, although it looks like they're eating their feces.) See the related questions below for more details.


Do rabbit eat feces?

Yes, rabbits do indeed eat their own feces. Rabbits are vegans, and like most vegan animals, their digestive tract is not long enough to fully extract the nutrients from what they eat. So they will eat it again. Deer tend to like to eat rabbit feces too, so if you find a pile of rabbit feces, there may be deer nearby.


What is it called when rabbits eat their feces?

Cecotropy is the process by which rabbits will reingest part of their feces by eating them directly from the rectum. Rabbits only ingest the soft "night" feces or cecotrophs. Hence the word Cecotropy.


Which rabbits eat their soft forces?

Are you meaning soft feces??? Every rabbit has a soft night time feces. Most eat it before you ever see it. It aides in their digestion of foods.


Are there vitamins in rabbit feces?

There are no vitamins or nutrients in rabbit feces, but there are many nutrients in their cecotropes, and when rabbits eat their cecotropes, it does look like they're eating their feces. See the related question below for more details.


What else do rabbits eat besides feces?

Rabbits don't really eat feces, they eat cecotropes; otherwise, a healthy pet rabbit diet consists mostly of hay, fresh water, some high-quality pellets daily, and some fresh greens daily. See the related questions below for more details and helpful links.


How does feces taste?

Fecal matter does not taste very pleasant to humans. You can tell by the smell that it isn't going to taste good.Certain animals seem to like fecal matter. Deer will eat the first feces of rabbits, and you can usually hunt for rabbits and deer in the same spot for that reason. Vegan animals have to eat their own feces to get all the nutrients out of what they eat, since there is still a certain amount of nutrition left the first time they pass it.


Why do rabbits pup so much?

Rabbits have a very different metabolism. They eat lots of grass, hay, and vegetables. These have lots of fiber. Fiber helps the digestion system digest fast and thoroughly. Rabbits eat their feces for remaining nutrients. So it helps you clean their cage a little bit!


Is human feces nutritional?

It depends on the species of animal. The first feces from herbivores like rabbits is quite nutritious. It is already partially digested and rich in enzymes. That is why rabbits eat their own feces and why deer tend to stay near rabbits. Cow manure also has a certain amount of nutrition, and that is why chickens will peck around in it. Fecal matter from carnivores tend to have very little nutritious value.


Why does a rabbit get out from his burrow?

They eat wildflowers and greens. they also eat their own feces. I know it's gross, but that's how they get some extra vitamins and minerals. (P.S. Rabbits don't always live in burrows!)


What rabbits eats?

They eat a ton of stuff like grass or timothy hay, My rabbit surprisingly likes bananas, Apples, Lettuce, their own feces, rabbit pellets.