CAECOTROPHY

soft fecal mater


When a rabbit produces and consumes its soft mushy poop (cecals) it is called Caecotrophy. Cacotrophy is a normal behavior for a rabbit. A rabbit’s diet of plant is hard to digest efficiently, and it will poop out lots of undigested nutrients. By eating this soft mushy poop, it gives them a second shot in using all of the nutrition in their food. Also, a rabbit’s poop contains vitamins produced by their intestinal bacteria. Rabbits are unable to absorb the vitamins through the intestinal walls, but can absorb them by eating the poop.
 
Effect of age and lactation on Caecotrophy
Caecotrophy begins at 3-4 weeks of age, when rabbits begin to consume solid food. Soft faeces production linearly increases with age, reaching a maximum at 9-11 weeks old (maximum growth, greatest feed intake). From 11 to 19 weeks old soft faeces excretion stabilizes (growth rate decreases, feed intake increases slightly). Lactating does show greater soft faeces production (higher feed intake).

Soft faeces contain greater proportions of protein, minerals and vitamin than hard faeces, while hard faeces are higher in fibrous components compared with soft faeces. Nutrient supply through soft faeces is concerned, protein represents from 15 to 22% of the total protein intake. It is high in essential amino acids: lysine, sulphus amino acids and threonine. The importance of these amino acids depends on the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis. Microbial activity is also responsible for the high content of K and B vitamins in soft faeces.
 
Location: Abuja, Nigeria

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