Cecotropes (Night Feces) in Rabbits

Rabbits have a very large and well-developed cecum which makes up approximately 40% of their intestinal tract. This large out pouching at the junction of the small and large intestines is the site of fermentation and digestion of foodstuffs ingested by the bunny. It is also the site where rabbits make cecotropes (pictured above). The cecotropes are soft mucous-covered poops that the rabbit ingests directly from its anus, many times in the early morning hours, thus the name “night feces”. These cecotropes are important because they serve as a major source of protein and vitamins for the rabbit. The high fiber, round firm pellets you are used to cleaning up in your rabbit’s cage are its actual feces which are formed in the large intestine.

Instead of completely fermenting all fiber, rabbits utilize a mechanism to sort out indigestible fiber and expel it from the body. This sorting mechanism occurs as digesta enters the rabbit large intestine where muscular contractions help facilitate the separation of the fiber and non-fiber (protein, digestible carbohydrates, etc.) fractions that are simultaneously sent in opposite directions. The high fiber component moves to the colon and is voided from the body as the daytime or hard feces, the normal stool most people familiar with rabbits are used to seeing. The nonfiber fraction moves to the cecum where fermentation by bacteria and protozoa produce amino acids, nitrogen and urea all of which are used by the rabbit to make protein.

Hay and high fiber diets help regulate this unusual mechanism of separating hay and solid wastes from nutrient and vitamin rich cecotropes. With normal hay intake the intestinal tract functions well and things keep moving: normal solid stools are made and passed during the day and then cecotropes are made in the cecum and ingested in the early morning hours. It seems a weird way to get nutrients but the rabbit has evolved to require this twice ingestion of nutrients- once as food and a second time as cecotropes. That’s just the way it is!! This balance of producing solid feces and nutrient-rich cecotropes depends on ingestion of lots of hay and being consistent with the vegetables you offer. That way you keep the intestines happy and moving and the bacteria and protozoa in the intestines stay in balance. Most of the time it’s that simple to keep your bunny feeling well enough to perform a “binky” or two on a daily basis.