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Rabbits Eat Their Own Poop

Rabbits are foraging herbivores, eating mostly grass and weeds. But this fibrous, cellulose rich diet isn鈥檛 the easiest to digest, and by the time their dinner has make it through their intestines it still contains many of the nutrients the bunnies need.

Rabbits and hares beat this problem with a special kind of called hindgut fermentation. In short, they eat their own poop and digest it a second time. Bunnies actually make two different kinds of droppings: little black round ones and softer black ones known as that are eaten. This process is known as , and functions the same as cows chewing their cud.

It鈥檚 very important for a rabbit鈥檚 digestive system to keep moving fluidly, as they need to re-ingest their cecotropes in order to get the nutrients they need. If anything gets stuck in a bunny鈥檚 esophagus or intestines, they鈥檙e out of luck, since they鈥檙e .


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