Nursing Doe with Soft Stool

Question
My rabbit has kits that are 12 days old and doing great. But about 7 or 8 days ago. She began having soft stool. She has been on the same pellets now for awhile. After giving birth, she was ravenous.  I did increase her Romaine/Leafy Lettuce intake as well as gave her a 1/2 carrot a day (she never had a carrot before her kits). I have stopped giving her her greens but the soft stool is not stopping. Its a mess/it smells and the babies are getting ready to start being mobile soon. She is a big Alfalfa Hay eater, loves it. The timothy Hay is eaten but not gobbled up. Because she is nursing I am afraid to take away her pellets. She is drinking an awful lot and is always near her litter box. So What should I do? What diet should I try. This is a terrible mess.

Answer
Dear Stacey,

Your bunny appears to be suffering from chronic cecal dysbiosis, a condition not uncommon in rabbits for several reasons.  You can read more about it here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

Note that the most common reason for this condition is incorrect diet.  You can check here to compare what your bunny is getting with what is a healthy diet that promotes intestinal health:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

Cryptic health problems also can cause stress, and this can trigger GI slowdown in rabbits, resulting in cecal dysbiosis and messy bottom.  Anything from urinary tract infection, arthritis, or dental problems may be responsible.  Dental problems are especially common triggers of GI slowdown, especially in short-faced rabbits such as lops and dwarfs.  You can read more about this here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

You will need the help of a good rabbit vet to figure out the problem and treat it appropriately, and you can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Intestinal parasites (e.g., coccidia, roundworms, tapeworms) are not a very common cause of this problem in adult rabbits, but the vet may wish to check for them, just to be sure.  

In the meantime, here are some tips for keeping her clean until you can get her to a rabbit-savvy vet:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

There's a possibility that the stress of taking care of the babies could be contributing to the condition, but I'd want to rule out the most common possibilities first.  

I hope this helps.

Dana