rabbits soft poos

Question
my rabbit is 2yrs and for the past year she has had a problem with her soft poo, she started producing much more than normal and then just sitting on it.  The vet said she was overweight and changed her diet to lite pellets and hay with some greens(she loves kale. she got abit thinner but these poos havent got better, they dont form the normal bunch of grapes look, just big lumps and still she will just sit on them which then sticks to her coat and forms solid masses around her backside.  We dont know what to do to solve this problem.

Answer
Hi,

she needs more fiber, you need to provide good fresh hay and top it off a couple times a day with fresher stuff.

If she's overweight you need to eliminate or greatly cut down on treats.  I'd cut out any treats high in sugars.  No yogurt drops at all.  No fruits.  Cut down on veggies, especially carrots.  Bump up her hay so that when she's hungry she will eventually get into the habit of eating the hay and start enjoying it more.

Also split up the amounts of the higher calorie stuff you give her so she doesn't eat it all at once.  Split her pellets from one meal to two small meals, one in the morning, one in the evening.

Further you need to get her out exercising more.  Just dropping the food isn't enough when rabbits are overweight.  Building up muscle will cause her to burn more calories even when not exercising.  She needs to have enough room to hop and run around.  You will need to bunnyproof an area nad giver her things to play in and explore during her time out.  Wicker tents, tubes, diggy-piles of cut up cotton tshirts and towels, and also a water crock and some hay out in the exercise area (hay can be put in a litterpan so she can eat and have a bathroom at the same time, with water next to that).

You might need to give her probiotics for now as her gut bacteria balances are changing and you want to bolster them with good bacteria. Giving her a small little squirt of Bene-Bac (from pet supply store) on her pellets in the morning.

You will need to in the meantime clean her rear end periodically (overweight bunnies can't bend down properly to get to their cecal pellets to eat them).  One can hold her, the other can take a lightly damp soft washcloth and work the fur and clumps, and alternate between washcloth and a (dedicated) man's comb and use the fine bristles to comb out any clumps.  Always make sure to hold her in a way to support her back.  Have your vet show you how to hold her properly to clean her vent area.  Best to have someone show you.  If she kicks hard and the back isn't supported she could break her back.