White Discharge

Question
My daughters purchased a 1 1/2 year old Flemish Giant Doe this summer.  According to the breeder/seller she had a litter of rabbits previous to our purchasing her, he had bred her but was unsure if she was pregnant. 3 weeks passed and we took her in for an x-ray and found that she was not pregnant.  30 days ago we took her to a buck for breeding.  She was not responsive to the buck AT ALL.  She stayed there for 14 days and finally she did accept him and they bred (according to the owner of the buck).  Her due date was yesterday the 11th.  2 weeks ago we noticed some white discharge in the bottom of her pan.  It was sticky but odorless.  They were about the size of quarters and there were about 6-7 different spots.  We cleaned the pan and did not notice any additional spots until today.  We located about 3-4 areas in her pan today.  The rabbit acts healthy, she is a bit thin (you can feel her hip bones, ribs and spine) she eats and drinks normally and is being fed free choice a 16% protein (Pen Pals) ration along with all the grass hay she can eat.  She had a pendelous abdomen when we purchased her, but I thought nothing of it since she was supposed to be pregnant.  I asked the breeder about it and he assured me it was "nothing".  Since this was our first Flemish Giant, I believed that maybe that was just the way they were built.  Can you help me out in trying to determine if this white discharge is a health hazard??  I do not believe that she settled a pregnancy with this breeder either. I have plans to take her in to the vet on Wednesday if she does not have a litter by then. I have read and read on the internet and my diagnosis is down to - Open Pyometa, excess calcium in the urine, bladder infection, pasturella....
Could it be a pyometra, bladder infection or pasturella if the rabbit physically acts normal??  Please - any information you might have would be appreciated.  I'm afraid we were sold an unhealthy - unfertile doe and I am concerned about breeding her again if this could be contageous to the buck.
thank you

Answer
Dear Suzanne,

Without seeing her, I cannot diagnose her, and this is best left to the vet.  Without knowing where the discharge is coming from, it's not possible to say whether it is pus from a pyometra (infected uterus) or mucus from enteritis (inflammation of the intestine).  Unless the discharge is coming from her nose, it's not likely to be Pasteurella (the bacterium commonly associated with "snuffles"--which isn't a very good medical term).

In either case, you are wise to get her to a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.  Please also read:

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

Please also read this completely before you consider breeding her again.

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

I hope this helps, and that she'll be on the road to recovery soon.

Dana