smelly droppings

Question
we have a 3 year old rex/lop cross lives in an outside hutch with access to a grassy garden in the summer.  She has just come for the winter, and lives in an indoor hutch in our house porch.  We have noticed over the last few days that her hutch smells "fishy" which we have not noticed when she was inside during the last winter.  She eats dry pellet food with some fresh veg and fruit, but is no longer eating grass.  She seems healthy and happy, but wondered if you had any idea what the smell was?  people are beginning to notice !!  Thanks

Answer
Dear Helen,

If she's not spayed, her droppings and urine will smell more strongly.  Unspayed female rabbits have a high risk of uterine cancer, so there are several good reasons to have her spayed.  She's still relatively young. You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Check her bottom for any sign of messy stool stuck to her.  If you do see this, please read:

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

If she's clean, then it's possible that the litter pan filler you're using isn't good at absorbing odor, and urine is decaying with a nasty smell.  A really *excellent* litterbox filler/tray filler is pelleted sawdust such as Feline Pine, wood stove pellets (Home Depot) or pelleted sawdust horse bedding (available at many feed stores/horse supply outlets).  These absorb odor and moisture, and make great compost.  If the problem is actually urine in the bottom of the hutch (or even under it, where it might have seeped if she's missing the litterbox--urine does develop a "fishy" smell if it's not cleaned up immediately, especially if it's settled under a litterbox and not exposed to air.)

I hope this gives you some ideas.  I'm betting the smell is from urine trapped somewhere you didn't notice--not the bunny herself. If you do find a source of hidden pee, mop with bleach, then rinse the area with white vinegar to remove the smell, and do a final rinse with clean water.  You can even line the area with the pelleted sawdust bedding so any "overshoot" will hit the pellets, be absorbed, and not cause any odor problems.

Good luck!

Dana