rabbit is sick, i think

Question

Dana,
Thanks for your reply, very cool.
Our rabbit is a male, named LuLu, that
is because we thought he was a girl till
he grew balls. Anyway, we live in Michigan
our rabbit has a pretty great life.  He has his
own hutch, which has an insulated place to sleep, but he rarely uses it.  His hutch sits on the ground in our barn/garage so he is free to roam the barn/garage at all times.  We live in the country, and he rarely leaves the yard, so he does spend alot of time running around nibbling on whatever he wants.  I also give him apple twigs once in a while.  We give him about a 1/2 carrot every night and he has tim. hay and rabbit food.  He is about 2-1.5 yrs old.  White w/ black spots, and black ears.  I just offered him two pieces of honeycomb this morning and he ate them w/ vigor, so he eats fine.  His poop seems normal, although yesterday he pooped a really large one.  He also sits out in a cage I made that lets him lay in the grass and eat clover.  I think that's all.  I gave him half a human fiber wafer this morning, I am not sure if I should have.  He ate it, as it is very sweet.  Thanks...
My wife and I arent really rabbit people, I bought it for her for fun for Christmas, but we like to take care of animals properly.  I am a cop and she is a teacher.  One more thing, our rabbit is a smaller rabbit, not really small, about the size of a small wild rabbit. (Northern) I would say his stomach has been bigger for about two weeks or three, maybe more?  He was more active this moring, following me around in anticipation of me giving him food.  Thanks again.
Matt

Answer
Dear Matt,

I can't tell without seeing him, but it's possible that your bunny is developing symptoms of a condition that apparently is genetically linked to his color--white with pigmented eyes and spots--more often than to other colors in rabbits.  We call it "cowpoop syndrome" for lack of a better term.  But in rabbits with this condition, the fecal pellets are often unusally large and misshapen, almost as if they are a combination of fecal and cecal matter.  The belly in such bunnies often becomes distended and taut, possibly related to the condition.

I would avoid feeding him sweets, as a diet high in digestible carbs (starches and sugars) are unhealthy for his digestive flora, and could exacerbate his condition.  If you are interested in more detailed information about what we do with "cowpoop" bunnies, please email me directly at dana@miami.edu

There's not really anything you can do to cure the problem, if that's what he has (again, I can't see him or his poops to be able to judge).  But there are things you can do to prevent some of the complications (e.g. intestinal blockages) that sometimes accompany this congenital syndrome.

Hope I can help in some way.

Dana