rabbit making grinding sort of noise

Question
Hello, I have recived my three new zealand white female bunnies and my mini rex/new zealand cross female bunny last friday, they got along great with my mini rex who is 5 months old(they met out of cage) so I joined there cages together and they are all now living happiliy in a group, all bunnys appered health when they arrived, all were silent, but the last two days one of the new zealand girls is almost constantly making a grinding/grunting noise, she eats well, drinks, potty well, is active and taming down nicely, she as well as the other gets timothy hay, carrots, parsley, martin brand pellets & chew sticks daily, therere bedding is newspaper and is changed daily, she isnt drolling and since shes eating well this can't be something wrong with her teeth, it seems to be like her noise is slightly blocked by the sound of the noise so I think its something to do with her breathing, the soonest I could get her to a vet is in two/four weeks, I was wondering if you knew what this could be? if the other bunnys can get it or if they probly already have it and if its easily treatable?, thank you for your help in advance.

Answer
Some bunnies have a floppy soft palate that makes them sound as if they're snoring when they breathe.  This might be all it is.  But if she's showing any sign of nasal discharge, this could be an upper respiratory infection:

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

I think you're wise to take her to the vet for a checkup.  If the noise is coming from her chest, it could be a more serious lung infection/pnemonia.  But if she's eating well and acting cheerful, it might just be that she makes this noise because of an anatomical feature she has that's unusual.

Respiratory infections are NOT easily transmitted between otherwise healthy rabbits, so don't separate them.  If they are friends and bonded, then separation will cause stress and misery that will make them *more* susceptible to illness.

Dana