My rabbit has a problem~

Question
Dear Dana,
I have a 5-6 year old lop rabbit who has been having very loose dropping problems off and on for quite some time. It is so loose that it sticks to his tail and bottom and dries into a  brick hard clump and I can hardly get it off but eventually I do, luckily.
I have read about this problem before but I don't understand why he would have it or what causes it.
I feed my bunny "LM FARMS" brand or "Hartz" both have the same ingredients. Along with that he gets a large heap of fresh timothy hay everyday and whenever I can, I pick fresh grass, or dandelion plants from our yard which is never sprayed or fertilized by the way.  He is also an outdoor rabbit and has a 6 foot long and 3 foot wide run on the gound where he also has a large opened up hutch and small box house where he can get out of the weather. It seems like he would be the heathiest bunny you could find, but he constantly has loose droppings.

What is the cause of this and how do I prevent it?
And also what is the best brand of rabbit food?

Thanks a bunch for all the advice you can give!

Answer
Dear Susie,

The easy question is about the best brand of rabbit food:  Almost *any* brand other than Hartz or LM Farms!  Those are usually sold in grocery stores, and they are really full of cheap, nasty ingredients.

Much better alternatives include Kaytee Fortidiet (NOT NOT NOT Kaytee Fiesta!), Purina Rabbit Chow, or Manna Pro rabbit food, most of which are available at good feed stores.  Even better pelleted food can be ordered online from Oxbow Hay Company (www.oxbowhay.com) or American Pet Diner (www.americanpetdiner.com), both of which carry timothy-based pellets.

The mushy poop problem *could* be related to diet, and if you need to check your bunny's diet against what we recommend, you can find it here:

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

But at his age, and being a lop, I would be more suspicious that your bunny has molar spurs that are causing him mouth pain. A rabbit's most common physiological response to pain/stress/illness is a slowing of the GI tract muscles. This causes the natural balance of bacteria and yeast in his cecum to become "imbalanced" with respect to what's normal, and the result is mushy, smelly cecotropes that stick to his bottom.  It's a very common problem, but to really understand how to treat it, you need to know how it happens.  You can learn this here:

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

The article also has a link on how to give a safe, dry, "buttbath" using baby cornstarch powder:

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

This won't hurt him, and it's safer than washing him.

To read more about dental problems in rabbits (very common in lops the age of your bunny!), please read:

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

and to find a good rabbit vet who can help you solve these problems, please use the list linked here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana