Three week old bunnies

Question
I have two litters of three week old bunnies. All are mini-lop and mini-rex mixes. Yesterday they all seemed fine as they are held very often it is easy to tell if there is a problem. Today while I was checking to see if a bunny was a boy or girl for someone interested in taking them I noticed it's butt was very dirty like it may have had a runny stool but also that it's butt was swollen. When I checked the rest it seemed the bigger bunnies in both litters had this problem. The smaller ones were a little swollen but not red and inflamed like the others. The vets in my area don't seem to beable to help me. Can you? Also they are three weeks old and the does are not letting them nurse. They are eatting rabbit pellets out of the feeders and drinking freely on the water bottles. They did have white clover from the yard about three days ago.

Answer
Dear Hanni,

I can't explain why the does are not allowing their babies to nurse, but this could definitely contribute to the runny stool problem you are seeing.  It is likely that these babies are suffering from cecal dysbiosis from being weaned too young. You can read more about this condition here:

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

The babies' rear ends may be swollen simply because of constant exposure to the mushy stool which might also soak up urine and cause inflammation.  I can't see the babies to give you a better idea, but if you can photograph and scan the condition and send it to me at dana@miami.edu I might be better able to help.

The article above gives instructions on how to control this problem, but it can be very serious in young babies, and they may need supportive care such as subcutaneous fluids, administration of a tiny amount of Questran (cholestyramine resin) to adsorb any toxins produced by Clostridium bacteria in the intestine, and other supportive care.

You can find a good vet more experienced with rabbits here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

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

Dana