New to rabbits- foster mom and 9 kits

Hello,
I am fairly new to rabbits.... I have owned many other small animals and am a part of a rat forum, but currently I am fostering a momma rabbit and her 9 kits for the local shelter. I know I get a lot of helpful info on the rat forum so I wanted to do the same with the rabbits.... the momma just might be a failed foster, lol!
Anyways, my first question/concern is with momma having some soft cecotropes. She will have some soft ones for a day or two and then be fine for a while. She's eating Timothy hay and some oat grass mixed in occasionally, Timothy based pellets and leafy greens. My question is should I limit her pellets and veggies? From what I'm reading that's typically the first step but I'm worried about limiting any food while she is nursing 9 babies! The kits are 12 days old. Any suggestions? Or because it's not consistent should I wait until babies are weaned and then work on her diet? I've attached some pics of momma and babies and her set up! I welcome any suggestions on anything! Thanks everyone!

I would possibly consult with a vet about the soft cecotrophs (not an emergency, don't worry!). My rabbit Brandy is VERY prone to cecal dysbioses, and so she is pretty much on a diet of all hay and a few veggies (sometimes we will break and give her a treat here and there- but inevitably she gets soft cecotrophs). I don't know much about raising baby rabbits (mine have always been adopted as adults!) so I wouldn't immediately say limit pellets and veggies if she's still nursing. For a normal rabbit, I would say stick with just hay for a few weeks and see if it clears it up, but lactation is a LOT of work for a bunny. Maybe one of the breeders here can talk more about that. They are all cuties though!!

Thank you for the quick reply! I probably should have mentioned that I have spoken to a vet (although I'm not sure how rabbit savvy they were). She went for X-rays and ultrasounds while pregnant as she had bleeding for a couple days before kindling- she has been an emotional foster! Anyways, I did mention this to the vet at the time and they pretty much said that if they are acting normal- eating, drinking, pooping etc not to worry. But, naturally I worry anyways! I feel like the days she has the soft cecotropes that she is missing out on essential nutrients or when the babies are older they eat them too right?

Cute bunnies! ^^
I'm not sure what you mean by "soft cecotrophes". Cecotrophes are always soft (sticky) and kinda smelly. The problem, more than the consistency is that you shouldn't be seeing them at all. I would cut the oat. Leaving cecotrophes means that the food is too rich and oat is not part of a normal rabbit's diet anyway. Also, which pellets are you giving? Some are too sugary or fat (after looking up the composition of brands from the US, I noticed a lot of them contain molasses, which is just crazy - I don't know if that's the case in Canada too) and it might be enough to disturb the normal production and eating of cecotrophes (a few years ago, I went to a new place and could only find some mixed pellets - almost immediately, I began to find cecotrophes on the floor and the smell was pretty awful... it stopped when I changed the pellets' brand).
As long as the pooping is normal, it's probably nothing major.
Maybe you already know but just in case: fennel is good for the mother as it helps lactation, you shouldn't give parsley or sage as they reduce and can put a stop to lactation (but it's useful during the weaning process).

Thank you! I will pick her up some fennel. They aren't formed at all, maybe soft was the wrong word! Alright I'll cut the oat grass hay and just give her the Timothy hay! She is currently on Martin Timothy pellets.

If she's new to veggies that could very well be a cause too. I would say maybe limit to one veggie type for a week and slowly add in variety (variety is good! But not if you aren't used to it!).

Being new to vegetables can give diarrhea, it doesn't cause soft cecotrophes to my knowledge...
So, those pellets aren't great (the fat is 2,5% when it should be 2%, the phosphoro-calcium ratio isn't great and I pellets should be hay, vegetables and herbs...) but they are not terrible either. It would be good for the rabbits' forever homes to change that to a better brand, but you can keep it for now.
Here's an article about soft cecotrophes (the house rabbit society website is very reliable and never failed me ^^):
http://rabbit.org/intermittent-soft-cecotropes-in-rabbits/
Still, I wouldn't restrict Mummy's diet too much before the kits are one month old and start to nibble on big bunny's food. As you said, it takes energy to feed 9 babies, even if rabbits really spare the minimum ressources for their babies (I think it the wild, a doe spends less than ( minutes a day with her kits... ^^)

Veggies are more likely to cause diarrhea, but also soft cecotrophes. Not as common, but it's the same idea as too much sugar- her cecal microbes aren't ready for them so they overgrow and cause too many cecotroph! But like you said, I wouldn't restrict mom's diet too much.

Thanks everyone! She is certainly eating less hay then before the babies... almost like she is holding out for pellets and veggies... any ideas how to encourage more hay eating? Or type of hay? She is getting oxbow Timothy hay right now. Is there hay that's more appealing to picky eaters but still okay for a nursing momma?

Orchard grass hay is often considered more appealing (we use it as a treat sometimes- don't tell mine it's healthy! ) But it is definitely more expensive than the timothy. Oxbow also sells the orchard grass. You could try that!

Thanks! I picked up for orchard grass tonight, hopefully that will help

I wish all rabbits could have you as a foster mom. They are all lucky bunnies! Let us know how it goes!!

Thanks, she most likely had a rough life of being bred over and over before this so just want to give her the best care I can!

She came from a petting zoo where she was housed in a barn stall with several other rabbits... do you think that the pet store hay just might not be as appealing? Would it be worthwhile getting a square bale of some horse hay.. which I'm assuming she was probably getting before?

Horse type bales are generally fresher, but if she's going to go to a home that feeds her pet store hay, she may need to just get used to it, unfortunately. I personally prefer the 'guarantee' that comes along with the store bought hays, but that's because I'm weird.

So she ate the orchard grass for a couple days and then went off of it and didn't eat much of that either... I got her some 'horse hay' from a friend at work and she loved it, she has been munching on it all weekend. I have ordered her some hay from this place...
https://can.truecoloursproducts.com...ay-shavings-straw-for-bunnies-guinea-pigs-etc
Fingers crossed she will like it!
The babies are all over the place now and driving her crazy so we built her a little cardboard castle to get away from them! Bunnies are so much fun! Not sure how I will be able to bring them all back❤

Ours have all been rescues too.

My two were on euthanasia lists since they were so aggressive. Now I even use one to teach children how to listen to hearts on rabbits (with a stethoscope) since she's SO calm about everything.