Bunny with Diarrhoea

Hey everyone.

I just have some questions about one of my bunnies who I have just noticed looks like she has diarrhoea.

I've had Bella for about 4 weeks now. I have fully transitioned her food over this time. She now eats 1/4 of alfalfa/ Lucerne based pellets in the afternoon and has a mix of oat and pasture hay during the day. At night she gets a bit of parsley, grass from my yard and sometimes a bit of carrot.
I picked her up today and noticed that she smelt a little. I turned her on her back and all around her genitals was poopy and brown. She is a white rabbit and it is very noticeable. I can take photos if needed. Could it be diarrhoea or something else?
What could have caused it? None of my other rabbits have it and they are on the same diet as her.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks

It sounds like diarrhea, but as long as you changed her diet gradually I don't see what could have caused the diarrhea. I would try giving her her old food along with the greens and such and see if that helps.

I added a bit extra of my own food to her old food each week Her old food was a mix made by her breeder and she doesn't sell any. I could try getting into contact with them and ask for a bag of the food.

Pull everything but pellets and hay and reduce the pellet amount. Let her tummy settle. No greens or carrots.
Ensure she has a bowl not just a bottle to drink from.

All my bunnies have bowls instead of bottles Could I take away all pellets that she gets for a while and just feed her hay? Would slowly introducing them back when she's better help? Also, would she clean her butt herself or will she need a butt bath? I believe that some of the fur around it is matted too because of the poo.

Thanks

If it is watery diarrhea soaking the fur, and it isn't just little bit, isn't a one off thing, and it is continuing, that is an emergency and you need to get her to a vet. Watery diarrhea, especially in young rabbits, is usually caused by coccidiosis or bacterial enteritis and is very serious and life threatening.

If it is just a bit of sticky poop stuck to her fur, then it may be due to the diet, though other causes are possible such as parasites/bacteria, being overweight, arthritis, dental problems, other health problems. If it is due to diet, it could have been the pellets, parsley, grass, carrots, or even the hay if there are a lot of grain heads in the hay. Usually when it is a diet related problem, what watermelons suggested often corrects it. Cut out veg and treats, then either reduce or cut the pellets as well, and feed unlimited amounts of grass hay(if a grain hay with a lot of seed heads, you may need to remove some of them from the hay). If you do reduce of remove pellets, you need to feed unlimited amounts of hay and ensure that your rabbit is making up for the reduced pellets by eating a lot of hay(preferably one that is a mix of leaf and stem), otherwise the rabbit will lose weight and may even starve itself. Usually I will just reduce the pellets a little if the mushy poop isn't very bad, and that often fixes the problem. Then you can gradually add veg and leafy green foods back in, slowly and one at a time so that if one of them is also contributing to the mushy poop, then you will be able to pinpoint the problem food. I would just cut all sugary foods, like carrot, completely out. Also a good idea to keep track of your rabbits weight in case she starts losing too much weight.
http://www.sawneeanimalclinic.com/downloads/chronic_intermittent_diarrhea_in_rabbits.pdf
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

Sometimes you can carefully trim away some of the poopy fur. If a butt bath is necessary, just make sure to do it properly and keep your rabbit warm until completely dry. Even a butt bath can be extremely stressful for some rabbits, and is best avoided if at all possible.

I believe that it is more sticky poop than watery.
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I've taken away all pellets and greens and I'm giving her more hay
Just to be safe I'll take her to the vet and get her teeth checked and have a full health check. I'll also start keeping track of weight again.
I'll try trimming off some of that matted hair and somehow clean her butt.
Thanks so much for all the help.

I had to do this with my dear departed miss bun. I filled a shallow dish with warm water and while holding her stuck her butt in it. It really helped get the poop out of her fur. Then I carefully towel dried her poor butt and she did the rest. My husband helped me out, hopefully your rabbit tolerates being held because that makes a difference. I just didn't want to get too much of her wet, only the butt. Good luck and I sincerely hope your baby is doing better.

Thanks so much, I'll try that She's usually very good being held so hopefully it shouldn't be too hard. I'll let you know how it goes and keep you all updated

The hay only diet has worked and her diarrhoea has stopped! Today I gave her a butt bath and a slight trim and she is all good and much cleaner! Thanks everyone for your help!
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Bella says thankyou as well