Harper stinks!

[flemish giant]

So I've noticed Harper really stinks. Could it be that she not spayed? Or maybe her ears stink from ear mites? I also noticed she has brown on her feet so maybe at her previous home she got poop stuck to her feet. Will she get this off or should I try washing her feet? Its not really the skunk smell from anal glands. Any ideas?

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[sirfluffyfluffton]

when neccessary give them a bath..2 inches of water, grip on the bath floor..must be warm water not hot or cold ..then keep rabbit calm & clean rabbit..it won't like a bath but it keeps the dangerous fly's away from a smelly rabbit...:sickbunny:

 

[flemish giant]

Well flies aren't really around her since shes an inside rabbit and she's healthy according to the vet other than the ear mites so I don't really won't to stress her out with a bath unless she needs it.

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[missyscove]

What sort of smell is it? If she smells like urine that would be a problem and possibly a sign of infection. If she smells musky her scent glands may need cleaning which is something you typically have to do more often in an unaltered rabbit or a rabbit that's in a new territory and feels the need to mark it.

 

[flemish giant]

Ill try to figure it out when I get home. She's new to this house so she probably is marking.

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[flemish giant]

Also she has mushy poo and I think she's stepping in it. I don't know why its mushy vet said no parasites.

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[RabbitGirl101]

Also she has mushy poo and I think she's stepping in it. I don't know why its mushy vet said no parasites.

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My rabbits produce more of the cecal poop when they are stressed, they tend to step in it because they are producing more than they eat. It can also be caused by giving her too much food. For the stink check the glands by her private parts, I usually take a moist Q-tip and clean them out, I know that can help get the smell down. I don't think it would be from the ear mites unless an infection started. It is most likely from her stepping in the poop, when mine did that it eventually became so bad that I just had to give her a butt bath and I had to carefully clip the fur off around her privates, this helped a lot because the poo didn't stick to her as much. You just want to make sure that the her butt isn't getting anything soiled on it because that can lead to an abscess which wouldn't be a good thing.

 

[flemish giant]

I don't think she's getting anything on her butt just her feet.

I'll try to do the anal glands tomorrow. Should be fun...
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[PaGal]

What are you feeding her? How much? How often?

You said she has mushy poop. Is it mushy poop or is it her cecotropes? Cecotropes are typically smaller than poo and cling together so that they resemble a grape bunch. They are sticky. Bunnies eat these because they provide nutrients .Because bunnies eat them most of the time you will not see them. Somethings may cause a bun to not eat them such as being ill or having too rich of a diet.

 

[flemish giant]

She gets purine complete alfalfa pellets twice a day. I just fill up her bowl. I don't know whether they're ceco or normal BC they're always smushed down. Its only some of her poops. I'm assuming its from stress.

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[JBun]

The stinky smell could be caused by mushy cecotropes, if this is what you are seeing. They can get really stinky if there's an overgrowth of bad bacteria in the gut. Since you say the vet has ruled out parasites, then the diet is the likely cause of the problem. If you think stress is the initial cause, you still need to adjust the diet until the soft poop gets sorted out or it could develop into a stasis problem.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=3012
http://www.sawneeanimalclinic.com/downloads/chronic_intermittent_diarrhea_in_rabbits.pdf

 

[flemish giant]

I think it may be that she's not eating hay and I can't really do anything about it BC I've done all the suggested on that site and none worked. The vet said to let her watch the other rabbits but I can't do that until she is cured of ear mites.
This is what it looks like.


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[JBun]

Yeah, that's not good, and is probably at least part of the source of her stinkiness. Do you have a feed store that carries hay pellets for horses. I had a rabbit that wouldn't eat hay, but he would eat the hay pellets. If you can get the timothy ones, those would be the best to use, or a timothy/alfalfa would work too. Occasionally they will have another grass hay like Bermuda. They should be just plain hay with nothing else added. They aren't too expensive either, probably under $15 for a 50 lb bag.

 

[flemish giant]

I can call around and ask tomorrow. Would tractor supply have it?

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[flemish giant]

Just looked it up and my local tractor supply does have them. I'll go get a bag tomorrow and see if it works.

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