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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Help! Stinky Rescue Bunny

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    • fawnsfreedom
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        I recently adopted a rescue bunny (Nella), a four year old Netherland Dwarf in hopes of bonding her with my seven year old lab rabbit (Petunia). 

        Nella came to me with a care sheet that said “unresolved diarrhea” of which I have seen zero sign of… I also checked out her pen at the shelter 3 days before the adoption and on the day of, again with no signs of diarrhea! So after mixing in her previous pellets and current pellets, she’s adapted well, is drinking constantly and has taken to eating more hay since she arrived. There is no visible sign of sticky bum or improper grooming on her part. 

        Is there any reason for this horrible smell on her body? The shelter said she had come into them covered in feces and had to be shaved but I can’t see any signs of this anymore? Is there some way I can clean her without stressing her out? To describe the smell its almost like a mixture between dog poop and vomit (and just as awful as one would imagine). 

        Please send help! 


      • Bam
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          Is she spayed? If she isn’t, I’d suspect something is wrong with her reproductive organs, for example pyometra (uterus full of pus). Drinking constantly is an observandum and often a sign of an infection somewhere in the body.


        • fawnsfreedom
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            Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t have said drinking “constantly”. She’s drinking no more often than my seven year old bun. However I will be careful to monitor this! I wouldn’t have thought it could be something so severe, she did recently have a veterinary checkup when she was admitted to the shelter (~3 weeks ago). 


          • fawnsfreedom
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              Neither of them are spayed, Petunia (the 7 year old) has had two litters both very healthy, but I have no background on Nella. I will definitely monitor the drinking as there doesn’t seem to be a difference in the rate of water consumption between them. They both have 32oz water bottles and overnight each drank about 3oz.

              I’m also checking her litter constantly to see if it smells or for the presences of abnormal poops or diarrhea but so far nothing. Her urine is slightly darker, but really nothing on the worrisome level.


            • Rosie and Ellie
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                You could also check her scent glands as they might need to get cleaned.


              • Bam
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                  Here’s a nice video on how to clean a rabbit’s scent glands, in case you haven’t had that experience before in your life:

                  how to clean scent glands

                  I’m glad she isn’t really constantly drinking! It’s a warning sign that can mean many things, that’s why I reacted. 

                  Can you tell what part of her the smell comes from? If it seems to come from the fur on her backside, it could be sth that will wash off. Some things can be combed off if you rub corn starch into the fur first, then comb.

                  You can bathe a rabbit if you absolutely have to, but it needs to be done very gently. I’d run up about two inches of lukewarm water in a plastic wash basin or something like that, then gently place the bun in the water hind feet first, then let the rest of the body follow. Gently pour water from your hands on the bunny’s back, avoid head and ears. Use a very tiny amount of organic shampoo or soap. Rinse again by pouring clean lukewarm water from a jug or a mug.
                  Afterwards the bun needs to be dried, first with a terrycloth (or even better, a microfiber) towel, finish if needed with a blow dryer on a low setting. If the weather is warm you might not have to use a blow dryer, although many buns seem to like it. All this obviously requires patience and calm movements and preferably an extra human for assistance. If the bun panicks, obviously stop.


                • tobyluv
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                    If neither of your rabbits are spayed, it’s very doubtful that you will be able to bond them, and you will be risking injuries if you do put them together. Since Petunia is 7 years old, you, nor the vet probably would not want to spay her. Nella is past the usual age that most rabbits get spayed, but she would probably still do fine. But having just one rabbit spayed or neutered won’t work for bonding. Both need to be spayed or neutered.

                    If you do have to resort to a bath for Nella, two bar soaps that are very mild are Kirk’s Castille (unscented) and Clearly Natural (unscented).  You could cut off a small piece of the bar of soap to use.

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                Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Help! Stinky Rescue Bunny