High fiber diet, successful cure for chronic poopy butt!

I wasn't quite sure where to post this but wanted to share in case it could help someone else.

I bought a very nice Holland Lop buck this summer, I had met him in the spring and really liked him but wasn't able to afford him so I was thrilled when he came back up for sale. He was several states away and I arranged transport and got him home mid September, the breeder told me he was molting and not in "show condition", she also mentioned he didn't like hay much. The transporter said he "stopped eating" along the way and when I picked him up he was in rough shape, to the point I double checked his sales pictures and tattoo because I wasn't sure it was the same rabbit. I brought him home and while his appetite was fine, he chronically had squishy poop stuck to him. I had to check him a couple times a day so he wouldn't get flystrike. Half of the time his poop was normal looking (although small) but frequently it would be nasty, light brown and squishy, It wasn't cecotropes and his whole butt would need to washed some days.

In the first couple of weeks I had him I bought more of the food his previous owner used, tried a different brand of pellets, tried whole grains and free choice hay, dewormed him, treated him for cocci and used bentonite clay. Nothing made a major difference and he continued to look scraggly and I was really concerned I would lose him. So finally, I took him off of everything and just fed hay. It has been two weeks now and he is soooooo much improved! He is still thin but his coat is shedding properly, his attitude is happier (likely because I'm not washing his butt every day) and he has normal rabbit poop! I've started to add some whole grains back in and so far he is tolerating them fine. I had read some vet recommendations to try high fiber diets to fix rabbit digestive issues but had been afraid to try to with him because of his indifference towards hay.

I'm not a vet (nor do I play one on TV) but something to consider for digestive issues.

I will keep this in mind. I am so glad you figured out was wrong and now he's a happy bunny.

This happens sometimes and you ended up doing pretty much what's suggested. Switching pellets on an upset digestive tract from stress doesn't usually work. Hay and oatmeal is often the first thing to try. A grain can help keep them from losing more condition but doesn't always work. If it doesn't then straight grass hay and reintroduce the grain mix or pellets slowly after improvement.

I do have a new rabbit feeding protocol and it does involve hay and oats, this didn't work with him. It wasn't until I removed all other feed and just fed hay (with some fresh raspberry leaf and plantain) I was concerned with cutting out the other feed because he really didn't like hay.