Why does my rabbit give a foul odor when I pick her up?

Question

I'm answering this question which was emailed to me by someone, however I don't know the answer, and can't find it on google, and I'm not going to give her no answer.

When she picks up her rabbit, who's a female, she smells stinky. I suggested that it could be she's in heat?

She could have an infection down there?

She pees a little when she's picked up?

But I wasn't sure, so I've come to seek help here!

Help? Please and thanks?

Answer 1

Urine Burn? My bunny smelled soooo bad when she had mites before she lost the hair, which sounds crazy but it happened to me. If its urinare burn it could be caused from kidney stones and urinare track infections and stuff like that.

Answer 2

The most likely cause is diarrhea.  When a rabbit is giving off a foul odor, usually the first thing to check is to see whether the rabbit has diarrhea.  Check around the tail to see if it looks wet, poopy, or messy.  Diarrhea also sometimes causes the rabbits stomach to become bloated and when you pick the rabbit up it can cause the rabbit to pee.

Some other signs of diarrhea can be if you feel over the back of the rabbit and you can feel the rabbit's backbone protruding by feeling the bumps from it.  Or if you have a wire floored cage, you may see small gobs of soft p**p that didn't fall through the wire flooring.

Diarrhea is normally caused by what you feed your rabbit, stress, or coccidiosis.  Your friend may want to have her rabbit taken to a vet and have a fecal sample taken to determine the cause.

Another cause could be vent disease.  Vent disease affects does and it will also give off a foul odor.  It is not nearly as common as diarrhea though.

Answer 3

This may seem like a dumb question, but who sexed the rabbit?  I've heard of many people who have purchased a rabbit thinking it was a girl - only to find out it's a boy that was sexed incorrectly.

For starters, she may want to have someone with experience with rabbits s*x it again for her.  This would be my first thought, as unneutered male rabbits have a scent gland that lets out a musky odor when they are nervous or excited.  It can be rather smelly, and that would definitely account for the foul odor when she picks the rabbit up.

If the rabbit is truly a doe, then she should check for f***s caked on her rear end.  Is she going to the bathroom normally?  If her rear end is clean (and it definitely is a she), I would then be concerned about a possible infection of some sorts.  Rabbits generally don't smell bad, and a foul odor may indicate a problem.

Have her/him resexed before anything!

Answer 4

If the cage is clean, it could be that normal rabbit smell.

Or it can be the rabbit itself, from not being cleaned.

This happens to me too.

It also happens if the rabbit is outside and you do not clean up the droppings.

Answer 5

is the cage clean? some times rabbits get soft p**p so that makes them smell. my rabbit smelled too untill i kept her inside. she may just going through puberty.

Answer 6

You're probably right when you suggest that she is spraying from being in heat.  However, rabbits don't exactly go into heat; they're ready to mate all the time, so I would say that's probably what the smell is if she's unspayed.  My rabbit stinks up my room all the time.