Rabbit Won't Eat Her "Night Droppings"

My doe doesn't always eat her "night droppings" as they are sometimes called. Why? It bugs me because then this big, slimy, smelly clump sits in the cage (these droppings don't fall through the wire floor) and she hops around ultimately squishing it and gets it on her. She goes back and forth between eating them and not eating them. I feed 1/2 cup pellets/day, hay and water. She is pregnant. (Heidi Trumble - Mississippi)

For people who are not familiar with this concept, "night droppings" are an essential part of a rabbit's nutrition. Healthy rabbits produce two different types of waste. One is the normal hard, dry round droppings, and the other is soft and resemble clumps of grapes. They are very important for proper health. They come directly from the cecum, which is the part of the digestive system where fermentation of food takes place, and rabbits eat them a second time around to re-digest the material and extract necessary nutrients.

Occasionally a rabbit won't eat their night droppings because they are too overweight to reach the anus. This of course is the most likely reason why your rabbit is not eat her own night droppings. Other common reasons include a diet that is too low in fiber and leads to either too many night droppings being produced or of the wrong consistency.