hi Ralph!  yeah… the first time i realized this was going on i was a bit taken aback.  the thing is… it’s normal for rabbits to eat their droppings.  they actually have 2 kinds of droppings: the round type you generally see in the litter, and softer type like you describe which are called cecotrophs.  eating these is an important role in the rabbits over-all nutritional & digestive processes.  i’ll bet some one else here will have links to more informative articles, but just thought i’d chime in here so you know briefly whats what!  stick around this forum… there are a lot of knowledgable people here.  i’ve learned so much since joining

ps.. cute bun!  must be an interesting read he’s got there

Yes, as babybunsmum said, this is normal, healthy behavior.  Rabbits have evolved to be able to survive on a high volume, high fiber, low calorie diet.  They are members of a group of mammals known as "hind gut fermenters".  They have a special organ in their digestive system called the cecum.  Specialized types of bacteria live in the cecum, and these bacteria consume fibrous meterial and release extra proteins from the fiber.  The promary reason that we free feed hay to our house bunnies is to give them lots of fiber to keep the digestive system moving, and to keep the cecum working.

Some links:

Very technical discussion of rabbit digestion

Dana Krempels article about rabbit droppings

Very nice overview of cecotropes

thanks babybunsmum and Osprey 🙂 great advice you both shared.

Yes Thank goodness our digestive system doesn’t work that way….