Let’s review the GIT of the rabbit to look at all the parts. (A detailed discussion and diagram was
presented in HRJ volume III number 3). The stomach holds the food and essentially sterilizes it with a
pH of 1 to 2. The food then moves out into the small intestine where nutrients are absorbed into the
body. At the junction of the small intestine and the large intestine is a large blind sac called the cecum.
This is where the digestible fiber and other portions of the diet that need to be fermented are deposited.
A variety of microorganisms break down this material in the cecum and convert it into nutrients such as
fatty acids, amino acids and vitamins. (Please note: Lactobacillus or Acidophillus are not significant
microorganisms in a rabbit’s cecum). The nutrient rich material is then excreted in the form of
cecotropes (some people call these “night feces”) which are eaten directly from the anus by the rabbit and
redigested.