The caecal microflora and the fermentation processes taking place in the caecum play a key role in the digestion of rabbits. Imbalance of the intestinal microflora (dysbiosis) plays a direct or indirect role in the development of digestive disturbances or diseases. The composition of the intestinal microflora is rather simple in rabbits, with the predominance of Bacteroides. According to HUDSON et al. (1996), the colonisation is triggered by ingestion of the maternal faecal pellets that gets into the nest during nursing. The objective of the experiment was to study the rate of development of intestinal microflora in newborn rabbits after birth and the effect of nursing method and ingestion of maternal faeces on the colonisation of the caecum by bacteria. Pannon White does and their progeny were used in the experiments. The one-day-old pups of average birth weight were distributed into litters of eight, and these litters were randomly divided into the following three groups: Group ‘A’ (free nursing): freely nursed pups having access to maternal faeces. Group ‘B’ (controlled nursing): pups nursed once a day and having access to maternal faeces. Group ‘C’ (controlled nursing): pups nursed once a day and having no access to maternal faeces. Six young rabbits were examined by group on days 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 after birth. After kindling, swab samples were taken from the vagina of the doe, from the surface of the vulva, from the skin of the nipples and the surrounding hairs. These samples and also samples from the caecal chyme of the pups were subjected to microbiological analysis. The supply of young rabbits with doe’s milk (controlled or free nursing) and their access to the doe’s faeces have been shown to affect the development of the caecal microflora. In rabbit pups nursed freely and thus having unlimited access to the doe’s faecal pellets, colonisation of the caecum by Bacteroides microorganisms took place at a faster rate. Once-a-day nursing in the morning (controlled nursing) only slightly decreased the rate of colonisation by Bacteroides. Prevention of the ingestion of the doe’s faeces only delayed, but did not prevent, the development of the normal intestinal microflora. This indicates that the faeces left behind by the doe has only limited role in the colonisation of the caecum by Bacteroides microorganisms.