Rabbits & Shedding

[BunyBun]

Yeah - Our adopted bunny pair came home to usyesterday. They have been fairly timid up to this point aboutexploring outside of their NIC cage. When they have come out,they stay close to each other or jump in our laps to cuddle.I think they will probably come out of their shells a bit more withtime but will always tend to be more lap bunnies than bold acrobatictypes.

They are both domestic shorthair varieties. They are losingquite a bit of hair when they that ends up on my clotheswhenthey are out. Is there anything I can do to help with thisloss (grooming tips, diet additions, etc)?

On the food front, they are eating hay really well but not interestedin much else. Our girl ate a bit of parsley yesterday (we'reintroducing it slowly 'cause they have only been on pellets, hay, andan occasional carrotin the shelter) but they seem generallydisinterested in anything else we offer like a raisin, cilantro, orromaine lettuce. Any tips here? They are on PurinaPellets at the moment but we will be slowly introducing Oxbow Basics.

Thanks,

BunyBun

 

[naturestee]

Aw, sweet little buns! It's great thatthey're already jumping into your laps! I'm sure they'll bemore interested in exploring once they're used to their newhomes. If you don't have them already, I'd suggest putting afew boxes with two bunny-sized holes in them out on thefloor. More hiding places can make them feel moresecure.

The best brush I've found so far is a rubber cat brush called the ZoomGroom. It gets a ton of hair off. But the hair getseverywhere, so either hold the bun and stand over a waste basket, do iton smooth floor, or be prepared to vacuum! I bet you'llnotice that they don't shed as much after they've been on Oxbow pelletsfor a while. The low protein creates a fabulous coat, atleast in my buns.

As for new foods, I wouldn't introduce too much at a time.Stick with just the parsley for a while, then add something else,etc. They might just be shy of new things in general.

Congrats on your new babies! And when do we get pics?

 

[Haley]

:yeahthatEspecially the part about pics!

PS. Basil and Max shed less after I switched them to a much healthier diet.

 

[BunyBun]

Thanks guys! I was hoping that maybejust a more healthy, nutritionally diverse diet would help but it'sgreat to be reassured.

The buns are pictured in my avatar . . . I haven't been able to snapany great pics yet of the bunnies but I did get a few of their "bunnymansion". The rescue organization volunteer who deliveredthem to us yesterday said she was amazed by the NIC cage.Interestingly enough the rescue organization doesn't seem very familiarwith them around here.

I'll download them from my camera soon and get them online.

BunyBun

 

[bluebird]

I feed Purina soo do many people i know thatshow,changing feed causes a molt.overfeeding causes a continuos molt.ifthey are yong rabbits they might be shedding their baby coat.bluebird

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Stress can trigger a moult as well! Anyone who'staken a nervous rabbit to the vet knows this well. They may not beshedding at all but when you get take them out at the vets, they mayjust suddenly have hair falling off out of the blue. So it's possiblethe new environment has something to do with it.

As stated, feed that is not very good can also add to it and feedingtoo much as well. I switched one of my bucks who never used to stopsheddingover to Oxbow Bunny Basics/T and his coat has been inthe best condition it has ever been in and his shedding has been cutback drastically.

My other buck on the other hand will not eat any other brand of pelletexcept the alfalfa stuff he has always been on but a 2 years ago Istarted introducing veggies to his diet and cutting back the pellets,his coat is very soft now and the shedding has been cut back as well.Just a warning, do not change too much at once, either switch thepellets over or introduce the veggies but I would not do both at onceexcept maybe for a small piece of parsley or something as a treat oncein a while if you are switching the pellets.

Be careful with over brushing, it is possible. In the summer my Spicewas shedding so bad that I was brushing him a lot every day. I actuallycreated bald patches and a number of sore patches from brushing him toomuch so I had to refrain from brushing him for a week to allow it toheal and the hair to fall out on it's own. Although there was alwaysbald patches just because of the amount of shedding he was doing, Ididn't want to irritate his skin by brushing too much.

I hope this helped!

 

[maherwoman]

HA! Too true...my Maisie doesn't sheda lick, but when we took her to the vet a while back, she dropped aHUGE amount of hair like she was dropping marbles! It was toofunny, but sad all at the same time.

So, MBB's right...that could definitely be a factor...that and the fact that they have black fur might make it seem like more.

About the veggies...do you leave them in there overnight? MyMaisie won't eat her veggies except when everyone's asleep for thenight. She won't eat them AT ALL (no matter how crazy she isabout them) if someone's around. I'm not sure what this isfrom, but it seems like another one of her cute preferences.(Flower, on the other hand, gobbles up just about anything you hand herRIGHT THEN! Hehe...)

So, if you haven't tried it already, try leaving the veggies in theircage overnight (and yes, introduce gradually, one veggie type at atime)...they might have that same preference. I canunderstand for a couple of buns in a new home...they might not yet becomfortable eating them around you guys yet.

Let us know how it goes, ok?

MyBabyBunnies wrote:

Stress can trigger amoult as well! Anyone who's taken a nervous rabbit to the vet knowsthis well. They may not be shedding at all but when you get take themout at the vets, they may just suddenly have hair falling off out ofthe blue. So it's possible the new environment has something to do withit.