Hay allergy, heat issues, or both?

[Jenk]

Our Cali boy (about 2 years old) tends to overgroom his backside, loosening a lot of fur so that he seems to shed perpetually. About 2-3 weeks ago, his ongoing shed seemed to stop, which made me glad. But two days ago, it seemed to start again. And last night, I noticedthat he's lost fur on the back half of the outside of his ears.

The only dietary change that occurred (on 6/1) is that we've switched him and our other two rabbits to Oxbow timothy hay. So my question is this: is it likely to be the hay change that's causing the irritation (e.g., an allergy), or could it also be the heat? (Our home gets up to 80-deg. F, but we keep the bunners' ceiling fan on high 24/7.)

Mind you, this shedding issue (minus the ear fur loss) has occurred while he was on Sweet Meadow hay. And he often seemed to require a week-long adjustment period each time we started a new hay bale. (His gut sometimes got very loud/gurgly, and he'd be more sluggish during that time.) So I'm wondering if the switch to Oxbow, which doesn't contain clover like SM's hay, could be the issue?

Thank you,

Jenk

 

[Maureen Las]

Jen I would try to cool down the room below 80.
Many buns survive this temp but it is still too warm over a lengthy period of time.


You could try an oscillating fan with a wet cloth over it or possibly frozen water bottles
or

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=27899&forum_id=10


I would not worry about the hay issue until you cooled down the room (this may resolve all the issues)

let us know

 

[tonyshuman]

Yep, and you can try some stone tiles, just on the floor, or periodically placed in the freezer to get them cold again.

Hay allergies in rabbits are rare and usually don't show up as skin stuff, but as upper respiratory things.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

What is the bunny's diet like other than the timothy hay?

 

[Jenk]

angieluv wrote:

I would not worry about the hay issue until you cooled down the room (this may resolve all the issues)

The rabbits have a ceiling fan that we run on high 24/7. I realizes that the coolness from it doesn't quite reach floor level, but it does help to circulate the air.

Also, please understand that his long-term shedding on his backside has been going on long before we've hit near 80-deg. F temperatures. So while he may have shed fur on his ears due to environmental factors, his backside shedding isn't from the heat. (Either he's shedding abnormally, or he's overgrooming/ tugging onhis fur.)

I will try to cool the room further, but DH and I need to fight high electricity bills this year; we're unable to set our AC to 72 deg. (which only causes it to freeze up if/when the temp. is ungodly hot anyway).