Male rabbit pulling fur

[12354somebunny]

My male rabbit (Hans) has been pulling fur from his chest and his 'armpits'. I'm 99.999% sure he's male.. the breeder I got him from said that he was male, and my vet confirmed it.

Now he has a bald patch on his chest.. it's pink and clean (not flaky or reddish). The worst thing is, he EATS the fur after pulling it out :shock: I'm so worried that he'll get a blockage in his gut! I'm monitoring his input and output, everything seems fine so far but I'll be keeping a very close eye on things.

Why would he pull his fur and eat it?? I have read about fur-pulling in chinchillas, it could be caused by genetics or boredom. But I have not read about this in rabbits.. does anyone know if this issue applies to rabbits as well??

On the very very slim chance that my rabbit is female... this would have to be a case of false pregnancy as the only other male rabbit here was neutered more than a year ago. Besides, Hans is separated from my other bunnies. He lives in a play pen and I have attached wire mesh to the play pens so there is no way the other rabbits can reach him. IF this is false pregnancy, Hans is only 4 mths old.. that's a little young to be experiencing a false pregnancy, isn't it? And also, if it was false pregnancy, I would see some sort of nest being build with all that fur.. but there is no fur lying around. I've seen him pull and eat it :?

 

[Elf Mommy]

I'm glad you're monitoring it closely. I'm not sure what the cause is. Hopefully some of the other members will be able to help. Are you supplementing his diet with some papaya or pumpkin to help push it all through?

Minda

 

[BlueGiants]

Make sure he has access to lots of hay. He's going to need roughage to push that fur through his digestive tract. I'd encourage some wet vege's or fruit to keep lots of fluids going through him. Elf Mommy is right, Papaya is great for him.

 

[12354somebunny]

Thanks, Minda and Blue Giants.

Canned pumpkin is not available here. As for papaya.. Hans does not eat vege or fruits. I offer him a small selection of vege at dinner every night but he never touches them. I've tried to offer him fruits, but he's not interested. He even turned down bananas.

I just got back from the vet. The vet says that it's not mites etc (I asked if maybe Hans was pulling his fur because he was itching). The vets suggested that I change his environment, move his toys around etc.. he thinks that Hans is pulling fur because he is bored or perhaps frustrated as he is maturing.

Hans' space is like this (except he has more toys in there now):

I'll try to spice things up for him..

Has anyone else experienced this? Bored bunny pulling out fur? I still don't understand why he has to eat the fur :?

 

[polly]

I take it he isn't neutered? I have heard of male rabbits doing this when they are ready for a doe I would give him a soft toy to take his frustrations out on! it could well be all he needs

 

[12354somebunny]

Hi Polly!

Hans isn't neutered yet, he's 4 mths now and I'm planning on neutering him when he's 6mths.

Thanks for the input! Hmm.. Hans' boy bits have not descended yet.. can bucks have urges before their bits are in?? :biggrin2:

He has some soft toys, but they're kinda small.. maybe that's why he feels frustrated LOL! can't do the deed when he can't get a grip!! I'll give him a bigger toy tonight and see how he reacts to it.

 

[swanlake]

i thought about you and this today when i was at the book store. looked at the big bet/pet owners guide to like illnesses and stuff, forget what it was called!

anyway it said that eating fur could be because of a diet too low in...err, either fiber or protien, can't quite remember sorry. thought this might help.

 

[12354somebunny]

Thank you for thinking of us, Swanlake I've been trying to get more info online, but it seems very little has been written about male rabbits pulling fur. From what I've read so far, the possible causes could be parasites, boredom or lack of attention, or 'frustration' as suggested by Polly.

thanks for the input on diet. He gets oxbow 15/23.. i hope the higher protein contents in there is sufficient? He gets lots of hay too.. so i hope he has enough fiber in his system. Anyways, will push more hay.. i'm going to give him more boxes of hay to dig in and to eat!