Nutritional deficiency Causing Fur Fading

[Snowytoshi]

Pepper Potts came to the shelter a few weeks ago so skinny you could feel every bone in her body. The owner told the staff that she was fed timothy/alfalfa hay, green beans, corn, and pellets. I'm a bit skeptical of how much she was fed of these things as rabbits don't become as skinny as she is being fed a normal portion of food, not to mention in her filthy cage she came with there was not a speck of hay :? She has two odd brown patches on her ears that don't match with the rest of her and don't look like a natural fur color in my opinion more like fading, I'm wondering if this could be a sign of nutritional deficiency?

Here is a picture so you can see what I'm talking about:
http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u391/Snowytoshi/bhs021_zps8bf8f2f3.jpg

 

[Tammy B]

Was she kept outside?
Could it be that she had previous frostbite and the brown patches are the scaring?
I have seen similar brown patches like that on dogs ears from frostbite...Not an expert on rabbits but just an idea and a guess.

 

[ladysown]

she looks normal to me. That brown looks to be the result of a moult that didn't finish out well. Based on the picture she looks just fine. Wouldn't even expect her to be thin based on how the pic is taken.

The corn is not such a great part of her former diet.

If she's thin she may have a parasite load that needs to be dealt with.

 

[Snowytoshi]

Don't worry she isn't fed corn anymore. Timothy hay 24/7, small scoop of pellets, and some romaine every day, the same for all rabbits at the shelter. The picture does make her look a lot fluffier than she is, there's nothing to her at all She's going to the vet soon and will receive a full checkup then.

She wasn't kept outside, she was kept in a very tiny, dirty inside cage.

 

[Azerane]

It does look like just a bit of a funny molt pattern, but it could also be staining. It doesn't look like anything to worry about from the picture though.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

The brown cast is normal. She appears to be a broken blue (coat color), and they tend to "rust" when they're molting or when the fur is stained. You mentioned she was in a dirty cage, so if she has this color all over, it could be urine stains. If not, it's probably just older fur trying to fall out.

Fur condition is influenced by diet. A healthy rabbit will only molt once or twice annually, but rabbits with less fulfilling diets may nearly constantly be in some state of molt. Diet changes can also cause molt.

If she is eating a good diet now, you should see her deep blue color come back within a month or so.