Please- Any advice on how to reduce shedding?

[napagirl]

Dimi is 1yr old now. She was spayed mid Feb. She just suffered a stasis and is fine now. Poops are normal, but have hair. I am frustrated because I have THREE different brushes I use on her, and I cannot stop the hair! It gets up my nose, in my eyes...

She has molted before, and the shedding lasted a week or two. This seems to have become a constant condition :-(

Is there any nutrient I can give her to stop excessive shedding?

She currently eats timothy hay/orchard grass (oxbow) unlimited amount, and ~4c. of greens recommended by dr (kale, arugula, romaine, swiss chard, mustard greens) and 1TBS of canned pumpkin a day. She is 5.2 lbs, black minilop. She has been off pellets since her stasis ~2wks ago, but was shedding for at least 1.5 months before that.

Any help?

 

[woahlookitsme]

her fiber content sounds like a good amount. The only thing I might add extra is either papain or bromelain. These enzymes are used in meat tenderizers to break down protein fibers in meat. Also they can be used in a rabbits diet to break down the protein fibers found in hair. This reduces the amount of hair in the stomach and is most often given when strings of poop are noticed on a molting rabbit. Many angora and wooled breeders use papaya tablets during a bunnies molting time. We keep papaya tablets on hand just in case and a lot of our rabbits will just take them out of our hands like a treat. Other people give slices of pineapple (not from a can) but Im not sure how often or how much. I would assume a small chunk once or twice a day

As far as a nutrients to give oils are used to improve skin and coat quality but I do not know if they reduce the amount of shedding. Brushing frequently helps to reduce shedding and the amount of hair a rabbit ingests.

 

[napagirl]

Thank you so much for your reply! For some reasons, I am not getting email notifications of replies to my threads.. will have ck my settings.

She has finally stopped shedding. I had to use one of those undercoat brushes on her which she hates, but it worked. She is doing very well now, just doesn't like the orchard grass hay as much as timothy (I am VERY allergic to timothy and can't have the loose hay in the house). I do give her timothy hay bricks though...