Rabbit Grooming

[S_Toast]

Ok so I'm a dog/cat groomer but when it comes to grooming rabbits I'm at a total loss. Their skin and coat is so very different than that of a cat or dog.

Oaks is living outside and she is starting to shed in tufts. But when I try to brush or comb the tufts out she tries to hop away. Also there is a lot of fur packed in the whole back half of her body but it would take some serious brushing to get it all out. She never got brushed where she was before. So what should I do?

Oh and one more thing. I turned her over today and exposed her little girl bunny parts and is looks like she has poo stuck in the crease around her vulva. What's the best (and least painful) way to clean this out?

 

[dquesnel]

Hi, sometimes my guys won't let me brush or groom them patiently on their turf so I have to bring them on a table to get a good grooming session. It is important to groom, especially when the fur is coming out in clumps because they will ingest this hair and it may attribute to a GI stasis episode.

The best way to groom, is to 'pluck' the fur with your fingers. It is exactly how it sounds it should be! Any loosening fur will just come right out.

I have a flea comb I use for grooming, and I also use the furminator very gently. I don't even press on the furminator, I just glide it over the body.

To clean out any mess on their bottoms or around genitals, I would first use a dry paper towel/cloth over the area. If that doesn't work, you can wet the towel and wipe until it softens a bit. Then I take the flea comb and comb it out gently.

 

[kherrmann3]

I take Toby in the bathtub to groom him. I pick him up, go and sit in the tub with him, and groom away! It makes it easy to vacuum out all the extra hair when you're done and you can just rinse the tub to get the little, tricky hairs!

That "poo" you see around her vulva might just be her scent glands. Does it stink? I mean, you should be able to smell that stuff as soon as you poke around while trying to clean them. I use Q-tips with warm water and tweezers to clean out Toby's scent glands. I let the warm water clean up what it can, but sometimes I have to use a tweezers to gently pull some of it out. Toby never really fought when I did this (no more fighting than when I trim his nails, I should say!).

I hope that helps!

 

[S_Toast]

Yes it stinks so it probably her sent glands? I didn't even know rabbits had sent glands. So is it poo or is it sent gland stuff? Wow do you love my use of technical terms? I'll figure all this stuff out it'll just take me a while.

 

[kherrmann3]

It is scent gland "stuff". I don't really know what to call it! When I first saw that, I freaked out, because I thought it was poo! Once I cleaned it out and I smelled that foul smell, I decided it wasn't poo! It smells way too bad to be poo! It is waxy, too, so be careful not to get it on your hands or anything else that isn't easily washed. It can be hard to get the smell off, from my experience! :shock:

 

[Lover_Of_Lopz]

Well it might help if you put them on a table and a slicker(sp) brush would work well hope this helps



-----Nicky

 

[S_Toast]

Ok so I pulled out my portable grooming table and had DH put a hand on Oaks (for safety) and got out my soft slicker that I use on cats and we had a de-hair-ing fest! She feels so much better! And I'm not covered in hair when I put her down now! So everyone is happy.... ok except DH because I may have brushed her out in the kitchen

I haven't braved the sent glands yet but thanks for the warning not to get it on my hands or clothes! Good to know.