Rabbit plucking his fur?

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hazelnutbunny

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Hi! I have a 2 year old bunny named Merlot, already neutered. I had to go under a emergency surgery 2 weeks ago and have been recovering since, so I haven't been able to pay full attention to my bunny, even though he's been giving plenty attention to me, as he's veeeery caring and sweet! Anyways, I noticed he was spending a lot of time cleaning one spot of his fur and asked someone to take a look (since I can't get up), and he's apparently plucking his fur. Any ideas why this should happen? I'm worried he'll swallow his fur :(
Thank you!
 

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Can he be stress or bored? Excess grooming can be caused by stress or some parasite/insect. But that spot is a weird place to focus.

The skin don’t look irritable or flaky, but it would be good to consult with a vet. What kind of operation did your bunny do?

Maybe @JBun have an idea why your bunny have started excessive groom and pull fur.
 
Self barbering can have several different causes. Boredom and stress can definitely cause some rabbits to do it. Some other possibilities are hormones and sexual frustration, fur plucking to build a nest; health issues such as irritation of the skin from things like mites or fleas, bacterial or fungal infections, allergies and hives, receiving an injection in the area; also problems below the surface like problems with the nerves causing tingling or numbness in the area, or internal pain from a muscle, a joint, organs, a mass.

Then there are the nutritional causes. I've read of mineral deficiencies being a cause. It can also be caused by too little fiber in the diet, or from too little protein in the diet. The only experience I've had of it happening was when I started feeding a hay that was too coarse and too low in protein. I noticed my bun was self barbering and losing some weight. I fixed the problem by increasing her pellet ration and later switching to a hay that wasn't as coarse, with more leaf and higher protein. I have also read of there being a genetic cause. It can take a little detective work to figure out what is causing it.

This is about the extreme, self mutilating behavior. Self barbering is similar just not as extreme.
Medirabbit (self mutilation behavior )
 
Given his personality he may be sensitive to the change (you’re not being able to give him the usual attention) and is pulling fur due to stress and/or boredom, especially if his diet hasn’t changed. He is probably not eating the hair though.
 

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