Bunny Question

[Rottieluver45]

When I came home from school I went to tend to Thelmer`s needs and there was a clump of hair. Is that normal?But it`s never happened before.

[Karen]

Yup, perfectly normal. Bunnies have a couple "big sheds" a year, spring and fall. Nothin' to worry about!

[Daisylover]

Whew! Thanks Karen for the clarification!

Regarding Thelmer's shedding you might want to get a brush or comb and brush Thelmer to help her get the hair off.....otherwise she'll ingest a lot of it when she is grooming herself which you should avoid. On a brush the bristles should be firm but not hard. NEVER!!!!! use one of those small square metal brushes sold in pet stores, even though they aften have a picture of a rabbit on the label. Those bristles have sharp points and rabbits have very delicate skin that cuts and tears easily. Thelmer may not like being brushed or she may love it...hard to say how she will react. My only other piece of advice is if she doesn't like to be brushed, don't give up...brush her for a few minutes and then let her go....then go back and get her a bit later on and start all over again. Bunnies, as you well know, are very stubborn so you need to be stubborn too! Good luck.

[zippy-kat]

Was the furball in Thelmer's "bedroom"? It could be that she's nesting. Female bunnies will pull their fur out in order to make a nest for their babies.

Miz Sophie scared the daylights out of me one day... I came home to find BUNCHES of fur in the corner of her cage and a cranky(!!) bunny sitting on top of it (she wouldn't let me touch her). I was so scared something was wrong... that she was hurt or that she was going to be bald ...

Sophie wasn't anywhere near a male (and Thelmer probably wasn't either) so I don't know what possesses them to do it. I don't know if it'd be considered a false pregnancy? Maybe they are/were just preparing for a weather change!

But yes, bunnies shed enormously!! And the hair is so fine that it flies everywhere. I've found that with Piper, using a squirt bottle of water works better than any comb/brush. I either squirt him or my hands and then give him a good body massage. It works out TONS of fur!

[Aspen and Misty]

Julian hasn't started to shed yet? Hmm, maybe he is just a late shedder. I'm hopeing he doesn't at all. He does love to be brushed and I brush him alot so maybe thats why I havn't noticed any shedding.


Ash

[Rottieluver45]

Thanks Karen! I got worried! I`m gonna try and get her a brush soon.

[harpmom]

While I was home on lunch today, Twinkles moved around from one corner to the next in kind of a hurry (I think he was annoyed because we woke him) and stirred up a cloud of bunny hair. It looks like nearly enough to make another bunny ! I just ran the Swiffer in there a couple of days ago and took him outside for a major brushing on Monday. He's shedding big time.

Our RB bunny, Pepper, once shed so severely (in August) that she had a bald patch on her back. (I called the vet in a panic and they were nice enough not to laugh at me.) The hair grew back right away and two weeks later you could hardly tell.

It's startling how much hair they can lose!

[zanzanfergie]

Lucky me being in the Southern Hemisphere is out of shedding season...we're heading into Winter, and Zander and Fergus are working on their beautiful dark shiny Winter coats. There's nothing better than cuddly a warm bunny on a cold Winter night!

Good luck all you Northern springtime bunnies!