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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE Complete color change during molting?

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    • Chii
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        Hi everyone!

        About 2 weeks ago I adopted a neutered female lionhead bunny from shelter. She’s missing tail and part of ear When I fist brought her home, she was very light in color, but a bit untidy.

        During bonding with her I started daily brushing, as she has heavy shedding. She had tons of old fur! But I was very alarmed to see patch of dark, firm agouti-like fur on her back. With each brushing (and even when I intentionally skipped few days) the spot is getting bigger and now she has long light fur on her butt, flanks, tummy and around head – everywhere else she has this dark fur with different shades of brown.

        I don’t care what color she is, as long as she’s healthy. Can bunny completely change it’s color during molting? Will this be her new color from now on?

        Could this be age related? She’s tiny, like ~1 kg 400 gr (about 3 pounds I guess) and is very active, could it be that she’s just really young?

        Also, she had a bad malnutrution at shelter and had tiny dry poops and constant poopy butt. 
        I give her unlimited hay (she loves it!), some carrot tops, parsley and tiny bit of apple. For now she refuses to eat any pellets First day she ate half bowl but never touched pellets ever since, even though I tried different brands. But her poops are normal now, and no more poopy butts.

        Here is a picture of spot when it was small.


      • kirstyol
        Participant
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          My Bramble changed colour when he was younger, he started off totally brown, went almost totally grey and is now a mix of the two. I posted about it at the time and was told it was nothing to worry about and Bramble has been totally fine since.

          She is super cute by the way!


        • Chii
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          30 posts Send Private Message

            Thank you
            Nice to hear that Bramble is fine!


          • LBJ10
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              Nothing to worry about. I also want to point out that longer haired breeds tend to look duller on the eve of shedding. Wooly will look gray on the outside because the old fur is starting to come loose but hasn’t begun sliding down the guard hairs yet. I will brush and brush and brush and get all of this gray fur off. New fur growing in looks almost solid black.


            • Chii
              Participant
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                LBJ10, is Wooly experiencing this often or was it one-time thing?
                Trying to figure out, will Miffy’s (girl on photo) fur color be changing. I really love her new look

                My other bunny is mini lop and he has never had shedding like this. During molting he looks as usual, but the whole house is covered in fur and that is how I know it’s time to brush When he was a baby he was much lighter and brighter, but at some point he shedded and his new fur is darker brown with white patches.

                Maybe Miffy is just shedding her baby fur, too?


              • Eepster
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                  Totally normal to molt like that.

                  The not eating pellets could indicate a dental problem. Most bunnies love their pellets.


                • LBJ10
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                    It depends. Wooly sort of had both. When he was a baby, his fur was softer and a lot darker. He shed his baby coat and his new adult coat (wool) came in. He was lighter in appearance and the texture was different. So yes, that was a one time thing (transitioning from baby coat to adult coat). He is the type who pretty much “blows his coat” in a single shedding (unlike Leopold, who sheds constantly little bits at a time). His fur will actually look bushier and the color will lighten when he is on the eve of shedding. This is because new fur is growing in, while old fur is loosening. The old fur (wool) will start sliding down the guard hairs and I use a hairbuster comb to get is off. I will have to brush him like every day practically until he is done. The new fur is darker, almost black. But it lightens a bit as is fills out.


                  • Chii
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                      Eepster, nice to hear that it’s normal. She started to eat her pellets (Burgess Excel Adult) and is eating and pooping just fine now!
                      LBJ10, Thanks for explaining! I bet that Miffy is now about 5-6 month of age, because she is clearly showing all symptoms of teenage bunny. I believe that this molting is just her baby fur wearing off.


                    • LBJ10
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                        That about the time their adult coat comes it and starts filling out.

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                    Forum DIET & CARE Complete color change during molting?