you CAN bathe a bunny. you just must keep her inside for at least 24 hours so she’s 100 % dry and cant get sick.

Well i have a white rabbit as well and the easiest way for me to get the stains out was with a warm wash cloth.And if still doesn’t come out a little baby shampoo can help.But just a tiny bit.The reason her fur is so dingy could be because she just had behbehs and that drains her energy and nutrients from them feeding.Once the behbehs are less dependent on her and can take care of themselves better her coat should perk back again.
Hope that helps!
~CLB

Yes, you can bathe them but try not too. They don’t like it and can get easily stressed. Not good for new mum Zoe. But as Mir said, when bathing you have to ensure they are thoroughly dry.

You can do a dry bath like the petstore said but don’t use baby powder unless it’s 100% pure corn starch. Just easier to use cornstarch for the grocery store. It probably won’t remove the staining but can he freshen them up. You rub it into the spots and then brush comb it out. The yellowing will just take time to fade I’m afraid.

My buck still sprays on occasion too. He’s been neutered since he was 9 months old and is now 3.

mine enjoy being bathed as long as i bathe them.
but yes i forgot about the babies.. it may stress her a bit but like CLB said a warm wash cloth and a tiny bit of baby soap will work.

Actually, I’m not sure about baby shampoo. I used to think this or baby soap was suitable but have since learnt that it may not be. A mild pet shampoo would be better. I’m not certain you’d be able to get the residual shampoo out using a wash cloth though. What about trying a dry bath and letting her clean herself up some. Then if needed, try shampoo during the day so you can be sure she’ll dry enough. You can dry with a hair dryer set on cool setting. I think wiping off urine asap would help clean up but if it’s had time to stain, bathing her is not going to make a huge difference.

i would think baby shampoo of all things would be safe.. i use it on my cats.
you’d think it wouldn’t be toxic since we use it on our young, and that it would be gentil enough not to harm the skin because babies have such sensitive skin.. what about that dish soap peiple use to get the oil off wild animals? dawn i think it is?

as for the wash closth procedure just out soap on the wash cloth. if you put it on her body you’s have to give her a full bath

What isn’t toxic to us may be toxic to other critters. Different species have different tolerances. I’d just stick to warm water, maybe a bit of cornstarch applied dry tot he fur to see if anything comes off. Thats about it. I wouldn’t trust any kind of shampoo or soap, personally.

you’d think it wouldn’t be toxic since we use it on our young,

Oh gosh Mir, don’t even get me started.    Some stuff that’s put in childrens products and food just for appearance is baaad.
Rabbit skin is different also. The main reason it’s rabbit skin that is tested on in laboratories.

Anyway, I found the thread where I’d read about baby shampoo, yay or nay. It seems no one was really sure. It was said Baby shampoo *might* be ok but definately not other human shampoo. Keep in mind not all baby products are the same. So where you might use one without issue, another brand might be awful. Some of those “no more tears” ones would make an adult bawl. Ok, i may be exaggerating….

If you find a shampo and wants to know if it is alright, then post the ingredients here – I am one of those freaks that read the ingredients every time and know them by heart.

But it all depends on how much you are into it. Admittedly, my shampos contain ingredients recognised for making young girls come into puberty at the age of 10 and make pregnant women give birth to baby boys with deformed thingys…but since it is being washed out right away, I see no harm in it. But I wouldn’t use creams, deoderants or anything else that stays on my skin containing any of these ingredients.

I would suggest you use fluid soap for intimate use for women. The ph-level is really good, and if you buy it from the right brands, they will contain no harmful chemicals, perfumes et.c. I buy them to bathe my dog.

Avoiding bathing is the best route. Rabbits shed 4 times a year, so typically when fur is stained, within 3-4 months, it’s gone. You can assist in this cycle by brushing her frequently. She is a very new bunny in your home. I just posted this in a another thread but I’ll add it here too: My rabbit Max had badly stained fur when I got him. He was kept in a warren-like situation and allowed outdoors part-time. Within a few months, his fur was pearly white.

Many bunnies from rescues look “dingy” when they first get home. This can be due to poor/inconsistent diet, stress, lack of grooming (b/c rescues are BUSY!), or the bun might have come from poor conditions. So I would just wait and see how she progresses. Stability goes a long way in improving a bunny’s appearance. And right now, there are more important things than what color her fur is. First the babies, second her being spayed.

Really, you should not wash rabbits. It’s not necessary unless you are giving a butt bath to clean that area but an all over shampoo is not necessary and not the right thing to do. The fur will grow out and she’ll be all shiny and clean when that happens.

Seriously, don’t bathe a rabbit even though they sell rabbit shampoo at the store. It is really hard on them, not just getting wet, but being stripped of their natural oils on their skin and hairs. It can throw their skin’s metabolism off balance.

I don’t bath my rabbits unless necessary. Bathing can dry out the skin by removing natural oils, it can stress them out, and if not properly dried they can get sick.
I have had to bath rabbits though, mostly bum baths though when I found Ani she was covered in motor oil from living under an old car. I used regular dish soap (for oil removal), and pretty much gave her a sponge bath to get the oil out, the last wash was to make sure no soap (or oil) was left behind.
I bought myself a hair drier with a cool setting, and used that to blowdry their fur, as it takes FOREVER to dry (making me wonder why anyone would want a rabbit fur coat, u get it wet it’ll never dry!). I also had a handicap bunny who needed daily bathing/grooming, though just one part of her, I didn’t usually use soap at all, but if I needed to i used an organic kitten soap, or rabbit specific soap, and again made sure to wash it all off so that nothing was left.

Karla, I like your idea for the ‘fluid soap for intimate use for women’, I bet that would be very gental and safe.

I wouldn’t bathe a bunny.

Lintini’s bunny, Indy was covered in urine when she first got him, and he practically cleaned himself!

Also, with shedding, it helps

Andi, you bring up a good point about rabbit fur coats

I’m in the no bathing camp – unless a bunny’s bottom is covered in poo, there’s really not need to bathe them. They groom themselves endlessly and will get out any minor stains in no time. If it’s something they can’t get it, it’ll come out with the next shed. Bathing is very traumatic and can be dangerous, so it’s best to avoid if at all possible, in my opinion.

I was about to post about that. Carrot Lane Bunny made a good point earlier on – it’s her being a new mum that has her coat looking poor. Keep her on the alfafa diet and the protien will help. She’ll probably shed out this fur and grow in her normal, healthier coat.  There are vitamin products for rabbits in many pet store. I think they’re a waste of money. Rabbits produce their own vitamins and nutrients and get them by eating their cecatrophes.

I agree, no vitamins are necessary. Just a consistent, balanced diet of hay, veggies and some pellets. Brushing once or twice a week will help remove dead fur also and get her looking better quicker.

Pretty doubtful. Maybe just bunnies being busy bunnies. Babies have lots of energy. Could you put a towel down in their cage to dampen the noise some?

I’m not really sure when you should stop Zoe on the alfalfa…. Do you offer both alfalfa pellets and alfalfa hay? You could get her onto the timothy pellets and supplement with alfalfa hay. It will be good she has a healthy weight prior to her spay.

Do you have bedding or anything in the cage with the babies? I’m guessing that’s just them playing, exploring, learning “how their bodies work”…

“Hey look, I can DIG!”

“Wow! So can I!”

Zoe should be able to be switched off alfalfa by the time the babies are weaned. You can start now reducing the amount of alfalfa and increasing timothy, do it slowly over the next month.

Also, if they are only one month they are probably still nursing, just when you are not looking. I believe the mom doesn’t fully wean them until at least 5-6 weeks (though they should stay with her until 8 weeks just in case, and for socialization). There might be some nutrients in her milk that they still need, even if they are getting their primary source of calories from the pellets. Personally I would keep her on alfafa until the babies are gone – if nothing else, you don’t want to switch the food the babies are getting at this delicate time.