Being out of hay is not a good thing, ever. I would get some ASAP. They can never be without it. The change in diet could definitely affect her fur, but not that quickly as far as I know. You may want to get a check up at a vet done for her.

Not really sure – rabbits need hay at all times. If she’s eating and pooping then start the hay as soon as possible. Hay is more for digestion than for fur maintenance. She could possibly be going through a molt and if that is the case, then she needs the hay to help keep her gut moving.

Could be winter dryness. Try brushing more often to distribute oils and observe to make sure she’s grooming normally. And get hay ASAP change in diet is never good

Never, ever let your bun go without hay. Just because she’s been without it before, doesn’t mean it’s okay to do it again. She NEEDS her hay so make sure you can provide this for her constantly.

As for her hair, if you’re worried I would just take her to the vet. Winter dryness could most definitely be the cause but you would want that treated before she gets bad sores or anything of the such.

You should always have hay for your rabbit, but a couple of days without isn’t going to be detrimental. I don’t think that was the cause of the hair loss. Sometimes bunnies shed a bunch. It’s just their way. If everything else is normal, I wouldn’t worry. I would not take her to the vet unless it is time for her yearly check up.

I agree, she’s probably going through a molt. The hair is old hair, especially the ends. If you check through her coat you might be able to see the new fur growing.

Where the coat is stiff, could this be where she’s been grooming herself? Is her nose and under her mouth clean and dry?

If you run out of hay, you can always feed fresh grasses. Provided you know it’s come from pesticide-free area.

I would call your vet to see if you can have her seen during regular hours, or make an appointment for next Monday. Meanwhile get in the hay.
It sounds to me like a regular full shedding of her coat, but I don’t want to be wrong about that. The coat comes off dramatically as often as twice a year (called “blowing their coat”) and can be a bit scary to see. They have smaller sheds often 2 more other times a year as well. So it’s possible that she’s just in a major shed.

Hay actually does help the fur as well as being essential to the digestion. Oat hay is known for making fur silky, and my Samantha is proof of that. You never, ever want to be totally without any hay, so get some for her today as well. Timothy, Oat, Orchard Grass, all are great hays to feed. Whichever she likes the best. It’s true that she needs her hay even more if she’s shedding because bunnies cannot throw up and a blockage from ingested fur as she grooms it off is common and can get dangerous if built up in her system.

I don’t mean to be pesky or rude — but you absolutely can NOT make your bunny go without hay because you were feeling lazy. It is NOT okay to not feed your bun bun hay just because you’re too lazy to go out and get it. I don’t mean to sound harsh (and one time isn’t going to harm your bun bun) but PLEASE, for the sake of your little girl and yourself, please please don’t do that again. I only say this because caring for her properly is very essential to the well-being of her and her future. You’re going to feel terrible if she ends up getting a blockage for something as silly as that and watching her get so horribly sick and blocked up and vet visits will not be fun for either her or you!

She only has you to rely on her for her safe-being and health! You’re like her momma so please please please don’t let her down! Again, I don’t mean to be harsh or anything of the sort but hay is just so important to your girl that I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her and I wouldn’t want you to have to go through something like that if it did! You obviously care a lot about her or you wouldn’t be on this forum so I KNOW you do care and want to do whats best for your girl!

I think she gets the hay thing guys.

I figured, but I’m going to make sure. It’s what a rabbit eats every time and should ALWAYS have access to it. The last thing anyone needs is a sick bunny on there hands! Sick bunnies are not fun for us or our furry friends! I felt it needed to be stressed just how important it is to their health.

*everyday — sorry for the crappy grammar!

Posted By equalsign on 11/24/2012 02:26 PM
I think she gets the hay thing guys.

Lol.
Well… You can’t say we’re not persistent.

I’m glad your girl is doing much better again!

And you have a horse?!??!?! What breed?

Snowflake, thanks for the update. At first I thought someone pulled up an old emergency, but an update on your own thread is always welcome.

I took the liberty of changing your subject line to reflect that it is no longer urgent. It was a very alarming Subject line, and I wanted the other FL’s to know that it’s been updated for the better so they won’t think it’s an emergency posted today. Thanks.

That’s adoraaaaable! I used to have a Quarter and two Appaloosas! I miss horses sooooooo much. I moved to the city and haven’t been around horses really at all since. I LOVE horses though!!!!

There’s actually quite a few horse people on BB!!

Also, I’m both! I used to jump for quite a while and hunter. I loved it! And yeah I have, I don’t have a car here yet so I haven’t been able to figure out a stable! BOOOOOO. As soon as I can, I’m going too!