Wooly breed fur changing texture. Any experience with this?

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 19sd replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 8 months ago by jerseygirl.

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- 08/21/2016 at 6:00 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  So I’ve been noticing something with Wooly’s fur recently. I tried brushing him a couple of weeks ago. I could not brush through his fur. I thought maybe it was too soon. Normally, he will shed all at once and the loose wool will slide down the guard hairs. All I have to do is brush it off and it comes off in piles and piles.
  
  Well, I decided to give things a go again today. I will admit, he really needs to be groomed. =\ So I sat him in my lap, as I always do. And I dug and dug. FINALLY I found his “bloom” and started working on the loose fur along its perimeter. But the fur was stuck. I mean stuck! It would not slide off easily at all. I tugged a bit, I admit. Like I said, he really needs to be groomed. And yes, he was very mad at me. He protested and I apologized each time. Finally I was making some progress. Then Wooly decided he really had had enough and he peed all over my lap. I’m not kidding, it was a gusher! *sigh*
  
  So, what’s going on here? It’s as if his fur texture has changed. It’s impossible to brush through. You can clearly see the wool is loose, but when you try to remove it, it literally will not budge. There is so much resistance. I’m so confused. Is it the heat? The humidity? I’m about ready to give up and have him shaved.
- 08/21/2016 at 6:02 PM
  Benthebunny
  Participant
  550 posts
  Shaving would be a good idea
- 08/21/2016 at 6:04 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  Shaving is a last resort. If you do it too much, the guard hairs don’t function like they’re supposed to anymore.
- 08/21/2016 at 6:11 PM
  Muchelle
  Participant
  1141 posts
  What brush are you using? Can it be the prongs are too close? Maybe the fur is a bit matted because he dirtied himself some way? My bun has definitely shorter fur than Wooly, but he has a very very thick angora-like underfur that is always trouble when he sheds, he’ll get tangles under his tail and sometimes on his chin and belly too… when it happens, I cut away right below the “knot” area and keep on with the grooming.
  
  Can you pluck out with your fingers the loosened strands? I do that and use a metal wool brush to catch the rest of the damned underfur…
- 08/21/2016 at 7:28 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  I mostly use a hairbuster comb. Never had an issue before. Sure, he normally gets little mats here and there and I just cut them off and don’t worry about it too much. This is different though. The thicken fur (loose wool) is all over his body and it isn’t sliding off. I put the teeth of the comb into the edge to try to work it loose. Nothing. It won’t budge. I pull the comb out and there are literally holes in his fur from the teeth. It’s just unworkable and I don’t know why. The only thing that could have gotten on him is earwash, but I doubt he would have gotten enough on his fur to cause this widespread problem. It really is as though his fur has changed in some way. It’s really weird.
- 08/21/2016 at 8:03 PM
  Muchelle
  Participant
  1141 posts
  I use this kind, that’s sold for cats usually. The prongs are wide apart and the hooked shape helps remove even the finest hair: http://www.gattiandco.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/cardatoreS1.jpg
  
  Uhm, if you say it’s weird… has this condition begun relatively recently? Could you link that moment to something unusual happening? I’m thinking about sicknesses like dogs’ mange, but it seems too weird!
  
  To soften the fur and help brush him, I sometimes use a mix of 2/3 lukewarm water, 1/3 white vinegar, damp a microfiber towel in it, squeeze it and then massage it on his back and as further as he’ll let me (counter-fur first and then in fur’s direction). It makes the fur softer, more brushable, it cleans it from dirt and makes it generally more shiny and pretty. You could try this and see if it changes anything? (it works on humans and dogs too, I’ve tested it plenty! no harm for the little bun)
- 08/21/2016 at 9:09 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  Um, relatively recently. The last time he was shedding, his fur came off pretty easy as it always had before. I’m not really sure what it could be. I don’t think it’s any kind of mite. He has no hair loss or any other symptoms. You just can’t comb through his fur! The loosened wool just holds on for dear life! It reminds me of my rat’s nest hair (as my mother called it) when I was a little kid. You literally could not comb through it.
  
  I had not heard of using water and vinegar. The thought scares me because my hair was super impossible to comb through when it was wet. LOL I remember the lady at the hair salon being shocked when she dampened my hair and then went to comb through it so she could cut it. I was probably in elementary school at the time.
- 08/21/2016 at 10:39 PM
  Q8bunny
  Participant
  6345 posts
  Crazy thought: try dipping the comb in baby powder first?
  Or could it be insane static from dry air causing the fur to stick?
- 08/21/2016 at 10:53 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  His fur was static-y when I was trying to comb him.
  
  Don’t get me wrong, I managed to get a fair amount off his rear end before he peed on me. It was just extremely unpleasant. For both of us! I don’t like sitting there struggling to get the comb through his fur and I’m sure he’s doesn’t like it either!
  
  Hmm, corn starch (instead of baby powder). That might work.
- 08/21/2016 at 11:14 PM
  Q8bunny
  Participant
  6345 posts
  Our baby powder here is cornstarch based instead of talcum based.
  
  And run a humidifier – or the hot water in your shower before you groom him to cut down static cling.
- 08/22/2016 at 3:13 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  The funny thing is it’s humid as heck here. Normal for the summer months, but that means not much static cling this time of year. On the bright side, Wooly looks hilarious with his bald patch on his rump.
- 08/26/2016 at 1:31 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  It sounds like it has felted. What are the guard hairs like? Shorter then usual or less of them?
  
  Im not really familiar with jersey wooly coat. Maybe contact some breeders to see what they do?? I remember reading one time about using mineral oil for matts in angora fur. I cannot recall details. Putting oil on the coat seems like a recipe for a mess… I wonder if using cornstarch after could help take out excess oil?
- 09/04/2016 at 3:17 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  UPDATE
  
  I waited a couple of weeks. Tufts of fur have been appearing on the floor in their room. Maybe it will come easier now, I thought. Well… Wooly is now “bald” on his left side and fluffy on his right side. He asked me to please not take a picture because he is embarrassed. LOL I told him that if he would have just left me finish, then he wouldn’t be bald on one side and not the other. But, alas, he was making it very clear he had had enough for today. So we shall revisit this later and try to get the rest. The good news is that I was getting it off. Not as easily as I would have liked. But it was coming off.
  
  Weird thing: There was a second shed line on his left shoulder. So weird.
  
  Oh, and his chest, forget it. I just cut that. LOL And he didn’t even want me doing that. He was boxing me and everything. *sigh*
- 09/04/2016 at 3:21 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  Does this look like half a bunny to you?
- 09/04/2016 at 3:39 PM
  Vienna Blue in France
  Participant
  5317 posts
  Goodness me !
  No, it looks like a judge’s wig !!
  Or a whole cloud of cigarette smoke in an old fashioned black and white movie
- 09/04/2016 at 5:38 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  LOL
  
  I told you he needed to be groomed…..
- 09/04/2016 at 5:57 PM
  Muchelle
  Participant
  1141 posts
  omg! I could re-wig a battalion of dolls with all that wool XD
- 09/04/2016 at 7:38 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  That’s definitely a pic for BB’s molt pic collection. Glad to hear its finally coming off.
  
  Well… Wooly is now “bald” on his left side and fluffy on his right side. He asked me to please not take a picture because he is embarrassed.
  
  But it sounds like what all the cool kids are doing! Shaved undercuts with some patterns cut into it.
- 09/04/2016 at 8:02 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  Jersey – It’s more like this.
  
  Will Forte from The Last Man on Earth
- 09/04/2016 at 8:16 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
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