Clumps of fur

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 5sd replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by Asriel and Bombur.

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- 03/04/2019 at 3:44 AM
  SammyRew
  Participant
  1 posts
  Hi I’ve got two mixed house rabbits (both male) who are 17 weeks old. They both get along really well and we’ve never had any issues with them. Over the weekend we’ve noticed that there big clumps of fur over our living room floor. I’ve checked both bunnies and can’t see any patches and haven’t seen them over groom themselves. I thought if they were moulting I’d be able to see new fur or at least patches where the fur had been shed from but I can’t. I’m really worried that it’s been caused by them fighting. I’ve noticed that one of them seems a little more jumpy than normal but they’re still cuddling up together and eating together. We’ve booked them in to be neutered on Thursday. I don’t want to seperate them unnecessarily as we haven’t seen any fighting and they seem happy enough together.
  Could this be just normal moulting?
  
  They have a hutch but the door is open so they can roam around the living room as they please during the day and they’re kept together in the hutch overnight. I’ve not noticed any fur in the hutch.
  
  Any advice would be really appreciated. I’ve spoken to the vets and they said if they were fighting to sepearere them which I will but wasn’t really able to give any other advice
  
  Sammy
- 03/04/2019 at 9:37 AM
  Sarah
  Participant
  44 posts
  I have experienced this type of thing when my 2 rabbits(that were not bonded) somehow got in the same room and started fighting. They pulled out multiple patches of eachothers hair, but no one broke skin or left any marks. With 2 unneutered males they are probably fighting over territory. Since they have not been fighting in the hutch, What I would do is keep them in the hutch together and only let them out when you are home to supervise them. That way you can break them up if you need to.
  If the rabbits were molting you would be able to actually pull out clumps of hair especially around the bum area fairly easily
- 03/04/2019 at 10:56 AM
  The P Squad
  Participant
  6 posts
  This happened to me as well. They would act friendly most of the time, but we would see clumps of fur around their area from when they would fight now and then.
- 03/04/2019 at 3:16 PM
  Doodler
  Participant
  337 posts
  Hi there. I would separate them immediately. Bunnies really should be separated by 12 weeks of age until they are altered. Once they are fixed, healed, hormones settled and prebonded you can then start the bonding process. Keeping them together at this point is far too risky.
- 03/05/2019 at 4:00 AM
  Sirius&Luna
  Participant
  2320 posts
  It sounds like they are fighting. When rabbits get hormonal – normally around the 3-4 month mark, they will suddenly start fighting. This is why its generally advised to separate them while they’re still babies and seemingly getting along. Rabbits will have extremely vicious fights – while it seems like you’ve been lucky and only some fur pulling has occured, I would highly recommend separating them immediately before it gets more serious.
  
  Rabbits need to go through a bonding process. Just being together from birth isn’t enough. Separate them, neuter them, then spend a couple of months prebonding and bonding them. If you check out the bonding section of the forum, and BUNNY INFO, you can find more information on the bonding process.
  
  For now, separate.
  
  (When bunnies moult, fur gets everywhere, but it doesn’t come out in large clumps that stay together like it does when they fight. Large clumps can only have been pulled out by another bunny).
- 03/05/2019 at 8:56 AM
  Asriel and Bombur
  Participant
  1104 posts
  I have to agree with S&L and Doodles. Not to be disrespectful to Sarah or P.Squad, but bunnies that are bonded don’t fight, and it’s not okay to leave them to their own devices. They aren’t cats or dogs that know when to stop. Bunnies are vicious with each other and they won’t stop unless they are separated or one is severely injured.
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