Bessie losing lots of fur!!!

[Bessaliah]

My gorgeous bunny who is 2-3 years old and in otherwise excellent health is losing a huge amount of fur.  She’s a domestic bunny i.e doesn’t have a long coat but I keep finding great tufts of it coming off her and on the floor.  She has no bald patches however. 

I think she has a good diet and she’s recently had all her jabs.  We’ve only had her for 4 months and realise that rabbits do moult but I’m concerned as it does seem rather a lot.

How much is too much?  Is this normal in October – I thought they would be growing a thicker coat at this time, not shedding it!

Thanks.

[TARM]

I routinely pluck the shelter rabbits and wind up with a pile 4-5 times the size of the rabbit. They CAN shed A LOT.

[Karla]

Bunnies can moult A LOT!! You’d be surprised how much hair is coming off. Molly has just finished moulting BIG TIME, while Karl’s shedding was minor, so I barely noticed it. So, I think it is individual when and how much.

You can shorten the period by plucking the bunny. It comes off rather easily. And if you do it a couple of times, the worst is done.

[Bessaliah]

I have been plucking Bessie a fair bit and she seems to enjoy it??? 

I’m amazed at how much fur I can pull out – easily pull out - it has to be said.

Is it normal at this time of year?

[TARM]

They shed four times a year.

[Barbie]

Haha i should have read this post before I posted about Leroy. I guess he’s blowing his coat right now… it’s horrible. Fur all over the apartment and me! It comes off in clumps and every time he moves, a little trail of fur follows him like a dust cloud behind a fast car My vacuum can’t keep up. The other day it literally overheated and quit on me before I was halfway done, so I had to let it cool and come back to finish. Stinking vacuum.

Anyway, yes I’ve been plucking at Leroy and he too seems to enjoy it. It helps cut down on all the fur blowing around my apartment and also helps keep him from ingesting too much! Thank goodness he’s a good hay eater! Gotta keep that tummy moving!

I can pluck out tons and tons of fur, but there’s still a layer of teeny tiny short furs underneath, like baby hairs.

[RabbitPam]

That’s exactly what they are – baby hairs. A mini rex is so soft because they have been bred to have those hairs grow in a bit longer, and the outer hairs are shorter so you feel the really really soft baby hairs. I have no idea how they managed it, but having had a mini rex I was wondering and looked it up once.

I have been waiting for Sammy to shed big time, and then see what the fur that grows in feels like. So far she’s only had little sheds, and is still very soft.

[jerseygirl]

She probably won’t moult like this every time. You may notice some lighter shedding next time. People have mentioned some crazy moulting this year though. Maybe it’s the weather…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

They’ll shed four times a year, heavier twice a year.

If your bunny enjoys the plucking-that’s wonderful!! Rupert usually gets pretty mad at me, but he sheds SO BAD!!

[Adalaide]

Oh gosh, Freya started shedding when she was 3 months old and it just won’t stop! I try to comb her, which usually means getting the comb across her 2-5 times before she decides she’s had enough and bails. I get a handful of hair every time I pet her. Today she climbed all over me on the couch and I think there was enough fur on me to question if I was human or rabbit.

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