Fur Plucking

[Toe Beans]

Hey, Everyone!

So I’ve had my bunny for a few months. Got him near Valentine’s Day this year. He is a 4 1/2 month old flemish giant. Recently, maybe the past month or so, I’ve been noticing a lot of hair in his cage. Most of this I think he is just naturally shedding and I try to brush him daily, but I have witnessed him plucking bits of fur from his back foot pads. There aren’t any major bald spots, though it does look like there is a sore spot about the size of a dime on one foot and about the size of a pencil eraser on the other. I haven’t noticed any blood and the wounds don’t look bloody, just sore. 

We have him caged in a extra large dog kennel with a litter box, food dish, water bottle, and toys. He is only ever locked in the cage over night, and when we leave the house for any extended period of time. Otherwise his cage is always open and he has free run of our kitchen which is sufficiently rabbit proofed. His cage and litter box are fully cleaned every two to three days like clockwork, with spot cleaning as needed in between. He’s a very clean rabbit and his butt and feet pads are discolored (kinda yellow, but he’s a white rabbit so I was expecting this) but not really dirty.

I’ve noticed his feet pads are a little matted though and I wonder if that might be why he is pulling his fur there. 

Should I be concerned about this? It doesn’t seem out of control, but I don’t want him to hurt himself or get dirt into open wounds on his feet.

I’ll try to post pictures when I can.

Thanks.

[Bam]

Discoloration of white footpads is not a problem, that will just happen. Sores under the feet is NOT sth that happens just to poorly cared-for rabbits, it can happen anyway for a multitude of reasons, but needs to be taken seriously. The condition is commonly called sore hocks. It must be distinguished from calluses on the heels which can be perfectly normal and harmless. 

It’s of course bad if there are open sores or scabbed-over sores – any kind of compromized skin allows bacteria to gain entrance and that can lead to all kinds of nasty complications. Do you use bedding in his cage? What type of flooring do you have in your house? Could you get us a picture of his (most likely adorable, giant) feet?

Here’s some info on sore hocks: 

sore hocks

He could be plucking out fur because he’s experiencing some discomfort. It could be his way of trying to remedy the problem. 

[Toe Beans]

Here are his feet. After closer inspection I’m worried you may be right.  

Our kitchen floor is the hard stone tile you see in the pictures. I don’t have any bedding in his cage, just the plastic pan on the bottom of the cage with his litter box and other accessories. I used to put hay all over the bottom of his cage, but I noticed one day that the only way to keep him from peeing in the cage and not just the litter box was to just put hay in his litter box and nowhere else.  Once I topped putting hay everywhere else he started only peeing in the litter box exclusively, I don’t know why.

His nails are a bit on the long side. He has never really liked his feet touched so I’m not exactly sure how to best go about clipping his nails. I’ve had apprehension about trancing him. Heard that’s not actually very good for buns.

If it is sore hocks what should I do? He is due for a vet visit soon as I hope to get him neutered sooner rather than later. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to be in any pain or limiting his movement. He’s lightning fast if he thinks there are fresh greens to be had.

Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

Thanks

[Q8bunny]

I would gently clean and moisturize the exposed skin on his feet (lots of suggestions if you search for sore hocks on this site) and then ask the vet to help you give his nails a good trim and possibly bandage his feet until fully healed. I would also put a folded fleece in his pen or somewhere in your kitchen to give him the option to walk on something soft. He may pee on it and you’ll need to launder but that should stop once he’s neutered. Hope this helps a bit. (((vibes to the big boy)))

[flemishwhite]

From what I read he’s either in his cage or in the kitchen.  The  cage has a smooth plastic floor?..The kitchen has a slick floor?  These slick hard surfaces are not good for bunnies feet.  If you want to keep him in the kitchen, get some carpet squares and place them in the kitchen. Our Flemish rabbits’ pen has throw rugs on the floor’s…although the door is open 24/7 and they are free to run in the house if they wish.  We have mostly hardwood floors in our house.  We have Afghan 9′ by 12′ carpets, throw rugs, and carpet squares in the rest of the house for the bunnies.  They can hop around the house on carpeted areas.  They really don’t like the plain hardwood floors.

………………

I’ve never read in my various limited experience about bunnies pulling hair out of their hind feet.  I do believe that if they are experiencing pain, they will energetically lick their front feet…same with cats and dogs.  No experience with them pulling hair out of their hind feet.

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