Hair coming out in clumps!

[Bunnymadness]

Ok so here is what’s going on, I went away for the weekkend as usual to visit my dad who lives 2 hours away.  And as usual I put my parents in charge of my bunny Foxy Tail.  I came back to find everything was normal, except the fact that her coat was all ratty.  I am used to pulling out some hair from my bunny on a daily basis but it doesn’t usually come out in clumps.  I pulled out some very loose hair and it just kept coming out.  In less than a minute I had a handful of hair and I could have gotten more.  The strange thing is is that it is the dead of winter and an average of a high of 10 degrees farenheit.  I noticed the other day when I came to feed Foxy that she had barely touched her food, not thinking much about I dumped it and gave some new food and within several minutes her daily portion was gone, so I gave her just a little more becuase I didn’t want her to starve na dmy hay supplies was running low.  Should I be worried for my rabbit or she just shedding A LOT? Thanks! 

[longhairmike]

its almost certainly shedding. you probably already see the new fur underneath.

long hair, short hair, wooly, satin, rex?

its almost better (for you) that they start now that when it suddenly gets hot out, cause then the whole thing will come out in a few days. at least this time of year you can keep up with it.

[Deleted User]

Hi BunnyLover1125, yep it sounds exactly like moulting to me – my boy moulted during our winter too (and still is 9 months later – bugga!). I’m not sure why they moult when they do – weather? adolescence? I’ve heard a few reason’s, but because my Henry is a ‘constant’ moulter I sort of gave up caring ‘why’ ages ago, so can’t offer you a reason/suggestion. I just wanted to say this sounds perfectly normal and I’ll keep everything crossed for you that your experience with Foxy’s moult is brief? Oh, and I did hear/read that when a bunny sheds they can lose their appetite, so I wouldn’t worry to much about that either for the moment. But, as always – keep an eye on her to make sure she does eat something/eventually. All the best BunnyLover1125. Cheers, Henry’s mum.

[Bam]

Sometimes they can moult in patches so they get temporary bald spots, and it’s still normal.

Their immune-system can be weakened during shedding, which can cause grumpiness and stomach-problems f ex.

I too have read lots of explanations of what causes a bunny to moult, it’s supposed to be the temperature and/or amount of daylight. From what I’ve seen with my buns, though, they just moult when they moult.

[Roberta]

Starsky has had 3 mega moults this year… A normal one in the latter part of Winter then two more after Summer hit us early in November (our Spring) He is still shedding like there is no tomorrow.

[Eepster]

Sounds like molting to me too.

What kind of coat does she have? If she has a longer coat, you need to help her our with the molt by “plucking” her. Only pull off the loose fur, and don’t pull out the new fur growing in underneath. If her coat is short, just brushing, combing or petting the loose fur off will work. Helping her now with grooming will prevent hair balls latter.

[justwildbeat]

She needs Rogain! (j/k obviously)

If the clumps are hair can be easily pulled off then she’s just molting. You can help groom her by pulling off clumps but be careful not to pull too hard.

[Bunnymadness]

Thanks guys for the explanations she has a normal coat I guess and I do help her by pulling out clumps of loose fur. She ahs been eating more, but she is still shedding. I was worried at first becuase it all happened so suddnely and she has never moulted like this before, but now I am just happy that everything is normal. Thanks for everything guys!

[kinggoblin]

Mine just did this, he molted for 2 weeks even though its winter and is now finishing up. I furminated him every other day and I’m pretty sure I got 30 bunnies worth of fur. I had to empty the vacuum every time.

I didn’t have any problems with fur balls or anything but he’s kind of lazy when it it comes to grooming. He only cares that his paws, face and ears look good.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Molting is certainly not fun. Sometimes my buns will molt so much they have one or more bald spots until the new fur grows in. Olivia has a big bald spot on her side right now. It makes me feel awful to groom until there is a bald spot but if it’s coming out in clumbs with my hands, I can’t just leave it there to be ingested.

I know where I am, the days are becoming longer and this causes a shedding response in most animals.

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