Ingesting too much fur

[sarahthegemini]

We groom our bunnies daily but they still do the odd hairy poop or two (or 3 or 4 linked!) Buttercup seems to be constantly moulting with no respite whatsoever. Peanut is moulting at the moment but he does have breaks where he just sheds normally for a while. Their hay consumption is okay and they get a hay + papaya treat every morning (There’s very little papaya in them but I figured it might help? They don’t like papaya on it’s own) I’m just a little concerned that despite daily grooming they are still ingesting too much fur?

[Wick & Fable]

Well, unfortunately my initial thought is to have longer/more effective grooming sessions. I recall grooming not being the most compliant activity for your rabbits, so understandably it may not be ideal or possible, but that’s my initial thought.

My follow-up thought is, while the presence of furry poop is indeed a sign of a lot of ingestion, the fact that you’re seeing it exit every day means that it is getting through the system effectively. You are observing fur consumption and also seeing it exit, which is the ideal! No matter how much grooming we do, we can’t get it all, so seeing it come out the other end is very promising.

I would say monitor for any signs of blockage and if possible, maybe try longer and more “intense” grooming sessions, if possible.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[sarahthegemini]

We do try and do thorough grooming sessions but it depends whether the buns want to cooperate ? We just plonk a pile of hay on the floor and groom for as long as they’ll let us. Sometimes they behave and we can get a decent amount of fur off. Other times they have no interest in staying still. Buttercup gets a really tufty butt so usually we are able to pluck her a bit.

It’s odd because sometimes they’ll go a few days with no hairy poops whatsoever and then they’ll have a few days where there’s one or two per day and then there’s some days where they’ll do quite a lot of them! And they don’t just get the extra hairy poops on days when we’ve not been able to get much fur off. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern?

We use grooming mits and although they do a fairly good job I wonder if there’s a more effective brush/method? We’ve tried others in the past with no luck though and of course the bunnies are exceptionally fussy!

[Sirius&Luna]

Do you do lint rolling? Atlas has been moulting recently, and the amount that a lint roller gets off is just unbelievable. So so much more than any other brush we’ve tried. He hates it and won’t sit still, so we have to pick him up and hold him for two minutes. In that time, we can get through about 15 sheets of sticky lint roller paper that are all literally COVERED in fur. Now I’ve seen those, it makes me quite paranoid about the amount he’d be ingesting if we didn’t do it. He’s not happy, but I think 2 minutes of unhappiness every other day is worth it.

[Wick & Fable]

My grooming sessions with Wick are usually about 20-30 minutes long, and he definitely hates it and tries to turn and “teeth bash” my hand, as I like to call it, where his open mouth/teeth make contact, but he doesn’t bite down. It’s a grueling time for him and I, but it’s for the best…. I do hand pulling and a furminator, and I am quite relentless. Generally a treat at the end allows some forgiveness.

I’ll probably post a video on insta soon of the entire process so people can see how I wrangle the sassy fellow, haha.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Lord Bonton]

Bonton needs to be groomed for like 30 minutes to an hour daily, but hes a fuzzy lop and going through a huge molt of his undercoat right now. luckily he has bonded with my wife quite fast and actually enjoys his grooming sessions. i have seen her get a handful or fur or two each time! i swear by papaya as a helper with moving fur along(even if it isnt really proven lol). But it seems like you are doing great. any little bit helps. just make sure they hay consumption and water is still good, and that you see the fur continue to pass.

[kurottabun]

I usually pair a fine toothed flea comb with a lint roller. Plucking works too but fur seems to fly everywhere when I do that so I’m usually not too keen on the plucking ?

[sarahthegemini]

I’ve tried lint rolling and Peanut just runs away ? I could always pick him up once a week and give a good go with it. I don’t really wanna do it daily because it’d stress him out so much. As for Buttercup….aye, she’s a tricky one because I cannot pick her up and she also runs from the libt roller. I’ll try and persevere with it tho as it will probably do a better job!

@kurotta – it doesn’t matter how I groom or pluck Buttercup. Her fur goes flying everywhere regardless ? Even just petting her!

[Q8bunny]

I agree: you’re monitoring ingestion, endeavoring to reduce it, and hair is moving through and exiting. For some buns, this is as good as it gets. (This coming from the hoom of a bun who will only sit to be groomed if in a burrito – aka not gonna happen)

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Q8bunny on 2/18/2019 10:01 AM
I agree: you’re monitoring ingestion, endeavoring to reduce it, and hair is moving through and exiting. For some buns, this is as good as it gets. (This coming from the hoom of a bun who will only sit to be groomed if in a burrito – aka not gonna happen)

I found a 7-poop bracelet yesterday

I’m wondering if maybe having hay directly in the litter tray could be contributing? I clean the trays and dispose of the hay daily but I wonder if it’s still getting a bit furry throughout the day as the buns obv spend quite a bit of time in there. I’ll have to try a hay rack set up.

[Asriel and Bombur]

The water bowls too! You might wanna think about water bottles just while they’re molting. The boys have got it bad right now and I keep finding strings and giant egg poops, so I took Muchelle’s advice and got water bottles just for now. There’s been fur constantly in their water dishes, no matter how much I rinse them out.Just a suggestion!

I wonder who left you that gem for you xD my guess is Peanut

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Asriel and Bombur on 2/18/2019 1:31 PM
The water bowls too! You might wanna think about water bottles just while they’re molting. The boys have got it bad right now and I keep finding strings and giant egg poops, so I took Muchelle’s advice and got water bottles just for now. There’s been fur constantly in their water dishes, no matter how much I rinse them out.Just a suggestion!

I wonder who left you that gem for you xD my guess is Peanut

I’ve actually been thinking of switching back to bottles but I’m concerned that they won’t drink as much. I change the bowls multiple times a day and there is always so much hair. Have you noticed the boys drinking less with bottles, especially after using bowls for so long?

I’m 99% sure the poop jewellery was his ? Belated Valentines gift. Such a charmer

[Asriel and Bombur]

Not so much with Bombur, but Az is hard to gauge how much he’s drinking because he already hardly drinks. I really had to get rid of his bowl to make him be like oh okay there’s only a bottle now. But overall it’s been well worth the extra prodding to get them to drink. Cause if fur gets on the nozzle it’s an easy wipe.

[Q8bunny]

All jewellery should be posted on Insta. lol Remember my bracelet from last fall? ?

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Q8bunny on 2/20/2019 7:46 AM
All jewellery should be posted on Insta. lol Remember my bracelet from last fall? ?

Yes I do! I was thinking of it when I posted ?? I wish I’d took a picture, it was pretty impressive

[Q8bunny]

Hopefully next time.

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