Loki is shedding quite a bit. Any ideas why?

[Loki's Mom and Dad]

 Our Dwarf Rabbit, Loki, is shedding a lot. We are noticing it is even in his water dish, as well as the inside of his wooden hut in his cage. He has short-hair, and is a little over one year old. No matter how much we brush him, he is still shedding, and it almost seems as if we can pull hair right off of him with a pinch. His current diet is KayTee brand Timothy Hay – unlimited all day, and OxBow Essentials – Young Rabbit Food, we fill his dish each night with a mix of this food and some oats. He gets Alfalfa from time to time, as well as dandelion or other vegetables as a treat maybe once a week. He has plenty of things to chew in his cage, and is defecating normally, he was neutered on Good Friday with no complications, but was shedding even before this – we figured it was his normal shedding time, but is still continuing – which leads us here.

Any ideas why this is happening? Any suggestions as to what we can do to rectify this issue?

 

Thanks!

– Loki’s Parents

[LBJ10]

Isa spring? Well, almost summer. Shedding is happening all across the animal spectrum. Some rabbits will sort of shed smaller quantities continuously and others will have these monster molts. How old is he now and how long has the shedding been going on? When baby bunnies get their adult coats, their true shedding patterns will develop as well. My little Wooly didn’t shed that much when he was a baby, but when his adult coat came in he started having his monster molts.

[LittlePuffyTail]

How long has he been shedding like this?

Most bunnies go through a molt at least once a year. Another name for it is “blowing their coat” and it certainly describes it well. The molt can last around a week and sometimes leave bald spots.

It’s extremely important to groom you bun every day during a molt. My prefered method of grooming during a molt is plucking (gently) the fur with wet hands. And then when no more chunks are coming off, smooth over bunny several times with wet hands to remove any excess hair. I keep a small container of warm water to do this and wet my fingers and shake off the excess.

My bunnies often get bald spots during molting. This is nothing to be alarmed about and it will grow back.

[LBJ10]

Oh and oats aren’t recommended. They are too fattening. If he is still young and he’s getting the alfalfa pellets (young formula), that is sufficient for helping him grow.

[Loki's Mom and Dad]

 He is around one year and three months old. He has been shedding since Mid-Winter – probably around January.

[LBJ10]

Oh, well he shouldn’t need the young rabbit formula anymore then.

How much is he actually shedding? Is it coming off in clumps or do hairs just come off when you pet him? It sounds like he could be a continuous shedder and since this started 5 months ago, that would put him around the time when his adult coat would be developing.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Lady is a continuous shedder, there’s nothing wrong with her its just her process Sam has a mini full coat blow out every 4-5 months it seems.

[Author]

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