Molting???

[Nibbles_NZ]

I understand that rabbits molt. About what age do they lose all of thier baby fur?

[Beka27]

I don’t know… I think usually by a year old, all the baby fur is out. You might notice the bunny changes color slightly. And when buns molt, you can usually see a line in the fur indicating where they’re at in the process…

[Nibbles_NZ]

Oh, that makes sense then. I’m noticing that on both of my buns. Bella more so. She is getting a little darker and I can see the line on both of her back legs and on her head. Thanks!

[Lunar~Atticus]

oh wow, when luna molted, she lost fur every where and looked like something was wrong! i was worried her fur was turning white and she was sick but she was just loosing her baby fur and now she is pretty.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I can see patches on Baxter where his fur is growing in and his fur is getting a little more coarse. He is still the same color but Bella is getting a little darker.

[RabbitPam]

They all seem to molt a bit differently, too. Some develop that line in the coat (Sammy has a couple right now) and a bit more fur can be seen around. Good to comb/brush them to help them out. They will groom the loose fur and it’s not good for them to eat it.

Others will “blow their coat” where they lost great patches and it looks like something is wrong. It depends on the bunny. I actually keep waiting for Sammy to shed, but she is so dainty that she never really shed out her coat in an obvious way, just those tiny lines. But Spockie, my former mini rex, would have tufts that would come out in clumps, and leave piles on my lap about 4x a year.

The baby fur will be gone by a year – 1 1/2 unless you have a mini rex. They are bred to have the undergrowth of hair at the surface, and the adult fur that comes in longer comes in shorter, so that’s why they always feel baby soft velvety.
A slight change in color, or new spots appearing is a good indication that a molt is complete.

[Nibbles_NZ]

There is a difference between my New Zealand and my Dutch. Baxter (NZ) has the hair that is coming in under his other hair. I can see it when I pet and brush him. It looks like polka dots of red fur coming in and it is just slightly darker than his other fur. Bella has the lines everywhere. I’ve noticed that when they climb up on my lap they leave some hair behind. Not a ton but much like a cat does. Baxter is also getting more coarse. I didn’t realize they took that long to lose thier baby fur. Baxter seems to be getting his adult hair pretty fast.

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