Oreo’s neverending shed…help!

[Ali925]

I know shedding (frequency, amount, etc) can vary from bunny to bunny and possibly breed to breed??  Oreo (holland lop) has been shedding on and off (but mostly ON) since around May?  Just last week I was saying to my husband, wow I think she’s finally done shedding and look how nice her coat looks!  And then lo and behold, this week she has a few spots down the middle of her back where it’s starting to shed AGAIN.  I feel so bad for her, must be so annoying!  (it’s annoying to me and it’s not my coat!)   

Please reassure me this can be normal?  If she’s going to be a year old in September, this was her first big shed so perhaps it won’t always be this way?  I’m clueless.  I am only concerned because I don’t want it to be due to some other health issue or something as far as diet, etc goes.  She seems very healthy and I do find the occasional poop strung with fur, but it’s minimal …  and good because she’s passing it?

So as long as I know it’s not that uncommon (or unhealthy) I will continue to groom her and get daily face tickles from all the fur she sheds … and just know that it has to end eventually…

Oh and just a side note, we have had the A/C on pretty much every day since the warm weather started (June-ish) so I don’t think the climate change could be that apparent to her that it would invoke more shedding…

Thanks in advance!

[Sarita]

Here’s a good article from Dana Krempels that might shed some light on ths:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

Read the info on circadian rhythms – interesting stuff.  It doesn’t have anything really to do with temperature but rather light cycles and hormones as well – shedding that is.

[Sarita]

I also have to add that 2 of my rabbits are shedding like crazy right now – well actually 3 since one that I’m bunnysitting now is shedding ferociously as well.

[bunnytowne]

Mine decided to shed again starting last week. 

[Moonlight_Wolf]

My mom keeps saying that Fern will be bald soon at the rate she is shedding.

[Ali925]

Thanks for the link Sarita! Although I have to add … did you realize what a pun you had in there! (“Here’s a good article from Dana Krempels that might SHED some light on this”).

And thanks everyone for reassuring me they can be shedding like crazy and still be healthy My little Blu is constantly shedding too, but in such random areas and definitely nowhere near as much fur as Oreo… He gets a cute mohawk though (i posted a pic a while back)

[MissKris&Koji]

The bad news is I have read that older rabbits tend to have longer sheds, at more regular intervals. But, it’s possible this was his under 1 year big shed, so maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel?

I just got done with an epic 1 month shed, which was going on for god knows how long before that (we just got him a month ago, and I know they mentioned the shedding when we met him a bit before that). Luckily it’s been stopped for 4 days and I think we’re clear for a while….

If you don’t have a hairbuster brush, it’s a must. SO SO helpful in our shedding mess. I brushed like that twice a day, while my rabbit ate his morning and night pellets and was too distracted to mind. It keeps most of the hair so you can throw it directly out. There would still be some that came flying out in the day, so I’d still have to vacuum every couple days (depending on how tolerant you are of the flyaway hair everywhere). But it was so much more tolerable than the week and a half we tried hand plucking and so on.

[Ali925]

Thanks MissKris.

I guess I am concerned this time moreso because it seems kind of thin in some places on her back..but I tend to overanalyze and worry too much. The husband doesn’t see anything wrong, so I’m probably overreacting. It’s really only one very small spot where if you rub her fur a certain way you can see grayish fur (where her fur is black) but it already feels thin (summer coat I guess). She has the same thing on her ears sometimes and the vet said it’s totally normal for thinner hair on the ears. So maybe it’s just that.

I love these bunnies but they always manage to keep me worried about something!

[BinkyBunny]

Both Jack and Vivian have been in shed crazy mode. And Jack normally doesn’t have big molts and this is the first crazy molt I’ve seen in Vivian. So they are timing it together! Vivian who normally has very thick and lush fur, now has a much thinner coat on her back.

I don’t know what is really going on in bunny world, but most of my friends who have bunnies are dealing with extra crazy molting too.

Jack and Vivian are older and I sure hope this isn’t the beginning of many whacky molts. Booooo!

[Ali925]

Thanks BinkyBunny…that makes me feel much better. So I shouldn’t be concerned if I groom her and it seems thin underneath? I can see there are a lot of loose fur clumps on her back and I was afraid to go too crazy and have her end up with a very thin area (it isn’t down to the skin or anything, just thinner in comparison to the rest of her…)

[angelicvampyre]

My bunnies shed 4 times a year, summer, winter autum and spring!

[Ali925]

So they never stop? lol Looks like I might have the same situation with Oreo. oh joy!

[Beka27]

I got the Hairbuster brush from BB and it is AMAZING. I used it on Meadow and I was incredibly impressed with the fur it picked up. As a mini rex, I would brush and brush and brush her but never get much off. The Hairbuster is a must. It works great on Max too.

[angelicvampyre]

Rufus never seems to stop, he has been in a blow since I got him, it comes off in the handfuls (he is approx 5) Bugz and Anya seem to go through stages for a few weeks where I can pull tuffs but then settle down.

[Ali925]

Thanks Beka…I’ll have to look into that brush. I feel like they’re more receptive to me using my hands, but I’d rather have something to help it along easier.
angelicvampyre…good to know I’m not the only one!

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