urine eating fur away

Question
I have a 4yr old male Californian rabbit.  Our rabbits are outside and are in hanging cages.  1 1/2 weeks ago I noticed that his fur was stained and checked him over to find out that his fur was brown where he sat and on the inside of his legs.  I washed him thoroughly.  He seemed to be doing ok for the first week.  I was out of town visiting my sick dad for a few days.  Today when I checked him I noticed that he had urinated on the board we keep in his cage for him to chew on.  I took him out and noticed that his fur is worse.  I washed him again.  I am now wondering what I should put on him to encourage his hair to regrow and protect it from getting worse.  
I plan to scrub his cage down and take the board out for the time being.
I am bewildered because he has always been a healthy rabbit.  could you please give me some suggestions on what to do?

Answer
Dear Susan,

Your bunny may have a urinary tract infection, bladder sludge or stones, or other urinary tract problem, as described here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html

Please get him to a good rabbit vet ASAP for diagnosis and treatment:

www.rabbit.org/vets

You cannot treat this at home yourself.  To keep him comfortable in the meantime, please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

One reason rabbits get sick is stress.  And a hanging cage is no habitat for an intelligent, social animal like a rabbit.  Please visit:

www.rabbit.org/

for complete information on spay/neuter, litterbox training and other information to get your bunnies inside and safe where they belong.  You wouldn't house a dog or cat tghis way, so why a rabbit?  They are just as intelligent and in need of social interaction, exercise and companionship.

I hope this helps.

Dana