Premature Greying

Question
Randy,

I have 2 rabbits that i have tried with every effort to get bonded but the female just persist in mounting the male every 5 seconds and my male has now given up his patience with her and wont stand for it anymore (she pulled a lump of his hair out last time in her attempt to mount him).

The male is a beautiful french lop whos colourings resemble that of a tortoise shell cat but its the female that im concerned about. When i got her she was jet black (she is cross breed dwarf lop/dutch, has the helicopter ears!) but when im grooming her i notice more and more that her fur is becoming heavily flecked with white. she is not even a year old yet but has been spayed. is this prematur greying related to her trying to dominate the male? or does this happen often with black rabbits? I'm sorry for silly question but im just worried about her.

last time i went to the vet they said that both their coats were in very good condition. but since then she has even more white!

thank you,

Gemma

Answer
Hi Gemma,

The gray is perfectly normal.  Rabbits actually have a couple of different types of fur....goes back to when domestics were wild and needed protection from cold, rain, etc.  But the graying is normal. And we like the "helos" here...so comical.

As far as bonding....sometimes it can be a challenge.  Neutral terrirtory works best.  We use either a car ride together in the same carrier or we put them in a carrier together and put them on top of a washing machine or clothes dryer....just make sure you are there to break up any fights or to prevent the carrier from falling.  The idea is to provide just enough stress to force them to seek comfort in each other.  We also use a bit of vanilla flavoring on the bridge of their noses...that will mask any territorial markings and help to level the playing field.  It sometimes takes a lot of patience when you are trying to bond a pair of "alphas" in which both want to be dominant.  But start the car ride or the washer/dryer in short amounts of time....maybe 5 minutes and then increase the time as things develop.  And positive reinforcement with a special treat after a good bonding session will help.

Randy