Rabbit Loosing Fur

Question
Hi we have a male mini lop ear rabbit and he has started to smell quite a lot even though he is cleaned very regularly.  I have also noted that in two places he has lost/pulled out his fur.  His skin is not scalely or red.  I am not sure of the reason for this.  He has not been neuted

Answer
Hi Denise,

Couple of things come to mind here.  This could be separate issues or it could be related.

First...lets discuss things separately.  Rabbits do molt.  They look like they are going to go bald....just huge chunks of fur coming out and as my wife puts it...they are having a "bad hair day".  Rabbits generally have one huge molt each year along with several smaller ones.  We have quite a few in our rescue that are molting...the fur is really flying around here.  That would be a normal condition.  It is very important to keep him brushed so he won't be licking and swallowing so much fur.  It is normal for some fur to be ingested.  Rabbits rarely get true hairballs...but the increased fur can mix with the ingesta in the digestive system and create an impaction which will result in a serious and sometimes life threatening condition known as GI stasis and that can lead to ileus.  He should have unlimited grass hay available to eat at all times...but hay and water are vitally important during molts.  The hay is the "sweeper" in the gut and keeps things moving along (hay is also the primary way to keep those ever growing teeth worn down).  Make sure he has hay available all the time and in large quantities.  

The smell is most likely what we call "Boy Bunny".  A male rabbit will reach sexual maturity about 3 months old or so.  Mother Nature made his primary function in life to be producing more rabbits.  So the hormones are raging.  What you normally get is a very hyperactive bunny that tries to mount anything and everything.  But they also spray their urine (and can shoot quite a distance...we named one of our very manly rabbits Pistol Pete just for that reason).  This spraying is territorial and a sign of their sexual prowness. The composition of their urine makes it quite smelly and so concentrated (mostly from calcium) that it is hard to clean.  Neutering will cease this activity after the hormones subside....which can take several weeks depending on the age of the rabbit when neutered.

Now, there is a condition in which they can both lose fur and have an odor.  We have found that intestinal parasites can cause this.  There is really no pattern to the fur loss.  We have had that to happen here in our rescue...we treated for parasites and all was well.

If the smell is urine....a couple of other possibilities.  It could be a sign of a pending infection.  Try to monitor his urine.  Both his output and appearance.  Sometimes a rabbit's urine will be thicker than expected.  There are also some additives in some of the high end pellets that help with urine odor.  Many of the lower end pellets that are available at pet stores or mass retailers are low quality and don't have these supplements.  Also, review your husbandry...particularly the diet.  A rabbit's body is made for low protein and high fiber.  Most people offer far too many pellets (and most of the published guidelines are a bit excessive) which results in an overload of protein.  That protein is metabolized in the kidneys and excreted in the urine.  Too much protein can cause a urine odor.  Too much protein can also lead to an overweight rabbit and can damage the liver and kidneys.  Offer unlimited grass hays....timothy, orchard grass, oat, brome or bermuda are just a few.  This is a low protein food (and we have rabbits that get no pellets at all and eat only hay) that will result is a very happy digestive system and nice evenly worn teeth.

But I suspect in your rabbit's case, since you aren't mentioning any additional health concerns, that the fur loss is a normal molt and the smell is a sexually mature male rabbit.  Let me know if you have any questions about this.

Randy