Fur in rabbits eyes

Question
Hi, we have 2 bunnies who are shedding. We try to get as much of the hair as possible when grooming them but some manages to get in their eyes. Will they be able to get the fur out of their eyes themselves (like crying it out at night?) or do we need to flush it out ourselves. We've been trying to get the fur out whenever we see it in their eyes. Just wanted to know if it affects their vision at all, if it irritates them, and if we really need to do anything. Thanks!

Answer
Dear Ann,

Rabbit fur can be tickly and irritating in the eyes, but because it's so fine it usually isn't as bad as other types of fur or hair (and I can tell you this from personal experience).  The bunnies will *probably* be able to get the fur out of their eyes on their own.  But if you want them to be more comfortable, you can gently flush with sterile eyewash solution if the hair is pretty dense, and get it as close to the edge of the eye as possible.  You can then carefully extract it with a cotton swab dampened with sterile saline.

Hope that helps!

Dana