Hair loss - no other symptoms

Question
Hello Dana,

My rabbit has been losing her hair at an increasing rate over the past few weeks. I first thought she was losing her summer coat in preparation for the winter, but its been going on a while now and she really is losing a lot. She has no signs of parasites, she still has her appetite and is very bright in herself. Her water consumption has been slightly erratic, but her stools are fine with no signs of hairballs. Whilst she isn't underweight and is fed a good diet of mostly hay and grass supplemented with pellets and the odd apple under the tree (recently), I do think she's lost a bit of weight.

She's 18 months old and apart from diarreah as a baby has kept her health although her coat has always been scruffy. She has no access to other rabbits. I'm avoiding to the vet as she finds it very distressing.

I hope you can advise.

Best wishes,

Verity

Answer
Dear Verity,

As long as the fur is growing back in normally, there's nothing to worry about.  Rabbits have a LOT of fur, and when they shed it can seem to last forever.

The important things to do are:

1.  Brush well daily with a fine-toothed flea comb to remove all loose hair.

2.  With moistened hands, rub the bunny back and forth to remove loose fur.  You'll be amazed at how much will come off on your hands when they're wet!  Just roll off the felt by rubbing your palms together, discard it, and repeat until most of the fur is off.  Do this every few days until the shed cycle is complete.

3.  Provide bunny with unlimited grass hay, plenty of fresh water, and fresh, wet greens to keep intestinal contents full of fiber and liquid.  This will help keep any ingested hair from impacting and causing irritation (blockages are extremely rare).

If you do see bald patches or irritated skin, please read:

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

for more information.

Hope this helps!

Dana