Rabbits and eyes

Question
I have two rabbits, Browny and Puppy. Browny licks Puppys eyes. But I think there has been too much licking because Puppy is losing a little bit of hair around one eye and the skin around that eye is red and almost bleeding. What should I do?

Answer
Dear Jill,

There's almost no way to prevent bonded rabbits from grooming each other.  What I suspect, though, is that Puppy may have a runny eye that's causing the initial fur loss, and Browny is grooming off the tears.  This is pretty common, and actually a lot better for Puppy than letting those caustic tears stay on the skin and cause a huge bald patch that's red and sore.  :(

If the bunnies are running free and are not bored, then I doubt this is neurotic grooming.  If they are, however, consider giving them a lot more free running time (our rabbits are never caged, but our house has been thoroughly rabbit-proofed) so they don't get bored and engage in neurotic over-grooming.

A good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

can help determine whether Puppy has a blocked tear duct that might need flushing or other care.

Hope this helps.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana