Rocky sporting the dreadlock look!

It’s that time of year again….and unfortunately for us bunny lovers the shedding of their coats comes not once but four times a year!  Our bunnies are beginning to look a little miffed with tufts of fur sticking out here and there.

In general rabbits shed more than cats and dogs and with 10 animals, I can vouch for that!  Although I usually recommend brushing your rabbits coat once a week (sometimes more or less depending on how long their coat is) during shedding season you’ll need to be doing it daily.  A cat brush works great on medium to long coats because it attracts the hair so it’s not flying all over the place.  Be careful with short haired rabbits as a prickly brush could be painful to them.

It is crucial that you are consistent with grooming when your rabbit is shedding.  Rabbit’s are diligent cleaners who lack the ability to throw up so when a hairball gets stuck in their stomach it can cause a blockage and turn in to stasis rather quickly.  Although your rabbit should always have fresh hay available, frequently checking in on them and topping up their hay is recommended to help with digestion (after all you’re not going to be able to brush out every stray hair your rabbit is losing).

When grooming my rabbits during shedding season, I prefer to use my hands by petting my rabbit and gently gripping where I can see the loose tufts sticking out.  I’m not pulling or grabbing, but just applying a little more pressure and curling my fingers in so my rabbit isn’t uncomfortable or in pain but enough that I’m able to remove the loose hair.  Sometimes this can go on as long as a half hour per rabbit (as I said they shed more than cats and dogs).  It can be a messy job accompanied by many a sneeze so I like to sit in the backyard in a chair and let the tufts of fur blow away in the wind.  This also makes me feel good that the neighbourhood squirrel or nesting birdy nearby will find something warm and soft to add to their home when they’re foraging.

After 30 sec. of brushing!

And remember – shedding can make your bunny extra grumpy.  I find it annoying can you imagine how your bun is feeling?!  Rocky is so irritable right now that he boxes at me when I try to take him out of his cage and has been doing a lot of hurrumpfing at me!  Try not to take it personally, Buns will be happier once you’ve brushed out the loose hair and some extra treats and snuggles couldn’t hurt to win him/her over either!

This ‘chore’ as it’s become in our house has gotten me seriously wondering – where the heck does all of this hair come from?  Rocky sheds 3 rabbits worth a day!  Strangest thing of all, is that his is all white or light grey, yet he is a jet black haired rabbit!  Bunny Lovers I think we can all agree that we’ll be happy when shedding season is over!