Grooming presenation

bunnychild · Feb 18, 2012

My rabbit director wants me to give a presentation on grooming long hair rabbits so does anyone have tips for what I should say or do?

thanks for the help

ZRabbits · Feb 18, 2012

Please talk about grooming your bunny's underbelly and private area. And definitely around the face and eyes. If you do put this in your speech, could I see a copy. Would love to know different ways to groom that area.

Also what is the best tools, combs, brushes, etc. that would be best and basically how best to use them. Again if you put this in your speech, could I see a copy.

Wishing you luck. I would definitely attend. It's always good to know how to do a good job and what tools will do it best.

K

bunnychild · Feb 18, 2012

I will definatly share a coppy with you

ZRabbits · Feb 18, 2012

bunnychild wrote:

I will definatly share a coppy with you

Thanks, truly appreciate it.

K

Korr_and_Sophie · Feb 18, 2012

I would say that the most important part if grooming well. Some people will just run a brush over the top layer of fur and think that is enough. You really need to brush down to the skin over the whole body. Brushing from the skin up to the end if the fur works best and it has to be done in small patches at a time. Combing is good to check for knots or matting. The whole body needs to be brushed, that means the belly, back, neck, face, ears, tail, feet and anywhere there is fur. Depending on the rabbit, the belly and genital area can be shaved or clipped short to make grooming that area easier and to keep dirt, hay, poop etc out of the area.
People who show angoras and other wool breeds will use a blower instead of brushing. This keeps more wool on the rabbit (brushing can remove wool from the coat), blows out the dander and opens up the coat. Blowing doesn't take as long as brushing and can get better results.

Rabbits who are not groomed properly will develop matting over the whole body. This makes it hard from them to move around freely, groom themselves properly and stay healthy. I have had to totally shave rabbits who were totally matted and the fur can sometimes come off as one big piece like a pelt. Since rabbits has thin skin, there is risk of cutting the skin as it does become hard to separate the skin from the matt. Matting can also hide some skin conditions or other health problems. A rabbit could have a sore that can't be seen and gets worse and worse until there is a serious problem. Mites and other parasites could live in the skin and fur and could be a huge problem before they are noticed, if the coat was kept in good condition these could be seen and treated much sooner. Any lumps and bumps can be more easily detected during grooming as well.