Matted Angora fur

[Heather Designs]

I got four angora rabbits from a rescue on Saturday. The rescue made sure the rabbits had clean cages, food, and water, but they had over 200 rabbits so there was no time for grooming so my bunnies are pretty matted right now. Does anyone have any suggestions for dematting a rabbit?

I have a slicker brush with the little balls on the ends so the skin doesn't get damaged and I have a small scissors I can use to cut out mats. Should I just cut all the mats out and get them out all at once? Or would it be better to leave the mats in until the hair falls out on its own and I can pluck the whole mat out? Or a third option, i have a groomer by me with rabbit experience, I could take them to her and have them all sheered. These are indoor rabbits so sheering them will be just fine.

I just don't want to cause undo stress or pain to these guys so any suggestions you can offer would be good.

Thank you,
Heather

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

The best thing to do is shave them down. Angoras don't shed like other rabbits and the new wool would just get caught in the mattes and make the whole thing worse. Angoras a bred and raised to accept grooming and tend to take it very well. Some take it better than dogs do.
In extreme cases, the matting can prevent the rabbit from moving freely. When they move, the mattes pull on the skin which causes pain. The limited amount of stress involved in shaving them will make them happier in the long run.
If you can get a comb under the mattes, you could be able to cut it out, but you also run the risk of nicking the rabbit.

After they get sheered, you will need to keep up with grooming. They will be pretty short, so you don't have to do lots for a few weeks, but it is good to get the back into a routine with grooming. Ideally, you should use a blower (a shop vac with a blower port will work) instead of brushes. It prevents damage to the wool and opens up to coat to prevent mattes.

If you do plan on adopting the rabbits out, you need to carefully screen adopters and stress that angoras are high maintenance pets.

 

[Heather Designs]

Thank you I will see how soon I can get them into the groomer. They need a nail trim too so I will let someone else be the bad guy for this first session. LOL

I won't be adopting these guys out, I adopted them for myself and knew they would be high maintenance. I don't mind though.

I plan on using my hairdryer on cool to blow out the coat. Our shop vac gives me a headache it is so loud. I'm high maintenance too so thats why I don't mind high maintenance animals. LOL

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Thats good. So many people get them because they like fluffy rabbits, but don't want to deal with the coat.

A hair dryer does not have enough power to fully open the coat. You can use it to help find mattes that are forming and brush them out. I would try to use the shop vac as often as you can (many once a week or so) to really blow it out and get the dander and loose fur out. A hair dryer can work, but you will still need to brush out some spots.

 

[pamnock]

For Angoras that are not being shown, it's best to keep the coat sheared.

Pam

 

[SilverBirchRabbitry]

Get em' sheared
We just got 5 extremely matted English Angoras.
I have clipped all of their matts out and had to do their nails
Can we have pics

 

[Gezabella09]

Posted on the wrong thread! Soryyee

 

[Heather Designs]

Well after I got the first 'shear them' response I called the groomer to make an appointment. I found out that she is booked all this week and won't be there after next week because she's going on maternity leave. Her partner has no rabbit experience. *Grrrr* I guess it was my fault for not asking if she was going to be there when I got my rabbits.

So I got my little scissors and brush and took a good look to see if I could do something. I got lucky, the mats weren't nearly as bad on the girls as they were on the boy so I was able to get them pretty clean with a little clipping, a lot of plucking, and brushing. The boy had two really bad mats one on each shoulder and to get them out left him nearly bald in those areas but the rest of the mats weren't as bad so I was able to trim, pluck, and brush him too.

I'm relieved because I don't know where I would have found another groomer with rabbit experience if I hadn't been able to clean them up myself.

It took me 3.5hrs but they are looking much more respectable. I will take pictures tomorrow. I'm tired

 

[SilverBirchRabbitry]

Good job Heather!
We have gotten many matted angoras, it takes a while to get them half decent looking lol But atleast the buns are feeling better!
Cannot wait for pics

Take Care,
Jackie

 

[Heather Designs]

It does take a while, and then, they go and pull half the hay out of the rack and roll in it. Why do animals object to being neat and tidy? LOL

If the rescue weren't over 2hrs away from me I would volunteer to groom the woolies for them.