Molting Question

[Nuneen]

I have two male buns (brothers) that are now 5months old. Groucho started molting in the past week, which Iknow is anormal event from the reading I have done.

I was wondering if molting is weather-related or age-related.I have seen posts on here refer to "first molt". Do theyautomatically molt when they get toa certain age?Or is this more likely weather related, since it has become sohot. I am not sure the weather would necessarily be the causesince we have central a/c and I made hubby turn it on the first day theweather forecast suggested it would get hot. So the boys haven'tbeen exposed to a temp over 75F -- the P - O - S - H, poshlife for my buns!

I am just curious. If it's age-related, then I suspect his brother should start molting soon.

 

[dootsmom]

I keep my "rabbit room" at 72 degrees and some of my guys are shedding, double time!
Fortunately, the ones that shed the most allow me to vacuumthem...using the Shop-Vac. I have to be very careful doingthis and can only do the bigger bunny butts!
You'll just have to brush them more. I had one, that shed all the time....at least, it seemed like that!

If you are feeding your Bun anything like Kaytee Fiesta (the junk foodwith corn & seeds, & colorful stuff in it),your bun will shed more because the seeds & corn are considered"hot" food.

Charlotte

 

[Carolyn]

Bumping my post about Molting.

-Carolyn

 

[FreddysMom]

dootsmom wrote:

Fortunately, the ones that shed the most allow me to vacuumthem...using the Shop-Vac. I have to be very careful doingthis and can only do the bigger bunny butts!

Charlotte

:laugh:LMBO!!!!!!

 

[imported_Austin]

All rabbits except angoras are going to molt andthere is nothing you can do about it. At approx 5 - 6 monthsof age (sometimes alittle sooner - sometimes alittle later), yourrabbit is going to go through it's first molt. That is agenetic thing. Environment or diet may play a part in exactlywhen it occures but you cannot avoid it. It willcome. Then approx every 6 months there after, they will gothrough another molt. It will go on like this for the rest oftheir lives. One molt a year will be the 'big' molt and theother molt will be a 'lesser' molt. So when I plan out myshow schecual for the year, I take into consideration when I wantbabies to be born as well as try to figure in when those molts may takeplace. You are able to induce a rabbit to molt sooner and youare able to a certain extent, to hold a rabbit from molting until aftera certain time, but in the end, nature will still take over.My rabbit barn is heated to just above freezing in the winter and evenat that temperature, if it is their time to molt, they will.We are having days in the 90's here and I have rabbits that are sittingwith prime coats despite the heat. Nature, diet, andenvironment all play a part. You can control some things andother things you can't. Just remember to feed lots and lotsof good grass hay to a molty rabbit to help prevent woolblock. A rabbit that is molting all the time either needs achange in it's diet or the genetics in that rabbit are such that itwill never be in a prime coat condition. Excessive moltinessis one thing that show breeders do not want bred into theirherds.

 

[FreddysMom]

Okay so is it wierd i have never noticed freddy moulting??

 

[imported_Austin]

How old is Freddie. It could be thathe just hasn't had his first good molt. Or he could be one ofthese rabbits that molts tiny amounts continuously so that it isn'tobvious. He couldbe moltingand growing inthe new coat slowly. Or... he could beone of these rabbits who's genetics are from a line of rabbits thatsome breeder bred to hold onto their coats for longer periods oftimes. People seem to delight in bashing breeders these daysbut the good breeders will breed for only the good qualities that theywant to see in their herds. One of these qualities is theability to hold onto their coats for long periods of times.And as always, when dealing with animals and nature, there are alwaysgoing to be those that throw the general rules to the side and do theirown thing. Your Freddie may be one of those.

 

[FreddysMom]

Freddy is almost 6 months old.......it actuallylooks like he has two coats upclose....when you really look, there is anoticable difference between this really short dense layer and then alonger layer that is more spread out..hes defintely short hairedtho...i have not seen one rabbit hair come off of him as of yet