Rabbit plucking his fur?

[hazelnutbunny]

Hi! I have a 2 year old bunny named Merlot, already neutered. I had to go under a emergency surgery 2 weeks ago and have been recovering since, so I haven't been able to pay full attention to my bunny, even though he's been giving plenty attention to me, as he's veeeery caring and sweet! Anyways, I noticed he was spending a lot of time cleaning one spot of his fur and asked someone to take a look (since I can't get up), and he's apparently plucking his fur. Any ideas why this should happen? I'm worried he'll swallow his fur
Thank you!

 

[Hermelin]

Can he be stress or bored? Excess grooming can be caused by stress or some parasite/insect. But that spot is a weird place to focus.

The skin don’t look irritable or flaky, but it would be good to consult with a vet. What kind of operation did your bunny do?

Maybe @JBun have an idea why your bunny have started excessive groom and pull fur.

 

[JBun]

Self barbering can have several different causes. Boredom and stress can definitely cause some rabbits to do it. Some other possibilities are hormones and sexual frustration, fur plucking to build a nest; health issues such as irritation of the skin from things like mites or fleas, bacterial or fungal infections, allergies and hives, receiving an injection in the area; also problems below the surface like problems with the nerves causing tingling or numbness in the area, or internal pain from a muscle, a joint, organs, a mass.

Then there are the nutritional causes. I've read of mineral deficiencies being a cause. It can also be caused by too little fiber in the diet, or from too little protein in the diet. The only experience I've had of it happening was when I started feeding a hay that was too coarse and too low in protein. I noticed my bun was self barbering and losing some weight. I fixed the problem by increasing her pellet ration and later switching to a hay that wasn't as coarse, with more leaf and higher protein. I have also read of there being a genetic cause. It can take a little detective work to figure out what is causing it.

This is about the extreme, self mutilating behavior. Self barbering is similar just not as extreme.
Medirabbit (self mutilation behavior )

 

[majorv]

Given his personality he may be sensitive to the change (you’re not being able to give him the usual attention) and is pulling fur due to stress and/or boredom, especially if his diet hasn’t changed. He is probably not eating the hair though.