To clip or not to clip???

[samandshawn]

I started a bit of a heated debate the other dayas to why people clip long haired buns? I understand the reasonsbut what made me cross was that the people who clip do this becausethey say grooming is stressful for buns, and that any long haired bunthat was not clipped was a un-happy bun. My bun is not clipped and heshappy and he loves to be groomed what do you all think. I even had aangora rescue on to me to clip Shawn, I don't want to clip him, his furis in very good condition and grooming him also helps me to give him ahealth check. They told me that if I didn't clip him he wouldget wool block, and he will get droppings and hay stuck in his fur andhis bum will be all messy!! what a load of rubbish this wonthappen because I keep him very clean. The angora rescuehasn't even met Shawn!! It seamed that some people [notall ]clipped there buns because they couldn't be bothered to groom.

 

[pamnock]

If you are able to keep you rabbit well groomed and he's not too hot, then keeping the full coat is fine.

However, some coats matt close to the skin very easily and the rabbitmay also get too hot in a long coat. (Remember that many Angora coatsgrow 5-10 inches or more!). When long-coated angoras begin tomolt, their coats will web at the base, making it a necessity to shearit off,because it will be painful for the rabbit to attemptto brush the coat.

It's also difficult for the rabbit to maintain the long coat anddeletes its system of protein. It's common to shear breedingand non-show angoras, especially in temperatures that may reach 80-90degrees in the summer.

Many people also do not know how to properly groom the angoracoat. Brushing it strips it of its density and ruins it forshow. The angora coats need to be groomed with a strongblower -- not brushed.

When done *properly*, the shearing is not a stressful procedure for the rabbit.

So, I believe that it's difficult to form such a strong opinion onshearing based on the fact that you have owned one wooled rabbit whohappens to have an easy-care coat (and I'm assuming the coat is notvery long compared to the coats of someother wooledbreeds). Not all wool is the same, and not all wool is soeasy to maintain on the rabbit. I can tell you that ourAngoras (and my friend's Angoras) were far more active and happy whentheir very long coats were sheared off



Pam

 

[samandshawn]

Like I saidI understand the reasonsfor clipping, I just didn't like the fact that people weretelling me that my rabbit is un-happy because hes unclipped, this isthe point i'm trying to get across. I don't have a strongopinion on clipping if its wright for you then thats fine. I just don'tlike people who clip telling people who don't clip that there bun isunhappy, everyone has there own opinion and they are entitled to it,and giving advice is good,but thats all it should be advice.Deciding wither to clip or not should be up to the owner and how muchtime and experence they have, It should also depend on the bun. I feelthat people who don't clip for whatever reason should be allowed to doso without being hassled.I've just measured Shawn's fur andits 6in long and is not a easy care coat.He is not the onlylong coated rabbit that I have owned I used to own two show angoraswhen I was younger so I know how to care for a coat properly.

 

[cuddlexoverload]

Okay. Im sure they can be happy eitherway, if its warm and they have long hair of course they wont want torun around as much, but maybe that doesnt mean they are unhappy... Aslong as he doesnt have like, matted fur, then im sure he'll be finewith long hair too. As that can make him uncomfortable. Although Hollyreally enjoyed her hair cut

 

[samandshawn]

cuddlexoverload wrote:

Okay. Im sure they can be happy either way, if itswarm and they have long hair of course they wont want to run around asmuch, but maybe that doesnt mean they are unhappy... As long as hedoesnt have like, matted fur, then im sure he'll be fine with long hairtoo. As that can make him uncomfortable. Although Holly really enjoyedher hair cut

I think they can be happy either waytooHe doesnt stop running around at times I wish hewould