When a bun is molting

[Yilina]

Hi guys!

Tambor is molting -there’s fur flying everywhere . He molted as well when he came to live with us, four months ago. I’ve noticed that, since he started, he’s been eating more hay and drinking more water. If I recall correct, he acted like that the first time too.

Do you know if it’s normal behavior when molting? Do your bunnies act or do sth differently as well during this period?

Hugs!! Yilina

[Bam]

Many rabbits do act differently when they molt. Tummy trouble and/or grumpiness is common. They can ingest more fur than is good for them, and the best thing for prevention of hair balls forming in the intestines is hay and extra hydration. Tambor seems to “know” this instinctively, and that’s just wonderful.

It’s important to brush the bun often during a molt, and keep a close eye on poop and appetite. If he has a water-bowl, exchange the water often so he doesn’t ingest hair that has landed in the water. It can be good to have baby gas drops (simethicone) on hand, some buns get gassy during molts.

[Luna]

Luna just started molting as well! I can’t recall at the moment, but I don’t think Luna acts differently. She definitely doesn’t eat less hay, but it’s hard to tell if she eats more because she’s always been a little hay monster . But I think eating more hay than usual during a molt is a good thing because the hay helps move any ingested fur through the gut.

[Yilina]

Thank you, girls!! <3 I'm glad to hear that him drinking and eating more hay is good .

He’s not grumpy and doesn’t seem to have belly ache -so far. He actually seems happier, more active and even a bit hungrier. We brush him everyday and swap his room daily too. His poop is normal as well.

How long does molting last? He’s been at it for a bit more than a week. Is it normal to molt every 4 months? For some reason I thought it was just twice a year.

[Yilina]

Hey Luna! Do you live in the Southern Hemisphere or in a warm climate like me? Maybr their molting times depend on the seasons (at least I guess it’s the case for bunnies living outside).

[Bam]

Some buns actually molt all the year round, but that’s more common in hotter climates. Other buns have 2 big molts and 2 minor. A big molt can last 6 weeks and the amount of hair you can brush off the bun is staggering. Sometimes brushing isn’t the best way to get the hair off, this spring molt I have to pluck out tufts of loose hair from my bunny Bam. If you’re in the Northern hemisphere wild birds will be happy for bunny fur this time of year.

[Luna]

Bam – I love plucking the tufts lol.

Yilina – Quite the opposite; I live in Michigan, U.S. We experience all 4 seasons, with winter being the longest. But the temps do fluctuate a lot in the beginning and end of winter time. It was 30-40F last week, then 70F for a day, then dropped to 45F by the next day. Now it’s 50F. I think that warm up pushed Luna into molt mode. Her molts last forever! Her fur sheds in tufts/strands as opposed to larger patches.

[Yilina]

Thank you! I’ve been plucking loose hair/tufs and it’s definitely helping. His loose fur is so soft that I wish I could make myself a scarf with it <3. He's enjoying all the attention, he he.

I’ve a tiny question. Do bunnies lose fur following a “pattern”? Today I realised that the fur in his upper body is shorter and less dense. And the fur in his lower parts is thicker and longer-looking.

There’s even a visual “line” separating the 2 sides. Like if he had had a bad blunt haircut. I think yesterday there was a line too but it was more “up” (I hope my description makes sense :S).

Do they lose hair form top to bottom, maybe?

[Luna]

Yes, they generally start molting at the head and it works its way down the back to the butt . The butt (at least for Luna) is where the most fur seems to molt.

[Yilina]

Hey Luna! I was born in a 4 seasons country (but without snow) and, oh, how I miss my lovely winters and falls! Warm soup, tea and cakes <3.

I’ve no idea what has pushed Tambor’s molting. I live in a tropical climate and the temp inside my home (it’s a bioclimatic building) is never more that 27C – 80 F in summer and less than 20C-68F in winter. Maybe Luna and he can feel each other telepathically .

[Luna]

Fall is nice but I don’t think I would miss winter too much! I’ll tell Luna to telepath the thoughts of molting faster and you can tell Tambor to do the same . She hasn’t gone into full blown molt mode yet, so I’ve still got a long road ahead of me of daily brushing and plucking.

[Bunny Queen]

Hi, My Hershey is molting now tooo, and the fur is flying, I do not think her behavior changes however she is more likely even with brushing ,water intake and lots of hay to develop digestive problems during this period, mostly constipation. I find I can tell when she starting to get constipated when her poop size changes it will become very small and there is less of it in her box, I did have to take her to the vet to get some help for this, because she was eating hay and I was brushing her and she still got constipated what  my vet gave me to use, but you can buy it here on Binky Bunny in the Store ,if you don’t want to get it through the vet all the time, I like to have some handy just in case and it helps out my bunny Its Oxbow Critical Care Fine Grind , its high in fiber and it helps things to get moving along again for my bunny anyways, especially during molting.

Happy Molting!

[Yilina]

Hi there!

Tambor’s molt seems about to end. There’s still extra hair at his rear and. He doesn’t enjoy being combed in that part, so it’s taking longer.

I’ve another question. Since the molt started, he is hungrier tham before and willing to act crazy when food is involved. He seems more “alive” and excited about everything.

Is it a good sing? Does this show he’s digesting properly?

[Luna]

I’d say if Tambor was to be acting normally it would mean he is digesting properly, and the same if Tambor is acting above normal it means he is digesting properly, but if he were exhibiting anything less than normal behavior then maybe not. So I guess the answer is yes lol. It seems like Spring has triggered some extra craziness in a lot of buns based on some posts I’ve seen lately.

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