Is this normal?

I have done lots of research and was excited to buy my first German Angora rabbit. I chose a breeder in the business for 30 years, who was selling 2 buns half off to get more cage space. I chose the black male. After I got him home, I realized she neutered him without telling me. That set off alarm bells.

After I washed him, dried him, and groomed him, he was still a handsome bunny. Then I realized, what I thought was just a bad hair day was actually lack of wool on the entire back portion of his back. Like a large circle was just straight, crimpy fur and I could see his skin.

He is 6 months old. Does it take time for a young bun to get all his wool or did my "reputable breeder" sell me her problem rabbit?

depends how big the patch is, you should give us some pics

Why do you think he is neutered? Did she tell you later? Or can you not find testicles?

The bald patch along his back could be the beginning of a molt, some Germans molt, but not all. If he has flaky skin, he could have mites. Ivermectin could clear that right up.

rabbits can actually pull their testicles inside their bodies if they want to, so he may not be neutered. you can usually palpate the scrotum area and feel the testicles inside, or keep an eye on his back end while he's relaxed. it may be a bit harder with an angora, but especially when it's warm i can usually catch glimpses of the jewels while my bucks stretch out in their cages. it would be very unusual to see a rabbit neutered, especially one that isn't a housepet.

as for his skin problem, i second a round of ivermectin just in case. hopefully it's just mites or something.

I believe he is neutered because he has a massive scar (hack job, tight skin) where his testicles should be. I think it was very recently, because he was afraid to pee for 2 days when I first got him. I thought he was just scared. Then I noticed he had a lot ot matter in his fur, and he stunk, so I bathed him so I could really check him over without all the fluff. He got scared and two days of pee came pouring out, then an incredible amount of poop! I literally scared the poop out of him! I lathered him good to kill any pests, because I don't want fleas in my house, and in Alabama, he has to stay inside in July. I cleaned his ears with peroxide and cotton balls as well.

Then I dried him, and used a wide toothed comb to work out any tangles. As I did, he lost a lot of wool off his back, leaving the guard hair behind. It didn't seem to hurt though. I combed him again the next day, and got a little more wool.

With 30 years experience, and a blantant discussion about shearing and never plucking, I am apauled that she would have sold me a pluckable German Angora... I am worried it is something else. I will take pictures. <br /><br /> __________ Fri Jul 14, 2017 6:19 am __________ <br /><br /> I cannot get a picture small enough to upload, but the area is about 6 inches in diameter (big bunny) and almost a perfect circle. All the guard hair is uneffected. The skin looks fine, but with all the wool gone the guard hairs are long, straight, and thin. He was sheered last month so they are about an inch and a half long.

Upon closer examination (I have the scratches to prove it!), it looks like what I thought was scar tissue is really surgical glue
It appears they just cut his testes off, skin and all, gathered the holes up, twisted them into a point, and glued them shut. If it was recent, I am wondering if the stress and pain is causing all these problems.

I am getting more sickened the deeper I dig into this problem...

have you tried talking to the breeder about this? asking why he was neutered without your consent and all

also use tinypic.com for picture uploads

I would talk to the breeder, except at this very moment I am so disgusted and angry I would not be able to control my emotions. The bunny's legs are literally teatherd together. He has lost 1/3 of his wool, and he has just started to eat again. She proformed major surgery directly before selling him without a single notification, or "Hey, keep the area clean...". I am so mamy layers of upset, I cannot communicate in a professional manner at this time.

__________ Fri Jul 14, 2017 1:23 pm __________

First picture:
The darker area is all guard hair only.

<br /><br /> __________ Fri Jul 14, 2017 1:26 pm __________ <br /><br />
This one is the guard hairs parted. The skin looks like this all over. I have a baggy of wool from what I combed out. Now nothing else is shedding at all.

I'm wondering if perhaps he was castrated by another rabbit.

Just posting pics for TJax2002

To me, it looks like molt. In a non-molting rabbit it could have been triggered by stress.

I'm not sure what the first pic that sagebrush posted is. Genitalia?

I would suggest an email or text, maybe not a voice conversation. That way you can say what you need to say, then put it away for ten minutes, read it again to make changes and then send.

The first pic is of the genitalia area, just above the penis sheath on the abdomen. It appears to me that everything is kind of pulled up and twisted right there. As to what, I am unsure.

Sagebrush":2jx284d8 said:

The first pic is of the genitalia area, just above the penis sheath on the abdomen. It appears to me that everything is kind of pulled up and twisted right there. As to what, I am unsure.

Click to expand...

It looks like normal matting that occurs around the male's genitalia. It is always an area that matts up quickly, through movement, feces collection, etc.
If I could see a pic, with him on his back, with his legs just normally set, maybe I could give you more insight. I'm not seeing anything in that particular picture that looks off. Sure, you can't see his testicles, but, with Angora, especially with any sort of coat, it's just really hard to see anything.

Yes, some commercial raisers do their own neutering. It is a relatively quick procedure, and yes, surgical glue is usually all that is used. But, I know of very few people that still do this. Which is unfortunate, because veterinarians are making it much more of a process than it needs to be. More stress, more death.

If he is neutered... did you buy him as a herd sire? Were you intending to breed? If not, then I guess I'd be thankful.

SixGun":34x5jso7 said:

If he is neutered... did you buy him as a herd sire? Were you intending to breed? If not, then I guess I'd be thankful.

Click to expand...

SixGun":34x5jso7 said:

I would suggest an email or text, maybe not a voice conversation. That way you can say what you need to say, then put it away for ten minutes, read it again to make changes and then send.

Click to expand...

If you intended to have him as a breeding buck you NEED to comunicate to the breeder asp! So he can't claim you neutered him yourself. Get a refund, a trade for a proper buck or the like. If you just want him as a pet/wool bun then as SixGun said, I'd be thankful as you'll be avoiding unwanted behaviors caused by sexual maturity. I'd still contact the breeder complaining it was done without your consent and how you were not informed of it though. Especially since without knowwledge of it you couldnt make sure it healed properly.

As for the wool shedding.... mmmm I might be wrong but could he be a lionhead cross? cause the "shedding" is only on his saddle area from what I can tell and "teddy" lionheads will often molt their saddle area at that age. Do you have his pedigree and how big is he? The skin looks healthy so either it's just molting or he's a shedding lionhead I think.

Also I'd like to discuss how you bathed him. I'm one of the few people who will agree to bathing a bunny when circumstances demand it but the fact you mentionned how scared he got concerns me. If you intend to give him more baths in the future it'd be good to know. I prefer doing it in the shower with a low pressure on the water with lukewarm water. Go slowly keep him as calm as possible, when you apply the shampoo turn off the water to avoid the noise a bit and massage him to keep him calm. Afterwards rince him as best you can and dry him with a towel before using a blowdryer. Rabbits tend to love getting blowdried, but even if yours doesnt like it much it's important to dry em mostly so they dont get cold. Even being as gentle as you can, some rabbits will not take well to being bathed and in those cases it's best to not do it at all since it can be risky for their health. They could even just die from a hearth attack or the stress could cause deadly constipation. If this is the case for your rabbit I'd recomend you shave him insted. If he's not scared from a razor you can use that otherwise do it slowly with scisors making sure not to cut his skin.

Also concerning the smell he had I wonder if it's cause you were inspecting the genital area. On rabbits there are scent glands next to the genitals and they reek! If left undisturbed they are fine but if you mess with that zone it smells. Also, they produce a wax like residue and this is perfectly normal.

Don't even the 'non-molting' rabbits shed their coats occasionally? Especially under stress or a change in diet?

I have 'molting' angoras and they molt about every three to four months, although a lot of time they get sheared instead of plucked because it's a lot faster to shear. But if their wool doesn't get harvested, it comes off on it's own. However as a molting strain of rabbit, that's supposed to happen and it happens frequently. On a 'non-molting' rabbit, however, don't they still molt anyway - although just not as frequently?

It could be your rabbit's wool is doing a natural molt and they generally start molting on the back and work down.

How old is the rabbit?

TJax2002,
How is your boy doing? Feeling better I hope.