Molting

[6riversfarms]

Both of our American Blue junior bucks are starting to molt. One has been in the process for a few weeks and the other I just noticed beginning today.

What can I do to help speed them through the process? What can I do to try and help keep them from going through molts too often?

 

[SatinsRule]

Spending 10-15 minutes with a spray bottle of water and rubbing it down to remove already dead hair a little at a time will lessen the effects of the full-blown messy moult that you're likely to get if you let it all happen at once. It will also help to make the animal more comfortable by removing excess hair from them during a time when it is starting to warm up across most of the country.

 

[philothea]

I am having the same problem with my NZ Red buck. I really wanted to take him to Longview but he is still molting. Also a question on NZ Reds. His fur doesn't flyback like my REW's fur does. Is this just a characteristic of the Reds, due to his molting or just unlucky genetics?
With weather just starting to get hot (high's in the low 90's and humid, it is expected. I am working on a 'cool room' (enclosed porch with mini A/C unit, only enough room for 3 rabbits) for my Californian's to see if I can darken up their colors a little as the heat is starting to fade them out.

 

[LauraNJ]

The heat is fading them out or the sun is fading them out? I've had dogs that were red and black tris and the sun would bleach the coat but I never heard of heat doing it.

My beverens I just bought have already molted, my beverens have started and my mini rexes are in full blown molt. I pet them with a rubber glove, the dead fur sticks to it.

 

[SatinsRule]

I am having the same problem with my NZ Red buck. I really wanted to take him to Longview but he is still molting. Also a question on NZ Reds. His fur doesn't flyback like my REW's fur does. Is this just a characteristic of the Reds, due to his molting or just unlucky genetics?With weather just starting to get hot (high's in the low 90's and humid, it is expected. I am working on a 'cool room' (enclosed porch with mini A/C unit, only enough room for 3 rabbits) for my Californian's to see if I can darken up their colors a little as the heat is starting to fade them out.

A moult will normally affect the return on an rabbit's coat. As the fur begins to fall out, it becomes rather lifeless. The normal return of the coat will be seen when the new coat is in place.

 

[3mina]

The heat is fading them out or the sun is fading them out? I've had dogs that were red and black tris and the sun would bleach the coat but I never heard of heat doing it. .

Laura, in Californians the points are from a temperature sensitive gene. That's why they get darker in the winter.

 

[LauraNJ]

The heat is fading them out or the sun is fading them out? I've had dogs that were red and black tris and the sun would bleach the coat but I never heard of heat doing it. .

Laura, in Californians the points are from a temperature sensitive gene. That's why they get darker in the winter.

Can you tell I am working off an hour or so sleep?

I thought it was a black rabbit (don't know where I came up with that, maybe another thread)? Makes perfect sense for a California.

 

[Miss M]

Yuki, the one Cal I had last summer, could have passed for a NZW by midsummer. She lost all color except a faint grey smudge on her nose. :roll:

 

[SatinsRule]

I thought it was a black rabbit (don't know where I came up with that, maybe another thread)? Makes perfect sense for a California.

Genetically speaking, Cals are indeed black rabbits. The thing which keeps them from going jet black is the temperature sensitive gene they're born with.

The warmest parts of the body normally will not have color except in colder months of the year. This explains why the extremities like the ears, feet, tail and nose don't lose color except in the warmer months.