# American Fuzzy Lop



## OctoberKitty (Oct 24, 2016)

A few weeks ago I was looking to purchase a new rabbit to fill the spot my lionhead girls left (died of old age). I ended up getting two bucks from the same seller. One was an American Fuzzy Lop that she no longer wanted and offered for free. 

I was told she would shave him before we picked him up since she hadn't brushed him in awhile. When we arrived he was horribly matted and very scared. I let him settle in for a few days before taking scissors to him. He looks like his fur was styled by a two year old, but he's much more relaxed and happy now.

When his fur grows back and it's properly maintained can I use it for anything or should I just toss it to the birds?


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## DutchBunny03 (Oct 25, 2016)

Have fun with your new rabbits!! But be VERY CAREFUL. Your bucks will probably end up fighting, maybe to the death if you do not either bond or separate them(your best option is separating them. Bucks will most likely not be able to be bonded). For preventing more fur matts, you may want to invest in a couple good brushes. You can find some at Tractor Supply or Petsmart, or you could order them online. If you want to use the fur, you will have to pluck it. Cut fur has HORRIBLE ends. Plucking if done incorrectly can hurt the rabbit, so research a couple techniques before trying on your rabbit. But if plucked, you can definately use it for something.


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## Bunnylady (Oct 25, 2016)

The Fuzzy Lop is like the Jersey Wooly - long haired for looks, rather than for utility. The ideal coat has enough guard hairs in it that it feels more like hair than like wool, and it really doesn't mat unless the animal is molting. Of course, bucks spraying urine all over the place means a certain amount will get back on them, and even a Rex can get matted if the hairs are glued together by dried urine.

The minimum length for wool on an AFL is 2 inches, which is awfully short for spinning. As long as it meets the minimum, that's all that matters, so you are unlikely to meet anybody that is working with anything longer than that. Of course, there are animals with really fluffy, cottony, "bad" coats; they still pop up. 

If you want to try spinning it, you can; it is angora wool, after all. But chances are, it's going to be a bit on the short side; you may have to combine it with another type of fiber to get any kind of usable yarn from it.


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## OctoberKitty (Oct 25, 2016)

@DutchBunny03 Thanks. I already had them in separate cages. I told my husband as soon as I arranged to pick them up that they could not be caged together. The second buck was an English Lop so the size difference would have been stressful enough without potential fights. Unfortunately, I just found the English dead the other day. He was under a year old and healthy so I'm assuming it was a heart attack.

I have brushes from my previous rabbits. They were cleaned and stored after my lionhead girls passed on. I actually said I wasn't going to get another long haired breed, but here I am. When I'm told the rabbit is free and unwanted and/or they'll be taken to be processed if I don't take them I crumble. 

@Bunnylady I don't think he had been brushed since the previous owner shaved him earlier this year. He had a knot on his back large enough to rival a 2 week old kitten in size and dreadlock-like tangles hanging from his neck and belly. 

His fur is really cottony and soft. It's really similar to what my lionheads' manes felt like. 

I've never spun yarn. It sounds like it would be a headache to try with his fur so I might use it for mix media projects instead or leave it out for the birds.


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## DutchBunny03 (Oct 25, 2016)

Your English lop could have died from a heart attack, but there are other possibilities. Quarentine your other rabbit until you are absolutely sure what killed your English lop. Some diseases do not have visible symptoms.


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## OctoberKitty (Oct 25, 2016)

I don't have any other rabbits and he has his own cage so that's no problem. I've been keeping an eye on him just in case.


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## promiseacres (Oct 25, 2016)

sounds like he found a great home hope it works out.


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## OctoberKitty (Oct 25, 2016)

Thanks


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## DutchBunny03 (Oct 26, 2016)

Germs can travel from the possibly infected rabbit to your fuzzy lop very easily if you do not wash your hands between handling things that touched your dead rabbit and touching your live rabbit. If your rabbit died from infection, that is. It may have been a genetic disorder, or a heart attack like you said before.


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## OctoberKitty (Oct 26, 2016)

I had had them for three weeks without any issues. He was found dead the morning after my dogs went crazy in the kitchen. We've had the dogs in the kitchen with rabbits (in their cages) before without an issue, but they were unexpectedly crazy that night. He was the definition of health prior to that: active, playful, friendly, healthy appetite, clean face, bright eyes, easy breathing, healthy stool, etc. 

I removed his body immediately after looking it over for any injuries or obvious infections, examined his cage for anything that may have killed him and checked his droppings. Then I removed my gloves, bagged them and put them in the bin outside, washed my hands and disinfected everything. As you said, you can't see everything that can kill a rabbit, but I did the best I could. 

I've been watching the Fuzzy for a week now without signs of any possible illness. He's actually become more friendly and playful since I cleaned him up and he's always appeared healthy. Is there anything else I should do?


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## DutchBunny03 (Oct 26, 2016)

@OctoberKitty , your doing great!! Rabbits have great immune systems, but if they are going to get sick, it usually happens within 1-2 weeks within being exposed to a disease. I HATE quarantining, so I see how it is unattractive. I quarantine all new rabbits that I buy, so it can become a pain in the neck. But it's worth it. If your fuzzy lip was going to get sick, he would probably already be sick by now. Keep moniterring him, though, just in case.


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## OctoberKitty (Oct 26, 2016)

I purchased them together from a breeder who had brought them to a show along with about 15 dutch rabbits. There were easily over 100 rabbits at the show. At that point I considered them both in quarantine as it was. They had both already been exposed to who knows what. If one was going to get sick I figured the other would too and it would be easier to take care of them if they were in the same room. If I had had other rabbits I would have arranged for a better quarantine procedure.


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## DutchBunny03 (Oct 26, 2016)

Buying at shows has the risk of disease, but, at least at the shows I've been to, sick rabbits aren't allowed on the premises, and are sent home if found to be sick later on. I bought my Dutch at a show, and so far, so good!! The only downside is not being able to look at the conditions the rabbit was previously kept in.


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## OctoberKitty (Oct 26, 2016)

For me it was a matter of distance. The show was 1 hr and 30 minutes from our house which was considerably closer than her house. It was a downside to not see their living conditions, but I really liked the English lop.


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## DutchBunny03 (Oct 27, 2016)

Nice. Does it get cold where you are? I couldn't get English lops even if I wanted to because their ears would freeze. The show I bought my rabbits from was a few hours away from my house. I live in almost the middle of nowhere, so rabbit shows are pretty far away.


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## animalmom (Oct 27, 2016)

Rabbits can have panic attacks where they run around bouncing off the walls of their cage.  It seems that startling them can cause this frantic racing.  I wonder if your rabbit had a panic attack and that started your dogs barking, or the other way around would work too.

Sorry you lost your rabbit but I'm betting on a panic attack.  I've seen my rabbits do this on a rare occasion and it is quite impressive.  The rabbit could easily break its neck.  

Again sorry for your loss... I don't know any way to prevent an attack.  I always call out to my rabbits when I approach the rabbitry and even then on a rare occasion I catch one unaware and it freaks out.


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## OctoberKitty (Oct 27, 2016)

@DutchBunny03 Yeah, it gets pretty cold. We get into the light negatives each year which is why I had them in the kitchen.

Thankfully, despite living in the middle of nowhere, Ohio is so small almost everything is only 2 hours away from us.

@animalmom Thanks 

My dogs only bark when they hear the food bag. It's odd, but I'm not complaining. Most likely Basil's hyper dash back and forth freaked the English out. He's a Bernese mix, just shy of a year old, around 50lbs and runs like a greyhound. He's gentle with all of the other animals, but I could see why a rabbit might be afraid of him. My other rabbits have always been raised in households with dogs so I didn't think about it until a day later. I'll be more careful in the future.


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## DutchBunny03 (Oct 27, 2016)

Rabbits can take temperatures of below -20 F. Mine stay outside all year, and no problems yet. The most annoying thing is having to go outside to feed them, and all the frozen water dishes. I've heard of rabbits killing themselves in panic attacks. Mine have never hurt themselves doing it, but have come close. Like @animalmom said, saying something before entering the room can help prevent them.


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## OctoberKitty (Oct 27, 2016)

I had just been in the kitchen refilling water and food bowls for the various animals, including him. In the three weeks I had him he was never once skittish in any way and he would greet me when I walked in. The Fuzzy was the one I was worried about losing to a panic attack because he'd throw himself into a fit over every little thing.


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## Genipher (Oct 28, 2016)

We just went through a similar thing. We bought a Netherland Dwarf doe and had her for 3-4 weeks. She gave birth (the previous owners had kept her with her brother) but the babies died. A week later, she died.
Throughout it all, she looked and acted like she was healthy. The night she died we had a thunderstorm (the rabbits are kept outside, under our walled-in carport). I thought she may have died from fear...
At any rate, I, too disinfected everything...just in case.


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## OctoberKitty (Oct 31, 2016)

Sorry for your loss, Genipher. I had a hamster once that had babies and then died a week after they did. It was really hard.


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## Genipher (Nov 1, 2016)

OctoberKitty said:


> Sorry for your loss, Genipher. I had a hamster once that had babies and then died a week after they did. It was really hard.



Thanks, Octoberkitty.


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## OctoberKitty (Nov 3, 2016)

The Fuzzy died today. When I walked out of the house he looked fine, my husband came out about 15 minutes later and said, "Your other rabbit is dead." When I insisted he was fine when I checked on him we went back inside and checked. He wasn't dead, but he was on his way. When we got home he was gone. Poor rabbit.

I'll get meat rabbits maybe next spring after my outdoor cages are finished. I'm going to avoid shows and ask to see the rabbits' living quarters from now on.


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## Bunnylady (Nov 3, 2016)

Well, phooie!  Losing one is bad enough, but to have lost them both is really rotten. 

Sorry for your loss, and I hope you have better luck next time.


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## OctoberKitty (Nov 4, 2016)

Thanks, next time should be better. This is the first time I've lost rabbits like this.


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## DutchBunny03 (Nov 4, 2016)

I'm sorry. Do you know how he died?


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## OctoberKitty (Nov 6, 2016)

It was sudden. He seemed fine when I checked on him on my way out the door and then 15 minutes later he was at the point of no return and would be dead shortly. When I got up 30 or 40 minutes before that he was full of pep and eating and drinking as usual. I've only ever seen rodents die that quickly.


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## DutchBunny03 (Nov 6, 2016)

Is it just like how your other rabbit died?


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## OctoberKitty (Nov 7, 2016)

The English looked like he was peacefully sleeping when I found him. He didn't look or act remotely sick before he died. 

When I saw the Fuzzy on my way out he looked fine. He came to the door of his cage to greet me per usual. Then when I went back in 15 minutes later he was barely moving, had a wobbly walk and was going cold. There wasn't anything he could have gotten to and the room had been quiet since it was early morning. They may have died the same way and it just didn't look the same, but I don't know.


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## DutchBunny03 (Nov 7, 2016)

Both of their deaths sound very sudden. I've never heard of something like this happening before.


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## OctoberKitty (Nov 8, 2016)

I've had it with rodents, but never with anything else. None of my rabbits before this ever even got sick so it was a bit of a shock.


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## DutchBunny03 (Nov 9, 2016)

Did you get both rabbits from the same breeder?


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## OctoberKitty (Nov 10, 2016)

Yes


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## mygoldendoe (Dec 8, 2016)

I was gonna say that i have a spinning wheel and even in a support spindle it gets  pretty easy third try or about 15min of practice (I make support spindles with chop sticks and a heavy washer) 
But then I read further on that your poor bunnies died so soon after getting them, and worse off with no explanation. so sorry for your lose of them.


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## OctoberKitty (Dec 9, 2016)

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind if I get a fiber rabbit in the future. I'll probably just stick to meat rabbits next spring.


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## AClark (Dec 9, 2016)

I'm sorry they both passed away. I lost the majority of my young meat rabbits suddenly a couple of weeks ago. Same kind of thing, every one was fine and then they dropped off like flies. It sucked, so I definitely feel for you.


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## TAH (Dec 9, 2016)

AClark said:


> I'm sorry they both passed away. I lost the majority of my young meat rabbits suddenly a couple of weeks ago. Same kind of thing, every one was fine and then they dropped off like flies. It sucked, so I definitely feel for you.


We had that happen last year with our baby Bunny's. We had 9, they were fine and the I went and checked on them and they were on there way to dieing


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## OctoberKitty (Dec 9, 2016)

It seems to happen that way a lot. If I suddenly lose two animals in the same group I start bracing for the domino effect. I try to figure out what's wrong and medicate or fix things if I can, but it usually doesn't help.


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