# Bald Bunny



## Genipher (Jun 28, 2016)

We're taking care of our friend's Netherland Dwarf doe for awhile. When she came to us we noticed she was shedding a lot more than our rabbit.
A few days later, she started developing bald patches.

The info:

She had been kept in a cage, indoors, at her owner's house. At our place we put her cage outside. She has protection from the elements, etc.

She can see our buck and probably smell him but they're not allowed to get together because he's a Rex.

Her diet has NOT changed. (Strike that: we've given her grass to eat, and some fresh fruits and veggies. We were taking it slow, though, to make sure she didn't get the runs.)

There has been nothing new added to her cage.

We have let her run around in a safely enclosed area, in the backyard. I'm not sure if her owner ever let her on the grass.

She's not itching. I don't see any dandruff or scaly patches. Though she does have some red marks, like maybe she bled when the hair came out.


I am at a loss as to why this is happening to her.
Could she be showing signs of a false pregnancy?
Stress from moving?
Trying to adapt to living outside?

We had rabbits years ago and our doe pulled fur to line her nest, but I never dealt with an unbred doe doing this.
Oh, and our buck is just fine. He's not showing any signs of baldness or mites, etc. It's just her.

Can anyone give me any advice, ideas, or reassurances as to what's going on with this doe?


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## TAH (Jun 28, 2016)

Here are people that know more than me.
@Samantha drawz @BunnyGirl @Bunnylady @promiseacres @Pastor Dave


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## Bunnylady (Jun 28, 2016)

A doe that is pulling fur to make a nest for a litter (real or imaginary) typically pulls from her belly and dewlap; though she will go up on her sides, if you see bare spots, they are usually underneath. I did have one doe that went way overboard with fur pulling and had only a 2" wide Mohawk along her spine by the time she was done, but she was bare underneath, and this one looks fully furred underneath and bare on the side. Is her other side like this, or just this one? Any other bare spots?

I have to say, this looks more like something else pulled her fur out, rather than her doing it to herself. Are there any other animals that might have access to her, even if it's through the cage wire?

I have seen rabbits shed down to bare skin when they are all matted up, but you didn't say anything about matting, and that isn't a thing that you could overlook on a short haired breed like a Dwarf.


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## Genipher (Jun 28, 2016)

Bunnylady said:


> A doe that is pulling fur to make a nest for a litter (real or imaginary) typically pulls from her belly and dewlap; though she will go up on her sides, if you see bare spots, they are usually underneath. I did have one doe that went way overboard with fur pulling and had only a 2" wide Mohawk along her spine by the time she was done, but she was bare underneath, and this one looks fully furred underneath and bare on the side. Is her other side like this, or just this one? Any other bare spots?
> 
> I have to say, this looks more like something else pulled her fur out, rather than her doing it to herself. Are there any other animals that might have access to her, even if it's through the cage wire?
> 
> I have seen rabbits shed down to bare skin when they are all matted up, but you didn't say anything about matting, and that isn't a thing that you could overlook on a short haired breed like a Dwarf.




The other side of her isn't as bad, though her fur is thinning there as well.

We have a dog. She sometimes wanders around the cages or tries to lick the bunnies noses through the cage, but other than that she leaves them alone. And she (the dog) is indoors at night. 

There are feral cats around our neighborhood. Maybe with the dog inside at night, the cats have been coming too close? The rabbits are close enough to hear through our open window at night. I've never heard anything unusual. If something was trying to get her at night, would I be able to hear it?

And she's not matting. 

Wow. Your doe was pretty dedicated to Mohawk herself! It's been such a long while since we had rabbits, I forgot where they pull their fur from. Even so, she's not bred and hasn't had a chance to be. 

It's all so strange!


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## Genipher (Jun 28, 2016)

TAH said:


> Here are people that know more than me.
> @Samantha drawz @BunnyGirl @Bunnylady @promiseacres @Pastor Dave




Maybe they'll come on over to this thread and give their input?


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## TAH (Jun 28, 2016)

Genipher said:


> Maybe they'll come on over to this thread and give their input?


They should.


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## promiseacres (Jun 28, 2016)

I would wonder about mites or maybe an allergy?


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## Genipher (Jun 28, 2016)

promiseacres said:


> I would wonder about mites or maybe an allergy?




Would mites affect our buck, as well? They're in separate cages but share the same general area. And they take turns in what I call the Green Cage--a run that allows them to be on the grass.

I'm not seeing any flaking and she's not scratching herself...

We _have_ given her bits of apple and lettuce. I'm not sure if her owners gave treats like that. Could it be possible she's allergic to the fresh produce?


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## TAH (Jun 28, 2016)

@Hens and Roos Do you know?


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 28, 2016)

What about stress- the rabbit is in a new environment all together.

The picture shows some red areas by its hip and another one by its shoulder are those marks or just the way the picture is showing up


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## Genipher (Jun 28, 2016)

Hens and Roos said:


> What about stress- the rabbit is in a new environment all together.
> 
> The picture shows some red areas by its hip and another one by its shoulder are those marks or just the way the picture is showing up



They're red marks. Like perhaps she made herself bleed. 

Would the stress of moving cause this issue? It _had_ crossed my mind earlier today...she seems pretty happy to be able to see things outside, though. Last night she was bounding all over in the Green Cage. 
And she's getting a lot of interaction with the kids, which is why we brought her home with us. "Her" kids are on vacation and they didn't want her to become "wild" while they were gone.
She doesn't _seem_ stressed...but maybe I'm just not seeing the signs?


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## samssimonsays (Jun 28, 2016)

I had a jersey woolly do this when he had allergies to dust (ie. shavings, hay and certain feed as well as the litter). He would pull till he bled in areas he pinched his skin and would be down to a mowhawk. No other symptoms other than pulling hair. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out what caused it but stress can, but I would take away anything new you have introduced to her and see if it improves.


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## Genipher (Jun 28, 2016)

Samantha drawz said:


> I had a jersey woolly do this when he had allergies to dust (ie. shavings, hay and certain feed as well as the litter). He would pull till he bled in areas he pinched his skin and would be down to a mowhawk. No other symptoms other than pulling hair. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out what caused it but stress can, but I would take away anything new you have introduced to her and see if it improves.



Well, _we're_ part of the newness. I also can't fix her environment. It is what it is right now.

Her owners have shavings for her cage but I assumed they were fine since they were using them before we got her. Perhaps our enclosed carport was too dusty?

Ack! It seems my questions just keep producing more questions!

I really do want to thank y'all for your suggestions and help. I'm really hoping we'll get this sorted out!
Earlier today I moved her cage faaar away from our buck. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
And maybe the new location will be better for her, health-wise, as well...


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## promiseacres (Jun 28, 2016)

Try avoiding the grass, maybe that's a factor


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## Genipher (Jun 29, 2016)

promiseacres said:


> Try avoiding the grass, maybe that's a factor



I'll try that. It's sad, though, because she loved skipping and jumping around in the grass.


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## TAH (Jul 6, 2016)

How is she doing?


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## Genipher (Jul 12, 2016)

She still looks rather "thin" and patchy in the fur department, but it's slowly growing back.

Pretty soon I'll have to start "testing" what might have triggered the hair-pulling. I'm hoping it was just a simple thing like the stress of moving...


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## Hens and Roos (Jul 12, 2016)

good luck, I hope you can figure out what is triggering her problems


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## Genipher (Aug 1, 2016)

Update:

Her fur is all grown back. We've let her out in the grass and she doesn't seem to have any allergy issues.
Our buck has even been within site, and she was fine, so it probably wasn't hormonal.
So I'm guessing her fur-pulling was from the stress of moving. Man, what a way to show your displeasure! 

Now the only thing I'm "worried" about is her change in attitude. She's gotten a bit grumpy and growls/lunges at us when we try to take her out of her cage to cuddle.
She hasn't been with our buck...unless they somehow bred between the wire--so maybe she's just getting uppity about having more freedom in the rabbit run...

Thanks again, y'all, for your earlier help!


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## samssimonsays (Aug 2, 2016)

She's getting territorial. Many rabbits do. They are in an enclosed area and cornered do to speak.


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## Genipher (Aug 4, 2016)

Today she started building a nest and yesterday I saw she'd pulled some fur.
False pregnancy, perhaps?


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## TAH (Aug 4, 2016)




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## MG'S Rabbits (Sep 13, 2019)

I know this was like a month ago but I'm curious to know what happened,
@Genipher how'd it turn out?


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