Overgrooming causing sores

Hi.

My female mini-rex Delta appears to be being over-groomed by her hutch pal Dylan, causing sores in the fur around her eyes. Whilst they appear to be cleanish sores at the moment, I am worried how they might develop.

Took them to vets today who recommended separating them for a week to give sores a chance to heal. That was all, as the sores do not appear pussy or anything at moment. He said to try it for a week.

Well, I have separated them today but still within sight of each other - one in our 6 ft double hutch; the other in the large aviary-style run adjoining it. Thing is, Dylan kept gnawing at the hutch, which he doesn't usually do, so it obviously made him anxious being separated from Delta. I sorted this out by providing other gnawing wood!

Anyway, then I went to swap them over and spent a good while trying to entice him out from under the hutch. This is going to be a long week if it carries on like this! Incidentally, I am at home all week so I can persevere if necessary.

So, I just wondered - does anyone have any other suggestions as to how to help Dylan groom Delta less?
Thanks for your thoughts!

myfriendchez said:

Hi.

My female mini-rex Delta appears to be being over-groomed by her hutch pal Dylan, causing sores in the fur around her eyes. Whilst they appear to be cleanish sores at the moment, I am worried how they might develop.

Took them to vets today who recommended separating them for a week to give sores a chance to heal. That was all, as the sores do not appear pussy or anything at moment. He said to try it for a week.

Well, I have separated them today but still within sight of each other - one in our 6 ft double hutch; the other in the large aviary-style run adjoining it. Thing is, Dylan kept gnawing at the hutch, which he doesn't usually do, so it obviously made him anxious being separated from Delta. I sorted this out by providing other gnawing wood!

Anyway, then I went to swap them over and spent a good while trying to entice him out from under the hutch. This is going to be a long week if it carries on like this! Incidentally, I am at home all week so I can persevere if necessary.

So, I just wondered - does anyone have any other suggestions as to how to help Dylan groom Delta less?
Thanks for your thoughts!

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I have never heard of this....are you certain these sores are caused by over-grooming? I would be concerned about separating a bonded pair, especially as it is causing Dylan so much anxiety. Chances are that you will have to be prepared that putting them back together may not go smoothly - you might be lucky, but very often when bonded buns are separated for any long period of time the bond can be broken and you will need to use neutral territory to reintroduce to each other.....just to be on the safe side. I would also be concerned about Dylan's health - stress in rabbits can manifest in many ways so I would keep a close eye on him poo output and food intake.

I suppose if it is due to overgrooming then separation will allow the sores to heal but may not solve the underlying problem....if you put them back together surely he will just groom her exuberantly again? and you will be back to square one? You may need to look into why 'he' has this behaviour? It might be worth checking him for any underlying health issues and perhaps seeking some advice from a rabbit behaviour specialist?
Keeping them side by side should help maintain some sort of bond but obviously you can't keep separating them and putting them back together infinitely if this is an ongoing issue....I really hope you figure this one out and that Delta's sores get better soon.

Just as an aside....could Dylan have a sharp tooth somewhere causing him to injure her skin and/or be triggering his excessive grooming behaviour? I would have his teeth looked at by a vet.

How about a soft rabbit toy (chew safe) that you can rub in her scent and you could teach him to redirect his grooming on to this?

PrettyLupin - thanks for your replies, they are much appreciated.

You asked if I definitely thought the sores were due to over-grooming and I think the answer is 95% certain, yes. I believe this for several reasons. Firstly, before Delta got her sores, Dylan quite often appeared to groom her in this place. Secondly, Delta had some strange-shaped eyelashes (but only a few), more like bedraggled hairs over her when we got her. We opted to leave them on her rather than cut them off, because they were what made Delta Delta, if you see what I mean.

I have now noticed that these strange hairs have disappeared! I believe the only way this could have happened is by a bit of Dylan nibbling! I suppose they were a bit like hay afterall. All of this leads me to conclude that this is over-grooming.

I do agree with you with what you say about separating and because of this I am choosing not to separate, but instead try to intervene when grooming occurs.

I am very interested in your idea about a soft chew-safe toy with her scent on it - could you recommend something - did you mean a rabbit-shaped toy or just any soft item?

The idea of separating them for the week is partly to help Delta's sore recover enough for fur to grow back. Dylan is obviously even more likely to lick the sores as they are at the moment as he sees them as needing even more licking! So I think the vet hoped that when she had healed he may not lick her in the same area as much.

As for Dylan's teeth - that might be a thought. He certainly eats well and seemingly in no pain - but it was clear he was stressed when sectionned off from Delta (due to all the hutch gnawing that went on). All poops seem to be fine! But I will keep a close eye on this.
Anyway, for now I am keeping them together and keeping a close eye on them - both seem happy with this! We'll have to see how it goes.

It's a tricky one. Certain breeds have these curly wire whiskers....I'm wondering if they could have become ingrown? Unlikely i'm sure. Don't worry - both my two here have significantly shorter whiskers in some places from where they have clearly been burrowing through the hay basket or litter tray together for hay! :roll:

Yes I meant a toy rabbit - almost like a surrogate Delta that he might wish to groom instead? Rabbit toys do appear quite rabbity to rabbits if you know what I mean! If I offer our boy bunny a small soft rabbit toy and waggle his ears and nuzzle him under the chin with toy bunny's head simulating a bunny requesting to be groomed he will start licking it's head and ears! He has a bunny companion for real....this was just an experiment and a stand-by ready with both scents on should something happen to one of my buns....I'm am over prepared! :roll::lol:

I agree this is very tricky, and I guess to prevent the situation becoming worse, giving her time out to heal might help....it's where you draw the line to prevent the bond being broken... a difficult one. Yeah I would get his teeth checked out just to be on the safe side....sometimes buns that chew wood constantly can have teeth issues....not always but it does make me wonder alongside his excessive grooming. Does he salivate excessively? Hope you figure things out anyway.

Overgrooming can be caused by stress or boredom, it might be it is a habit now though and the original cause has gone.

What diet do you feed? If you don't already I'd suggest increasing hay/grass and decreasing dry food. Try scattering the dry food or hiding it in the hay or in toys. Likewise with any fresh foods, hide in it toys, scatter it or hang it up. These increase foraging behaviour and the time taken to eat so provide an occupation (other than grooming) for a longer period.

I agree providing a soft toy might help divert some of the grooming.

Is there a time of day that they particularly spend grooming? If so altering the routine to effect this time might help divert it eg adding an extra feed or providing a new toy.

Tamsin said:

Overgrooming can be caused by stress or boredom, it might be it is a habit now though and the original cause has gone.

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I agree with this too. A diet high in hay takes up much of bunny spare time. I also agree that the original trigger for the behaviour has gone and it could have just become a learned pattern....

yup frosty does this with linus my mini rex will leave him bald on head and back if they are left in for the day, he lets her do it the only way weve calmed it at the mo is lefting them out all weathers i mean they plently of toys hay and things to do but its not enough so weve addapted the run so they can have shelter outside when it rains

In response to Prettylupin's question - no, he doesn't salivate excessively.

In response to Tamsin's thoughts - I haven't noticed that it is a particular time that he does the grooming - but I will keep an eye out for this.

They have a diet of Supa Burgess Excel pellets - fed to the amount recommended to me by an RSPCA home visit lady (that was when we rescued a different bunny from them); then they have veggies; then they have plenty of hay. I must admit, I have never tried scattering the pellets, but will do so. They also enjoy dandelion leaves. When weather allows they also spend time in a run on the grass.

I do have a toy food scatterer, but in my experience of previous rabbits - they have bever seemed to work out that there is food inside, but I will try this again.

In terms of what they have to do, well they are in a 6ft double tier hutch with run attached - run is just over 6ft x 4ft. They love to hide under the hutch. They have access to the attached run between 7am and 9pm, but I shut them in the hutch overnight.

In terms of toys etc. they have a tube they can fit inside; a nutty knot nibber; willow sticks; kitchen towel tubes and 2 igloos. I hope all this provides for a good set-up.

I will find a substitute rabbit and try that for now.

Again, thanks for all your help. Any more ideas - keep them coming!