Wet Rabbit?

I read in a book that you should never give a bunny a bath as it is really hard to get their fur dry and they just walk around sopping wet for hours. is this true

and if so what do I do about rain as i cant run outside and bring her in everytime it rains?

Have you got a tarpaulin or similar for your run?.. I have spent miserable 6 months struggling with my tarp as the weather has been soooo bad...

You're quite right that a bath is a bad idea. It's not just the getting wet, it's the stress as well and a bath is totally unnecessary with a healthy rabbit. Only if a rabbit is very very unwell should any attempt be made to clean it, and even then it's not usually a bath like you'd give a dog.

If it's raining a lot your rabbit will probably choose to go inside but rain is generally fine as their coats don't get soaked. It's generally only the top part that gets wet and the underneath stays dry. If you want you can weatherproof the run though by putting something on top.

One last point, as you keep referring to one rabbit, rabbits generally do best in pairs so you might want to consider getting a neutered partner for her from a rescue. Having companionship is really important for rabbits, especially if they live outside :wave:

No, rabbits should never have a bath. There is no need to bath them, they keep themselves clean. It's really stressful and upsetting for a rabbit to be bathed, and also the fact it takes a long time for them to dry properly.

If you can cover part of your run so she has somewhere to shelter when it rains then that should be fine

I was wondering about this at pretty much the same time, Vienna has been in the rain and is very wet

During a bath the whole of the coat gets soaked right through to the skin, whereas in the rain it is usually only the top coat that will get wet. Basically it causes the same problem as seabirds covered in oil - the animal's natural way of keeping the water off its skin and keeping warm is ruined. The rabbit can then get ill from not keeping warm. So rabbits should only be bathed when necessary, and they should be kept somewhere warm until they are dry - this is not as simple as it sounds though, even in a warm flat my bun would be bathed at night and still be damp in the morning (he had to be bathed due to incontinence). A hair-dryer on low and held not near the bun can be used if the bun doesn't get stressed by it.

I have a tarpaulin over my run, although the rain still comes in through the sides a bit, but my hutch is in the run so they can go back in there when it rains - could you do something similar? No rabbit should be left in a run with no shelter - they need a dry hutch or hide in the run to keep dry in.

Exactly right :thumb: Rabbit's are fine in the rain because the guard hairs protect the fluffy undercoat like a raincoat. If they are submerged/washed the undercoat gets wet too and soaks up water like a sponge.