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Furminator or similar for bunnies

Angie B

Wise Old Thumper
I'm really sorry to post yet another topic on the best brush for a moulting rabbit but I simply can't find the others!

I know that a true Furminator has been known to rip a bunny's skin clean off in patches, so am wary of getting one of those.

The brush I currently have is just that; it's basically a comb. It doesn't get rid of the loose fur which is what has probably caused Thumper to have had her latest bout of gut stasis (cue emergency vet Easter Sunday afternoon!).

So what brush do you recommend that will get rid of the loose fur but won't pull off the skin at the same time?

Many thanks and apologies again for the repetitive thread.
 
For Rexes the best method is to use your hands. Gently pull out all the very lose tufts. Rub damp hands over the Rabbit, first going against the direction of fur growth then smooth the coat down in the same direction as fur growth. A grooming mitt can be useful, use in a circular motion all over the coat. A small Equine Body Brush can be used to finish off

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Wow, great pictures, Jane!

I've got a nylon soft-bristle puppy brush, and it's fine but you have to remove the fur well every few strokes, AND it staticises the fur so it goes in all directions! I promise pictures ;P It's not very efficient at all and I wouldn't use it on a rabbit with 'special' fur, like a lionhead, long-hair or rex. I can definitely vouch for wet hands as I happened to stroke Lopsy after getting him some grass early in the morning and not drying my hands...!
 
I TRY to use a soft bristle normal human hair brush which works quite well - I also get a sheet of kitchen towel and spray it with water so it's damp - and rub that down the rabbit in the direction the hair grows and that really helps to get rid of loose hair without getting the fur damp or wet (am very careful about that). I also try to 'pluck' the loose tufts of fur that come out easily without bothering the bun (whose nose is in a bowl of food whilst I do this :lol:).

I say TRY as I'm actually useless at brushing the buns and it ends up a game of 'catch me if you can' and many binkies and and an out of breath mummy. FondueKid does a great job on the worse of my lot - little hypocrites fall asleep on her lap whilst being groomed :love:
 
I have to put Neo on the kitchen side to stop him from legging it.
I use a rubber comb/brush, for dogs. I find as the rubber parts are conical, it digs further down to the skin and helps remove it.
Neo didn't really seem to shed much but it's less noticeable on a white bunny! But also as he is indoors maybe this is why.
 
Thank you everyone (fab pics Jane! Looks like mine did last year!) I have been trying to pluck but since her gut stasis episode cue lots of meds, Thumper keeps doing a runner and I can't really get near her to pluck her. Even in the shed when she's eating her tea she takes one look at me and legs it. Coco's not too bad but they're becoming a bit intolerant of it. I tried wearing a Marigold glove ... er no, bright pink/green/yellow hands are most definitely scary! Will have to try a damp hand (I don't like the feeling of the fur stuck in between my fingers though, lol).
 
hi--I know this is a UK forum and I'm in Los Angeles CA, USA. That noted, I have lived with a minirex, a fine, flyaway furry minilop, and several others. I also groom the house rabbit room bunnies at an L.A. city shelter. I use five items for caring for fur: (1) a "ZoomGroom" by Kong brand, sized for puppies and cats. This is about 3" by 4" and is entirely silicone/rubbery plastic- whatever. Imagine a flat shape suitable for your hand which is studded with narrow conical shapes maybe 50 in all, out of the same material. You look at it and you are sure it's so weird it couldn't possibly groom--but it does! The material creates a mild drag. Unfortunately, you have to stop frequently to remove hair, but it is very gentle and with a petting stroke the bunnies seem to actually enjoy it. It's the only grooming tool I recommend for children to use. There are copycat brand combs and they are useless. I buy only Kong brand. Caution: bunns will eat it. (2) a small (short) fairly wide toothed comb (comb is about 4" by 1", with shorter more narrowly spaced tynes closer to the spine) whose steel tynes end very smoothly . I can press the tyne end against and wipe them across my closed eyelid. With a gentle flicking turn of my wrist as I groom, I can often remove hair. I can untangle mussed fur going bit by bit. The comb is advertized for toy poodle puppies. (3) a "Hairbuster" brand comb available here in the US on the internet, www.bunnygear.com. I guess there's a ".us" after that address. This is a comb that it has broadly spaced gently ended tynes. The unique feature is that there is a strip of silicone?/rubber?/plastic-whatever? along the spine. The strip creates drag, making the whole apparatus almost as effective as the furminator at removing shed hair. I am careful, even though it is gentle to the skin, because one can keep removing fur past where one ought to stop. (4) a furminator sized for very small dogs. I use this thing only in special circumstances and with extreme care, in slow motion: the tynes and the ends of the comb, both, are sharp. I never recommend to adopters that they purchase a f. I never use it if the bunny is struggling or moving unpredictably. I keep it wrapped in a paper towel in my grooming kit so that it is out of view. (5) a small pair of blunt nosed scissors manufactured for infant fingernails: this I use if fur is matted. Mats prevent bunny self-grooming and can lead to lesions in their skin. Mats can't be combed out without pain, so I just cut them. I am careful, careful, that only fur a.n.d. n.o. s.k.i.n. is between the blades. At the shelter, some bunnies enter so badly matted underneathe that they cannot keep themselves clean. Boy am I cautious here with the scissors! LASTLY, I discovered that as I am grooming, I can remove fur from combs, hairbusters, or furminators by wiping them with some pressure against a quite damp towel across my thigh or the fleshy part of the outside of my knee. AND if a bunny is struggling , I make a "bunny burrito". I.e. I take a long, wide towel, put it across my lap, lay the bunny down on his back on the towel, feet-side facing out, and wrap each side of the towel over that hind leg and tummy. If I'm leery of his teeth, I'll rest some of the towel over the forepaws and under his chin. I'll usually cover his eyes with a smaller towel. Oddly enough, having the fabric across the bottom of his feet seems to have a calming effect. I can uncover 1/4 or 1/2 of his body at a time with this technique. ALSO if anyone is interested, I'll try to figure out how to send a foto of my combs, and the addresses of the items I use. I've never found a brush that removed any hair, and the grooming mitts are to me useless. I agree that a spray bottle with warm water and/or damp hands are consistently useful. I'd love to hear from you, Nancy
bunnyrosenancy@gmail.com ( do I add
".us" at the end of my address if I'm hoping for a reply from a non-USA country?
 
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