Angoran grooming help

[flufflemomNY]

I tried to find the right area to post this but it's for grooming. If needs to be flagged or moved, I am sorry for that bother.

I recently rescued a group of mixed bunnies but told 2 of the group that made it are Angoran. I have never had this type of bunny but they were cut with scissors upon our receiving them for expediency to health and knotted fur. Their fur is horribly difficult to clip and the skin is super soft. I fear hurting them. I've looked for what to use for pain-free and stress-free bunny grooming time but not solid on this.

I can think only the last things I saw were for sheep but could really use help from anyone experienced in this. They are used to being held and groomed daily; they are very easy to handle without fear when I cut their hair now however those poor babies look patchy for the poor job I can safely do. If they knot up, they are miserable and so am I with how difficult it is to cut the fur.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Shimmer]

I've not had a full-on angora, but I've got some extremely fluffy lionhead crosses, some of which I strongly assume to be angora X - they have very long fuzzy fur on their ears and their coats are currently nearly as long as my hand (so 4-6"). There's more fluff than rabbit at the moment, as they are all fairly small rabbts.

I use a double sided dog comb once a week. I can usually get the fine tooth side through the fur, but the wider side is useful for eg removing entangled hay. I'm also careful about what I use in their hutches so that the fur doesn't get clogged up with unnecessary bits. As long as I do a thorough job grooming from the skin outwards, I rarely have to groom them more often unless they are moulting. It's also essential to comb through their feet as they can get knots between their toes. For knots or mats, I use a pair of very sharp, pointed scissors to cut through the fur AWAY from the skin. That breaks up the mat so it can be teased out without wrecking a patch of fur. Do a bit each day if it's a real problem area, then groom that area more throroughly in future.

I've never had to clip a rabbit (or other longhaired animal). If I had to, I would use something like hairdressing scissors. Rabbit fur is very fine, their skin is very thin, and I woudn't be confident using clippers on a small animal. I also don't think most clippers can deal with such fine hair.

 

[bunny momma]

I too have fluffy lionheads rather than angoras. I use a wide tooth comb. If trimming fur is needed place a comb between the skin and the scissors to minimize risk of injury. Rabbit skin is very sensitive and their unique underfur is hard to clip. Therefore I would not use clippers. Like shimmer said, avoid litter material that will get stuck in fur. Even with good bunnies, grooming can be stressful, so it may take multiple attempts to remove tangles and matted fur. If a matt cannot be combed, shorten it rather than trying to cut back to skin.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[flufflemomNY]

I'm trying to post photos that can help more. When I brought these last ones home, the three long haired were the worst off. One didn't even make it home while Brea was mostly dead. She was on her side, ribs sticking out and a lot of loose skin. She had matted knots mixed with dried blood and cuts where I think someone may have tried to take fur off but ended cutting her. The other spots were so matted, it truly would have hurt her had I even tried to get the knots out; her skin just kept lifting with the combs I used. Any other comb I've used since then will not even touch the knots when they start matting and I've tried to do this daily. Under the arms, especially is just impossible.

I admit to also being very scared to hurt them since they were in such bad shape when I got them. Some of the photos are from when they first came and the others in just the past few days. It took Brea about 7 weeks of round the clock care with vet antibiotics, critical care feeding and tube water feeding to save her. She's a tough little thing though; I am still amazed she made it. Beatrix is the smaller and shown in the photo still with long fur. She was less of an emergency so I let her be but in that time, her fur got so matted that it really was just near impossible to get everything unknotted without cutting it as close as I dared. She had like an entire first layer of curly, tight knots under all that long fur. Trying to add the photos.

The second to last is Beatrix with her hair cut. I can get more of her later as Brea is less timid and now a completely healed monster! She's the one at the bottom; I searched for over an hour for that baby and glanced next to the couch in the basket of sentimental stuffed toys and there she was hiding lol. They are not 24/7 free roam however, they are in a room with their 'rescue siblings'. I doubt very much that all are from the same litter but took the whole bunch I was called about (7 in total after the first one passed). They have litter pans but no problems with anything getting in their fur.

Thanks tons for the feedback really!

 

[Shimmer]

I think it may be a case of working on one new area a day, and going over already 'clear' areas at the same time. They do need to be groomed from the skin level, otherwise they will get matted. It does get better when you get on top of it and you have the knack of how to groom them. Areas like their armpits and trousers do get knotted easily, as they are where the most movement is. You will get used to being able to do the armpits mainly from them sitting, rather than from underneath. I aim to do as much as possible with them in a sitting position, and then just hold them standing on their back legs (firmly tucked against me) to do a very quick tummy groom before they get too wriggly.

I tend to work in quarters - back & front, left & right. Do one area thoroughly in layers from the tummy towards the spine, then comb it back in place and move to the next quarter. The order varies, depending on the individual rabbit and how long they are prepared to sit still in the right position, as I turn them round to get to different areas and they don't always want to sit that way on my lap.

I know look odd with cropped fur, but that's much better than matted fur and sore skin. A lot of it just takes patience and time. You will get there and the fur will regrow. They will look fabulous in a few months.

 

[Omi]

I've no advice, as I've never had a long-haired bunny, but these photos are adorable. Thank you so much for posting them

 

[bunnylover177]

Gorgeous bunnies and loads of good advice. All I could add is to be especially aware of the areas which you can't see like between their front and back legs. I adopted my first full angora recently after a life time of several generally long haired rabbits and our Winnie is much harder work! As she is so worried about being groomed I started by getting the vet to sedate her and trim underneath. Vets are well used to doing this for long haired cats apparently so it is not a big ask to get them to do underneath if they do get too matted as long as they are rabbit experienced especially with anaesthetics. Having Winnie my angora trimmed shortly after I adopted her gave me time to make friends with her and help her relax a bit more when I am grooming her as it was easy for a while. Good luck.

 

[bunny momma]

Brea and Beatrix are lucky to have you.