Moulting - some questions.

Okay. So, having barely slept last night for worrying about my tummy achey/gassy rabbit, and having woken at 5:45am to find him no better (usually he miraculously recovers over night) and then sitting with him until 8 when he DID miraculously recover... I feel I need to know more about this.

My rabbit, Barney, stops eating and pooping sometimes, for no more than 12 hours at a time, when he moults. Usually, as long as I can keep him moving and rub his tummy for him, he recovers within a few hours. As a result - and having linked it to his moulting - this time I have been increasing his intake of hay, and getting him out of the grass unless it is absolutely throwing it down with rain. I've also been combing him sometimes twice a day to remove a lot of loose fur. I thought this would be enough, but he's going through a mega, mega moult.

Last night, and this morning, we gave him pineapple juice to help break up any hair in his gut. I don't know if it was this which worked, or the tummy rubs, or the making him keep moving...

How often do rabbits moult?
I was under the impression it was about 4 times per year, with the moult varying between a heavy moult and a light one. But then some websites claim a rabbit moults once per year once it has its adult coat.

Is stopping eating/pooping common during a moult?

What else can I do to prevent this?

And what can I do to treat it, when all else fails and it happens again?

Is stopping eating/pooping common during a moult?

Stopping eating/pooing is NEVER normal! It is always something that should be treated seriously.
However, I guess some rabbits may be more prone to getting blockages from grooming dduring moulting so I would take precautionary action during these times, like regular grooming and pineapple juice.

As the pineapple juice has to be fresh not longlife or tinned, I give mine bromelain tablets (40mg chewable) from holland and barrett - one a day when moulting badly. It's the pineapple enzyme that dissolves mucus in the stomach, allowing the mass of hair/food to keep moist and pass through. They do sometimes get it backing up and it can slowly work its way through with the help of bromelain, infacol, tummy rubs and gentle exercise - and extra water preferably - either syringed or encourage them to drink it by putting fruit juice in it - just to keep them hydrated. They will look uncomfortable at this time and it's hard to know what to do for the best - I took Pepsi to a vet when I first got rabbits and the gut stimulant on top of partial blockage led to rupture and he died I always treat them at home with the above regime now, and they perk up and do some poops after a few hours. I wouldn't let it go on more than a day though without seeing a vet.

I've noticed mine aren't exercising as much at the moment with it being hot, and they are all moulting, and they don't drink more in hot weather either, so problems can easily arise, especially if your rabbit has a narrow gut just from genetics.

Buying Bromelain Tablets tomorrow. ^^

Barney has been making up for lost eating time, and hasn't stopped eating since this morning.

& I went totally weird earlier... and picked up one of the first poos he did. Then picked up one from Amber... and I crushed them and compared. Barney's poo was full of fur, Amber's wasn't. So I went to get a fresher poo just now, and crushed it... It still has a small amount of fur in, but it's much more 'normal'. :roll: It's sort of interesting.

mine have been having bromelain tablets for a few weeks now they are moulting really bad at the minute but these tablets are really helping