For a rabbit, seasonal molting is common. This process occurs regularly, usually 2-3 times a year. In this case, the wool can fall out quite intensively. As a result, strong bald spots appear on the animal's skin. Many are worried and cannot understand why the rabbits are bald. But there is nothing wrong with this, as over time a new coat will grow. What to do if the coat is not restored? Let's try to deal with this problem.
Why animals lose their hair
What are the main causes of baldness in rabbits? As a rule, wool falls out as a result of age or seasonal changes. It is useless to hinder this process, since it occurs for completely natural reasons. Often, when molting, the falling hair is in the stomach of the animal. If it accumulates there in large quantities, this can lead to serious problems in the gastrointestinal tract of the animal.
How to avoid problems
To reduce the amount of hair that enters the stomach, the rabbit needs to be combed out during molting. It is also recommended to increase the proportion of straw and hay in the diet of animals. These products help remove swallowed hair from the intestines. How to determine that the rabbit has a disturbed gastrointestinal tract? Due to the large amount of swallowed wool, the amount of excreted feces can sharply decrease. In this case, to facilitate bowel movements, it is recommended that the rabbit be given 5-10 ml of petroleum jelly. If defecation still does not occur, you should contact your veterinarian.
Flea infection
What other problems do rabbit breeders face? The appearance of bald spots can also be caused by various diseases of rabbits. A bald muzzle may appear as a result of various parasites entering the skin. Rabbits are often infected with fleas from cats and dogs. With prolonged damage to the animal, an allergy may appear, which is accompanied by hair loss. Fleas are also carriers of such a dangerous disease as myxomatosis.
You can get rid of these parasites using special means. The greatest effectiveness is demonstrated by the Neguvon, Advantage and Front Line drops. You can also use flea shampoo. All funds should be used strictly according to the instructions.
Ticks
What danger do they pose for domestic animals? A bald rabbit can be the result of damage to various types of ticks.
The following types of parasites:
- Fur mite. It usually infects the skin in the tail region first. Gradually, the lesion spreads to a larger area of the skin. The long life of this parasite can cause serious hair loss. The remaining fur usually rolls into lumps. Redness of the skin and severe itching may also be observed. The disease caused by such a parasite is called heletiosis.
- Ear mite. It provokes an ailment called psoroptosis. At first, the disease affects only the ears. Over time, a crust forms on the skin. Then severe itching appears, due to which the animal begins to actively comb its ears. If treatment is not done on time, the parasite can damage the animal’s eardrum. This can ultimately lead to meningitis and death.
- Subcutaneous tick. This parasite causes sarcoptosis. As a rule, it first settles near the eyes, nose and ears, and then spreads to other parts of the body. A subcutaneous tick can cause itching. The animal begins to scratch the affected area. As a result, the hair falls out strongly and purulent abscesses form. If the disease is in an advanced stage, the animal may lose its appetite. As a result, the rabbit's body experiences severe exhaustion. In addition, when combing, an infection can enter the body of the animal.
You can get rid of ticks at the initial stage by using Psoroptol and Acaromectin sprays. If the problem is more serious, then the treatment process will be quite long. The animal will need to be given acaricidal drugs, inflammation relievers and antibiotics. Therapy can only be prescribed by a qualified veterinarian.
Dermatomycosis
What it is? This term combines several types of disease at once: trichophytosis, microsporia, scab (favus). The cause of their occurrence is cutaneous fungi Trichophyton, Epidermophyton, Microsporum. Microsporia and trichophytosis are sometimes called ringworm. Externally, these diseases appear in the form of bald spots on a rabbit skin. With trichophytosis, the hair breaks off at the root itself. Scaffolds can be covered with scabs, grayish scales, dried lymph and pustules. They can itch a lot.
Scab is distinguished by the appearance of crusty formations on the skin. When the crust is separated, a cavity remains. Closely located formations merge with each other. This disease rarely leads to the death of rabbits. However, it can adversely affect the development of young animals, since it significantly reduces the immunity of animals. The external image of animals also suffers: the bald rabbit is not a pleasant sight.
Veterinarian Tips
How to treat dermatomycosis? Veterinarians recommend the use of funds for both internal and external use. The antifungal antibiotic "Griseofulvin" is highly effective. You can also use ointments "Unisan", "Saprosan" and their analogues. The dosage of the drug should be determined only by a qualified specialist in this field. Human medicines cannot be used to treat rabbits. This is due to the fact that animals can lick the treated skin areas. The ingestion of toxic substances in the body can lead to death. Rabbitry, in which infected animals were located, must be disinfected. If this is not done, the infection may remain in the aviary. Then the animals will get sick again.
Spirochetosis
The causative agent of this disease is treponema. The initial stage of the disease is expressed in redness and swelling of the anus and genitals of the animal. After some time, wool begins to fall out. Treatment includes a range of treatments. Usually, veterinarians prescribe the antibiotic Erythromycin, an emulsion of bismuth salicylate and a solution of Novarsenol. Spirochetosis is also called rabbit syphilis.
Urinary dermatitis
What should be expected with this ailment? This problem appears with insufficient animal care. Urinary dermatitis develops due to frequent contact of the skin of the animal with feces and urine. Most often, rabbits of long-haired breeds suffer from this problem. Dermatitis first appears around the anus and genitals. Gradually, it spreads to the stomach. Affected areas of the skin become bald and can exude an unpleasant odor. To get rid of this problem, you must first carefully remove the remnants of hair from problem areas of the skin. After this, the animal must be washed with baby soap. The litter in rabbitry is best replaced. To relieve inflammation, you need to use Aloe Vera gel or similar. In the future, it is required to regularly clean the cage in rabbits so that feces and urine do not accumulate in the litter.
Urinary dermatitis can also be a complication of more serious illnesses. The reason for the ailment under discussion can also be hidden in excessive urination associated with the formation of blood clots in the bladder. In this case, in order to save the life of the animal, it will be necessary to rinse this organ.
Avitaminosis
For what reason can bald rabbits appear in the stock? Photos of such animals are confused even by experienced farmers. In young individuals, bald spots can appear due to vitamin deficiency, which develops due to poor nutrition and insufficient care. Usually, vitamin deficiency manifests itself in the form of symptoms such as rickets, conjunctivitis, decreased activity, hair loss. The problem can be solved by introducing vitamin supplements into the diet of animals. The most widely used are RexVital, Ushastik, Chiktonik. You can also add fish oil, coniferous branches, fresh herbs and hay to rabbit food.
Hormonal imbalance
What to do if a bald rabbit appears in the rabbitry? Perhaps the problem is hormonal imbalance. Such a diagnosis can only be made by an experienced veterinarian, based on the results of animal blood tests. The cause of the disease, as a rule, lies in the lack of vitamins K and E. As a therapeutic treatment, the doctor usually prescribes hormonal drugs that help normalize the background. The rabbit diet should also be reviewed.
Swelling on the body of animals can appear due to purulent inflammation of tissues, cysts, old scars and scars. Perhaps these formations are associated with cancer. If such symptoms are found, the animal should be shown to the veterinarian without fail. According to the results of the examination, the doctor will be able to prescribe treatment.
Stress
Even animals suffer from nervous shocks. For what reason can a hairless rabbit appear in rabbitry? Feedback from farmers confirms that a stressful situation can also result from a sharp loss of hair in an animal. In addition, in crowded conditions, animals can simply eat wool from each other. This is explained by all the too nervous situation that arises as a result of crowded content. Some farmers believe that this behavior of animals is associated with boredom. It is hard to say how true this is. However, it was found that animals living in a free aviary lose their hair less often.
Genetics
What is the reason rabbits may not have hair? There are genetic factors. There is even a specially bred breed of bald rabbits.
Ornamental animal breeders face many questions. Some wonder why newborn rabbits are bald? This is quite normal for many breeds. For example, burgundy rabbits are born completely without fur. Only with time they grow thick with wool.
Conclusion
In this review, we examined why in the rabbitry a bald rabbit sometimes appears. This problem can be caused by external factors, such as parasites carried by other animals on the farm. Skin bald spots may appear if the animals are poorly maintained. Perhaps the farmer should reconsider the diet or provide the animals with a more spacious enclosure.