Grooming and Litter Training Your Jersey Wooly Rabbit

When it comes to grooming, you’ll have no problem maintaining your Jersey Wooly’s fur because even if its coat is dense, it is very easy to brush. In fact, you don’t really need to brush it daily, you can however brush it once or twice a week to maintain its beautiful fur and avoid any debris on its coat. You will get a feel for how often to brush your rabbit as you see how much he sheds on a regular basis.

When it comes to litter training, rabbits are naturally fairly clean animals and they tend to choose one or two places in their cage to urinate and defecate. This makes your job very easy. All you have to do is watch your rabbit for a few days to determine where he tends to relieve himself and then simply place a litter pan in that area. Some rabbits choose a single location and others choose two or more. Usually though, it is located in the corners of cage.

After discovering where your rabbit likes to relieve himself, you need to determine which type of litter you want to use. Avoid cat litters because they are often dusty or scented. The best litter to use is something organic made from alfalfa or oat hay, even paper. You can also simply use fresh hay as your litter. You want to avoid wood shavings, sawdust, and shredded newspaper or cardboard because they can absorb moisture as well as something made out of cedar or pine because it can be harmful for your pet.

Grooming Guidelines

• Most rabbits hate getting wet and that includes your Jersey Wooly! Never ever give your rabbit a full soaking bath even if for some reason they became really dirty or smelly because this could actually be extremely stressful for your pet. It takes a rabbit a very long time to dry especially for furry coated Jersey Woolies, which is why bathing could actually put your rabbit at risk for pneumonia. You are better off spot-cleaning his coat as needed with a damp cloth.

• The only time you may need to bathe your rabbit is if he/she has a high fever or if your vet recommends a cooling bath to bring down your rabbit’s body temperature.

• When it comes to trimming your rabbit’s nails you need to be very careful because a rabbit’s nails contain a quick which is pinkish part at the base of the nail that contains the blood vessel and nerves for that nail. When trimming your rabbit’s nails, it is best to just trim off the sharp tip.

• If you accidentally clip your rabbit’s nails too short, you could injure them and it could lead to profuse bleeding. Make sure to always keep some styptic powder, flour or some medication to stop the bleeding in case you cut the nail too short.

• In terms of cleaning your Jersey Wooly’s ears, he may not be prone to ear infections because it has erect ears which means that if your rabbit’s ears get wet, they could harbor bacteria growth which could lead to an infection. Rabbits with erect ears have a lower risk for infection because their ears are open and get plenty of air flow.

• In order to clean your Jersey Wooly’s ears, just dip a cotton ball in a mild antiseptic solution and squeeze out any excess liquid. Use the cotton ball to wipe any ear wax or debris from your rabbit’s ears then let it dry.

• When it comes to your rabbit’s teeth, you should make sure that it is checked by a veterinarian at least twice a year so that he can trim your rabbit’s teeth if necessary