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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Educated Opinions – Rabbit Breed

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    • Toni
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      68 posts Send Private Message

        Hi Everyone.   It’s been forever and a day since I have been on here….. been so busy since I had my daughter and things had been going very well on the bunny front overall, although a lot has changed – especially as recent.   My grumpy old man bunny Stewie made it to 12 years old before we lost him… it was nice to have been able to offer him such a posh, spoiled life for that long – he had the life for sure.  My little girl bunny Radar is a few months shy of 10 now….. she’s had various medical issues on and off, but nothing we haven’t gotten through as she is a VERY strong and spirited bunny, and is very special to all of us as a family.   We believe she’s nearing the end of her time with us, which has been very hard on me….. I’m struggling tremendously with the thought of the possibility of having to bring her to be put to sleep.   She’s been in the care of a vet for some time now, her health has been on a continuous slow downward slide and last week’s x-rays is pointing more and more to her having cancer (possibly a thymoma).  I can’t put her through radiation at almost ten and in an already compromised physical state ……. so we’re spoiling her like crazy, doing everything to make her comfortable and happy and tremendously loved for now until she shows me that she’s had enough.  

        That being said….. the timing of life events can be crazy sometimes.  Just a couple of weeks ago I was dropping off my daughter to school when she says “Look Mom, a rabbit!”  I look over expecting to see a wild hare.  What I saw was a domestic rabbit right next to the busy road up in a large snowbank, hopping around some bush branches and gnawing on the wood (his only source of food in a long, cold New England Winter).  I couldn’t believe it.   I visited the house on the property where he was and inquired with the homeowner on the rabbit.  Turns out he’d shown up in the neighborhood sometime around the Fall with a companion.  His companion has since then disappeared (likely to a predator).  He’s since survived and her neighbor was giving him scraps to help him out.  

        I made a go of it and climbed the snowbank out to him.  He came right out to me to check me out!   He was looking for food.  He wouldn’t just let me pick him up, but he kept darting out to check me out, so I made a quick grab easily enough and picked him up and cuddled him and he completely relaxed in my arms.  I swear he was happy to be captured.  The timing couldn’t have been better as we’ve had one of the snowiest winters on record around here.  

        I was torn for what to do at that point – I CAN’T bring him indoors and upset my fragile little girl right now – it wouldn’t be fair to her and she NEEDS all our focus right now.  I’m totally willing to keep him and take good care of him – but he can’t come indoors until my girl has moved on.  If I send him to a shelter, he gets added to the already growing number of unadopted shelter babies there.  Decisions decisions.  

        I decided to transform my outside potting shed into a rabbit home.  It’s well-built and secure – he has the run of the place with fabric sheets for floor padding… he’s ALREADY litter box trained (he trained in under a week!) he has cardboard boxes, lots of apple branches for chewing, access to quality pellets and places to jump/hide and lounge.  He has electricity out there, so a heated water pan and I installed a nighttime small animal warming light to give him an opportunity to warm from the freezing temperatures.   He gets visited at least a couple times a day when I bring him his fresh food/treats and check water… and I hold him daily as he seems to be one of the few buns I’ve owned that appears to actually enjoy it.   If I can make him happy/comfortable out there, then he can join our family once my little girl bunny moves on.   He seems very happy… head shakes whenever I come to see him and he binkies and chases us around when we bring him to the outside enclosure for exercise – so I think I’ve figured it all out for now.  I’ll get him neutered soon as well.   

        So, here I am – back to being a younger bunny owner  (it’s been a long time).  I estimate him to be somewhere around 7-9 months old.  My question for you all is….   I’m thinking he is a Flemish Giant!  I don’t know how big this boy will be – but I’m guessing he may be quite hefty, which will be interesting once he comes indoors.  Do you all have an opinion of his breed?  He’s about 4.5 pounds right now.  His belly/chest/undertail is bright white. Thanks in advance, and wish me luck with my two adventures, I’m going to need it.   It’s nice to be back and among other people who truly understand my connection with rabbits.      



      • {Alli}
        Participant
        187 posts Send Private Message

          Oh boy is he cute! Your daughter has the eye of a hawk hehe you are such a saint to take him in under such conditions. I’m praying for you and your little girl. If she passes, I hope it is peaceful. As for this baby bun, I wonder what happened to his buddy… I’m not very good at identifying breeds but he def has the colors of a flemish. Possibly a mix if he doesn’t grow? Sorry I wasn’t much help lol


        • Sarita
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            He is cute! It is possible that he won’t upset your senior female and you might find that it perks her up – I wouldn’t rule out bringing him inside – it looks cold in the snow :~( He was lucky though that you rescued him.

            Honestly he doesn’t look like a Flemish Giant and he would be much larger than that at this age. I say he’s a dwarf mix.


          • tobyluv
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            3310 posts Send Private Message

              It’s wonderful that you were able to save this poor bunny and give him a home. I know some rabbits breeds, but not all of them. And so many rabbits are mixed breeds, so it’s often hard to identify a specific breed. If he is 7 to 9 months old, as you believe, it seems like he would weigh more than 4.5 pounds if he is a Flemish Giant. His color looks very similar to a rabbit that is at the Sanctuary where I volunteer. That rabbit is not a Flemish Giant, but he is a larger rabbit, maybe around 10 pounds.

              I’m sorry about the loss of Stewie and that your girl Radar is having a lot of health problems. I know how difficult it is to watch a bunny go downhill. It sounds like you are giving her a wonderful, loving home, and that she knows how special she is to your family.


            • Eepster
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                I concur, definitely not flemish giant. 4.5 is a medium sized bunny, not a giant one. Honestly there isn’t anything about that points to any one breed in particular. The head and body shape is very vaguely reminiscent of a minilop, but obviously the ears are wrong. The ears are the part that is hardest for breeders to keep right though, so maybe. Sometimes pure breed ones don’t lop.


              • Sindri
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                1515 posts Send Private Message

                  I am not sure of his breed the coloring is like that of my rabbit Usagi. This rabbit of course is way bigger than mine. Whatever breed he is he is one handsome and lucky bun. I am glad you found him.


                • Sindri
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                    I am not sure of his breed the coloring is like that of my rabbit Usagi. This rabbit of course is way bigger than mine. Whatever breed he is he is one handsome and lucky bun. I am glad you found him.


                  • Toni
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                      That’s a good point…. maybe he is a mix of some sort. It’s amazing how much his coloring looks like a wild hare from these parts… which I wonder if that’s what attributed him lasting out in the wild so long (good camoflage). I was wondering if he maybe weighed less than he should be at this age because he hasn’t been fed the proper “domestic” rabbit diet in this primary growth period for him…. can’t imagine that wood bark is very nourishing aside of just keeping them alive during the winter, although I don’t know what/how much exactly the neighbor was giving him for scraps. He is certainly healthy though, likely having a more “natural” wild rabbit diet up until now. I need to weigh him again, he is certainly LOVING his food and the regular abundance of it (gotta make sure he doesn’t turn into a chubby bunny).

                      Sarita… I did think about that, however I have a confirmation that my little girl has cancer. At almost 10 years, I am not going to put her through radiation as I don’t believe she would survive it or have any quality of life after if she did. She has sebacious adenitis as a result of the cancer too – there’s no fur left on the bottoms of her feet at all and I think the last thing she needs is to be “perked up” as a lot of moving around is painful for her feet. She’s been happy with mostly lounging by our fireplace to warm her body, getting tons of treats and massages/ heads rubs… I want her to enjoy whatever time she has left in peace. I also had to set up a sort of “bunny hospice” area in my house – as she’s having trouble getting to her litterbox at times and I can’t confuse the newly litter trained Fred as he might think it’s ok to go outside the box. I can assure you he doesn’t mind the cold… he’s been happily burrowing tons of tunnels through the snowbanks in the outside enclosure he goes out to for exercise, he’s been binkying up a storm whenever I put him out there, and I put him in the potting shed at night or when it is cold and it is draft-free, he has lots of towels/sheets/hay to cuddle in and I put a heat lamp light on in really cold temps. He’s spoiled!

                      Thanks everyone for your insight….. I’m thrilled to have found him and can’t believe just how much he enjoys my attention and likes to be picked up and held….. I really think he came along to help me over my sorrow of my sick little bunny girl. Funny how things like that work out. Thanks again! I’ll let you all know what weight/size he does reach when it appears he’s reached maturity…. it will be interesting to see what he gets up to, he’s got the biggest feet I’ve ever seen!


                    • Megabunny
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                      2041 posts Send Private Message

                        Sounds like you’ve got a great set up there. What a winner you found!

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                    Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Educated Opinions – Rabbit Breed