Hi! I don’t have any insight… pretty much any breed of rabbit can be tan or it could be a mix. You’re right that personality is definitely based on the bunny – more so than on any particular breed. In general, smaller bunnies are more high strung and larger bunnies are more relaxed. But it really depends on the bunny. If you’re thinking about getting one of the new litter, just spend some time with each bunny and see which one you connect the most with. If you have the opportunity (and if you’re planning to bond all three bunnies) let your current bunnies have a “date” with the babies.

A couple things to consider when getting a new bunny: are your current ones spayed/neutered? Are you planning on spaying/neutering the new one? (You should, it definitely cuts down on territorial marking and behaviorial issues and you DEFINITELY need to spay/neuter all of them if they’re different genders – you don’t want even more surprise litters!) Also, you shouldn’t take any of the babies home before they’re at least 8 weeks old.  Please suggest to your friend that she gets her momma bunny spayed by a rabbit savvy vet too!

Pictures are required, please!

I think Barbie covered all the bases quite well. Her questions are important and relevant. I would also add to be sure to create a habitat or get a cage that keeps them all separated totally, until all are speutered. You don’t want to have a litter yourself.

Tan can be in different breeds of rabbits, though some breeds are more limited. More indicative is the position of the ears, body type, texture of fur and face shape. If you post a picture of the new one we can take a guess from here.

Oooo so cute!!! I LOVE the tan inside their ears and on their chests! As far as breeds go… Well, they’re obviously not lops, and their faces don’t look like neatherland dwarfs… I would almost guess rex because of the face but their fur definitely doesn’t look as “plush”. *shrug* Just call them cute and leave it at that!

I’m sorry to hear about your loss.

Sounds like you and your friend have all your bases covered as far as vet care and you sound like you know what youre doing with bonding and all, which is great!

Well… bunnies are considered full grown around a year or so… but you could probably make a good guess on the babies’ size based on their mom.

So gorgeous and I think the adult is stunning too! I had a look at American Rabbit Breeders Association on this breed. It does not tell much on personality other than “friendly”. It did mention at 6 months they come into the 4-6lb (1.8 – 2.7kg) weight range. Since your friends got the mother from a breeder, I would guess this is a pure tan.

So is there anything anybody may say about their personalities that would turn you off them? They look pretty irresistable… Or are you planning on getting them but just wishing to know more?

You’ve gotten some good advice so far. I am also so sorry for you loss.

The bunnies in the photos are BEAUTIFUL! They look like a “Marten” breed. So maybe a Tan Marten? I need to look it up.

Edited to Add:  So, I just did a google search for “tan” breed and yes that is a breed.  (So much for what  I know about breeds) I am just so used to adopting now, some of which are mixes, so I’m not up on the actual breeds of things.  However, if you just google “Tan rabbit breed”, you will get alot of info

It’s so great that your bunnies have you to hang out with and train them. Good for you. As all of us rabbit lovers here know is that rabbits have definite personalities and the best way to see that is to get them to trust you– so interacting, hanging out on the floor with them, training them is the best way to see how great they really are!    Also, there are several guys in this forum (many of who are just as involved, if not more, than their girlfriends are), so you are in good company here!

WELCOME to BinkyBunny!

Ok I have a book that says some things about the tan breed here is what it says:

“Tan:
6lbs (2.7Kg); short, dense glossy fur; great Britain.
Developed on an english estate by crossing wild rabbits with the dutch in the late 1800s. It was originally black and tan, but today there are blue, chocolate and lilac varieties. The body is cloored with the tan being on the underparts,throat,eye rings, and inner ears. A very striking rabbit with beautiful glossy fur. A popular show breed. An alternative, but with black and silver color would be the silver marten.” -The guide to owning a rabbit.

It doesn’t tell much about the personality of the breed, but this book also does support the fact that rabbits personalities normally does not depend on their breeds.

The mother looks a bit like a purebred tan, though the babies’ faces look more like netherland dwarfs to me (in the tan color, of course). The tan is a fully arched breed, meaning there is an arch to its back and stomach. If the rabbit is sitting, you’ll be able to see a lot of daylight under its stomach. Since you said the mother doesn’t fit this description, I think she’s probably not the tan breed, just the color, because the body shape of  a tan is very distinctive. She is probably a mix or another breed that comes in the tan color. Tan is like himalayan or harliquin – it is a breed, but can also be a color, so you cannot assume the breed based on the color unfortunately.

What knowing the breed 100%, it’s hard to use that to guess what their personalities will be like. I think the best thing you can look at is the mother’s personality, since a large aspect of personality is inherited. Of course, if she was mistreated or neglected, it can change her personality significantly, but I would look to her to predict what the babies will act like.

 Ummmmm, your English is perfect! (I teach ESL, so I am pretty experienced reading non native English, and you had me fooled!) I have no experience with tan rabbits, but I think that the way that you raise and handle them will be important. Those are some pretty rabbits! I hope it works out so that you get them! What part of Spain are you getting them from?

Well you learn something new every day. There is a tan breed.
The mother is stunning, and I would venture to say that the two are Tans. Maybe a bit of mix in their background, but I think you had it before you asked. And they are absolutely gorgeous!

They’re very cute! Whether purebred or not, I’m sure you’ll give one of them a good home. Do you know the sexes yet?

When you see the mom, could you get more pics of her? She’s very cute. It’ll probably be pretty apparent when you see her too if she’s a purebred tan or not just by comparing her to pictures you can find online. Her color is beautiful too.

eta: I think the full arched breeds are beautiful – they look so sleek and elegant. Kind of like a wild hare. But stocky chubby bunnies are adorable  I’m sure if your girlfriend gets to meet the babies, she won’t really care what body type they have – she’ll fall in love with their cute little faces.

Welcome here! Those are precious babies!

Well, being careful is always good. If I wasn’t careful, I would have 50 bunnies by now! Haha. You’re probably right though that she’ll love it no matter how it looks as an adult. When we love our pets, they become beautiful to us, no matter how they look to others. I’m pretty sure every bunny owner here thinks his or her bunny is the cutest bunny around 😉 I know I do!

I can also understand her concerns. Plus, your other rabbits are bonded, it can be tricky to add a third. Sometimes it can even cause fighting between the bonded pair. So that will be something to think about.

Hmmm I didn’t know there was a Tan breed…. yay! I learned something today! The picture you posted of their mom too is so cute!

And Walder, I too wanted to point out that you have great English! You’re infinitely better than I would be if the tables were turned and I was trying to type in Spanish… sigh… despite having years of Spanish classes and working on a Spanish minor in college right now, I’m still sometimes at a total loss, grammatically

From the pic of the mother, it doesn’t look like full tan breed….but she IS young so it’s hard to know. I guess the father comes into it also, I assumed he is also a tan? Could your friends perhaps email the breeders requesting pictures. As long as the breeders know the interest is not for showing the rabbits, but just to get an idea of the adult look and size. They also could give some idea on temperament.
I found this on temperament:
 

Tans are a very active and intelligent breed of rabbit. They are rarely aggressive and love attention. However, they are not a “cuddly” rabbit and are best suited for older children or adults.

Source: http://www.blueribbonrabbitry.com/aboutourtans.htm The owners also run the website for American Tan Rabbit Specialty Club.
I’ve read same elsewhere too; intelligent, friendly, active.

Walder, you’re Portuguese? Mind if I ask where in Portugal you live? I spent a few months living in Estoril and loved it! I haven’t been back in years but it was wonderful and I hope to make the trip some day.

Those pictures are beautiful! It looks just like I remember it 🙂 I don’t remember which street we lived on, but it was very close to the Estoril Garden.

My dad worked at the university (it was an exchange program) and he would go into Lisbon every day while my mom and I walked around. We used to walk along the beach from Estoril to Cascais and get really good sandwiches. And we used to drive up to Sintra a lot to see the palaces.

We never made it to Porto, sadly 🙁 We wanted to drive up there, but we had to go to the Algarve for my dad’s work.

Thanks for sharing those pictures! It makes me miss Portugal. You’re so lucky to live there!

Posted By Walder on 02/14/2010 12:50 PM

Thanks but im not spanish, im Portuguese ^^ and i live in Portugal even though i also understand and speak Spanish, although writing is harder, i believe i manage just fine ^^

 

Oops.. My bad.  You said your friend got the bunny from Spain so I assumed… Sorry!

When I was over there, the Portuguese would joke that they could understand the Spanish perfectly, but that the Spanish had no idea what the Portuguese were saying

I live in an extremely Brazilian community now, so there’s Portuguese everywhere (though the accent is different). I tried to get my favorite Portuguese pastries in a Brazilian bakery and they looked at me like I was crazy

Bueno, es la misma peninsula, no? I lived in Spain for several years, but only got to visit Portugal once. You are very lucky to live in such a beautiful and warm place. I understand some Portugues! But really, only some. It seems they breed some beautiful lagomorphs there as well.

I just wanted to share my thoughts on the babies and the mother. Stunning! They are absolutly beautiful .Good luck on what ever you decide to do .If you decide to bring them home i am sure they will be loved and well taken care of and that goes a long way towards the personality of any pet we decide to bring home.

Awwww. I can’t wait for pics! I had to laugh at her peeing on your couch. Baby bunnies are so funny 😛 I hope you post on the bonding forum once she’s fixed and you try putting them all together. We’re always interested in everyone’s experiences bonding more than 2 buns together.

As for her breed, the momma sounds very tiny! I’m gonna guess that they’re netherland dwarfs, in the tan color. The babies’ faces certainly look nethie.

Congrats on you new bunny!!!
Glad you brought one home. the photos are gorgeous!
Can’t wait to see photos of you new one in your home.

here please

i thought black otter nethie. brittany has one thats identical. almost

I love to see the activity levels of young rabbits. That last video – wow, he was entertaining. Nothing like a bunny to make you feel better when you’re sick.

I can definately see tan traits in him though. Even this young, you can see he’s gone the hare-like body form developing, and quite a bit of glossy black in the coat.

For anyone who missed the videos, they’re adding in the 1st post of the thread.

Thanks Walder, was great to see this as I haven’t seen much of this breed.

He’s such a sweetie! And he sure does love to dig! lol.

Awww, soooo cute! I love how he’s all stretched out while you’re petting him. What a sweetie.

What a great looking rabbit! He seems really friendly, too. Coffee is a really nice name, especially since you can get such good coffee where you live!

What beautiful bunnies – I’m thinking they might be Silver Marten?

http://www.smallanimalchannel.com/critter-species/rabbits-profiles/silver-marten-rabbit-2.aspx

My beloved late mr. Miyaki, was a Silver Marten/Holland Lop mix – and our new baby is a spitting image of Miyaki. Miyaki and our new one look a lot like the pics you’ve posted (only the ears are different due to the Holland Lop influence).

I wish you all the best with your sweet bunns. : )

Miyamoll,
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