Help guessing age of new rabbit

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 13sd replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 8 months ago by Theodorusrex.

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- 09/06/2016 at 10:27 PM
  LittleOreo
  Participant
  5 posts
  Hi! New bunny owner here. Making a long story short, I’ve been looking into getting a rabbit for a while and this past Saturday I fell in love with a small bunny which I brought home and now named Oreo. Only problem I’m having is that the pet store said they couldn’t tell me what gender Oreo is (currently just calling Oreo a “he”), only told me he was dwarf lop, and now I’m beginning to wonder about his age. He’s pretty small. I weighed him earlier and the scale says he’s only 1.1 pounds. I was hoping someone here might could give me a guess about his age. Adding a photo of him in case that helps.
  
  I’ve been feeding him only Timothy hay (along with pellets and a bit of veggies), but after doing more research I saw where it’s suggested that younger rabbits have alfalfa hay in their diet. I got some today and added a bit to the timothy hay. I was also wondering if it is okay to keep feeding him veggies if he is pretty young.
  
  Thanks!
- 09/06/2016 at 11:19 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  He’s young, but not really young. Maybe in the 8 week range? Sorry, it’s hard to tell. You said you were told “he” is a dwarf lop. He looks like a mini lop to me, not a Holland. But if he is 8 weeks, I would think he would weight more if he was a mini. Again, hard to tell. Hopefully that helps.
- 09/06/2016 at 11:34 PM
  meridiian
  Participant
  157 posts
  Hi
  
  Cant really help with ‘his’ age, eight weeks approx seems about right.
  
  But will say Oreo is gorgeous!
  
  Might be a bit early for veggies but others can give better advice on that.
  
  Good luck with your new bunny 🙂
- 09/07/2016 at 2:10 AM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17035 posts
  Good luck with your beautiful new bunny!
  
  It’s haerd to tell the age, but 8 weeks sounds good.
  
  As for veggies, it’s reconmmended you hold off on introducing them until the bun is 12 weeks old, but if he has had veggies and they have agreed with him, you can keep giving them in small amounts. The 12-week rule is just a safety measure.
  
  It’s very difficult to tell the difference between a boy and a girl bunny, but around 3-4 months of age the testicles should drop if he’s a boy.
- 09/07/2016 at 7:34 AM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  He’s so cute with that “my body hasn’t grown into my ears yet” look
- 09/07/2016 at 8:35 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  I would actually peg him to be younger. Maybe around 5-6 weeks of age.
  
  LBJ, Dwarf Lop = US Mini Lop here in Aus, in the UK and in a few other countries.
- 09/07/2016 at 2:42 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  That’s right, okay, so he is a mini lip then. LOL I assumed OP was in the US.
- 09/07/2016 at 3:52 PM
  LittleOreo
  Participant
  5 posts
  Thanks everyone for the responses and compliments on Oreo! So the general vote seems to be that Oreo is probably around 8 weeks old.
  
  @jerseygirl- If Oreo is around 5-6 weeks (that sounds so young) would it be okay to continue feeding him the same thing as a 8 week old or would I need to add anything else to his diet?
  
  LBJ10 is also right about me being from the US. The employee said Oreo should grow to be about 6 pounds but right after I asked, she quickly added that she wasn’t very knowledgeable about rabbits. She proceeded to say the other four rabbits there (which weren’t lops and much, much bigger than Oreo. Oreo was tiny compared to the others.) should also only grow 6-7 pounds so I have no idea how accurate she was about the rabbits.
  
  I’m wondering if Oreo could possibly be a little underweight. The cage at the store only had a small bowl of pellets to be shared by the four rabbits (five including Oreo) so he may not have eaten properly while there.
  
  @meridiian & bam- Thanks for the info about veggies. I fed him a couple pieces of a lettuce leaf on Monday and a tiny piece yesterday morning before I began researching more about bunnies’ ages. His droppings still look normal but I will definitely take the advice and avoid or at least cut back on giving him much until he’s a bit older. I much rather be safe than sorry.
- 09/07/2016 at 8:31 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  @jerseygirl- If Oreo is around 5-6 weeks (that sounds so young) would it be okay to continue feeding him the same thing as a 8 week old or would I need to add anything else to his diet?
  
  No, his diet would be the same. Keep it basic.
  It’s not uncommon for rabbits to be sold this young unfortunately. They may begin sampling solid food around 2-3wks old then mostly eating it at 4-6weeks. Ideally though, they should be kept with the mama for the full 8 weeks.
- 09/07/2016 at 8:34 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  It’s interesting the employee used the term dwarf lop. Though, a lot of stores call their rabbits dwarfs as a bit of a selling point. I suppose it is one of the smaller lop breeds compared to french or german lops.
  
  She was correct on the max weight he should reach if he is a US mini lop.
  
  Anyway, belated Welcome to you and Oreo !
- 09/07/2016 at 8:40 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  Mini lops are usually over 4lbs, but don’t get more than 6lbs or so (there are exceptions, of course). So he could be a smaller individual, I suppose. He definitely looks like a US mini lop though. His face shape and longer ears point to that. He doesn’t have any dwarfism features. But Jersey is correct, pet stores often label all rabbits “dwarf” rabbits because they sell better that way.
  
  Is he really bony? Do his hip protrude? If not, then he’s probably not underweight.
- 09/08/2016 at 6:03 AM
  Theodorusrex
  Participant
  336 posts
  He looks a lot like my Theo did as a baby – we didn’t have him as a baby but previous owners had shown us pictures before they gave him away.
  
  Not a great pic but the only one I have on my laptop now. He looks like this now:
  
  Not 100% on Theo’s breed as it’s very likely he’s a mix but our vet told us mini lop (UK) but he’s way too big for that he weighs 2.5kg (over 5lbs) more like a UK Dwarf lop so who knows! I think UK dwarf lop is similar to a US mini lop.
- 09/08/2016 at 4:50 PM
  LittleOreo
  Participant
  5 posts
  @jerseygirl-Okay then, thanks! I’ll keep him on a diet of hay/pellets in that case. It’s also good to know the employee was correct after all.
  
  Also, thanks for the welcome!
  
  @LBJ10- Mini lop it is then!
  
  Nope, he’s a ball of fluff but I don’t feel any bones sticking out anywhere. I’m hoping since I now know he’s young, maybe he didn’t stay at the store very long. And well, I’m just a bit of a worrier when it comes to my pets so I tend to fret over small things.
  
  @Theodorusrex- Aw! Oreo really does look similar to Theo! Theo’s adorable in all those photos! I love the one where he’s sleeping. Very cute. Oreo has to yet allowed me to get a photo of him resting. He wakes up the moment I approach the cage usually.
  
  How old is Theo?
- 09/08/2016 at 6:09 PM
  Theodorusrex
  Participant
  336 posts
  It will take time for him to get a bit more trusting and really zone out around you he is 1yr and 4 months ish now we’ve had him since he was just under 8months
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