Breed Characteristics

[Deleted User]

I would like to start an ongoing thread about the different rabbit breeds. I am suggesting that everybody post their rabbit’s distinguishing attributes and we would cover one breed (including mix of that breed)  per week. This week we could look at the Mini Rex.

Things I noticed about my mini rex as characteristic:

• outgoing
• curious
• mischievous
• brave
• intelligent
• active/athletic (I know all rabbits can jump, but I find the mini rex especiallly good at it)
• social

I suppose, some of these are just referring to my mini rex, but if we were to get enough owners of the breed to submit their findings we could conclude commonalities.

I am also looking for suggestions on how to organize this thread.

[Adalaide]

This sounds like a great idea. My bunny is only a baby and she’s my first so I couldn’t be particularly helpful. I’ve only noticed a few distinct behaviours that seem to say “Freya” to me. Sorry, I don’t have any suggestions for you to help, but I’ll contribute as much as I can. Oh yeah, my little one is a mini lop, there’s just something about those long hanging ears that tugs my heartstrings.

[skibunny8503]

Cool thread topic!
Well Archie is a Holland Lop. Gosh, he’s kind of everything. He has such a personality! He’s very mischievous & sneaky! I know when he’s about to be sneaky when he’ll “walk” really quickly somewhere. I caught him the other day….he hoped onto the bottom part of a small table where there was a stack of magazines, from there he jumped onto a extra kitchen table chair we had and then proceeded to jump back onto the top of the little table where our cordless phone was…and tried to eat the buttons! I think he’s kind of brave (that or he just didn’t know how to get down) because he jumped off the table before we could get him! He’s very social, not afraid of people. He’s also a begger, follows me into the kitchen and sits up like a dog and waits for a treat.

Gracie is a mini lop. She’s very laid back, doesn’t care what’s going on around her, likes to keep to herself. Archie would hear something, thump and she’ll just lay there like nothing was going on. She seems like a diva too. And lately she has become jealous of our foster bun. She guards the baby gate by the spare bedroom to make sure Archie doesn’t go in there (I’m guessing). They both seem very protective of each other.  She likes to make herself known and get attention.  If I’m petting Archie she’ll hop over and grunt or even just grunt while hoping to the living room just to let everyone know she’s coming.

Parsnip; our foster bun; is a harlequin/mini lop. She’s just a baby, so she’s very curious of things but is also scared. I usually wear a zip up hoodie to carry her down in the basement and as soon as she hears me zip it up, she hides and thumps! She’s also a bit mischievous right now but I think all buns are at that age…trying to nibble at anything!

[Adalaide]

I was laughing reading about Archie. Freya is a mini lop and still a baby, but she’s every bit as daring as he is. I’ve had to rearrange furniture just a little so I don’t have a heart attack watching her jump off high places. She’s also sneaky, I’ve started calling her my little ninja bunny. She causes a lot of trouble, but I think that’s more because she’s a baby than anything else. She’s nocturnal, wierd… but I catch her chilling once in a while in a dark corner or under my husband’s desk. I think she just lives in the moment sometimes, going up, up, up, oops. Then down she goes so ungracefully. If I laugh at her she’ll flick her feet at me, but it’s just so funny.

[Deleted User]

 I will come back to these descriptions when we look at the lops next .

For now, I’m still waiting to hear from the rex people! — Beka? Sharper? Anyone?

 

 

[Sarita]

Hmmm…well my Rex, Emmy is a standard not a mini.

I guess what I could say about her is that she can be high strung, vocal, not very active (but not sure if it’s age related or just her), loves to be petted, friendly. Overall, she’s just a great rabbit and oh so soft.

[bunnytowne]

The Rex’s I have seen and been around.. They seem hyper to me. very affectionate too.  

[Deleted User]

Thanks guys, this is what I had in mind, lots of observations. Already , I realized I forgot about two characteristics that my mini rex also has, being vocal and hyper!

Sarita, what do you think, should the Standard Rex be treated separately?

[Sarita]

Why don’t you do this:

Rexes – Standard and Mini

Lops – Holland, Mini, English, French

I’m not sure overall what type of breeds everyone has and I think some members aren’t positive what breeds their rabbits are either or have a tough time distinguishing (especially with the lop breeds).

Also there are many many rabbits that I don’t really feel are a specific breed – I have 3 that all I know is that they are bunny rabbits and honestly do not fit into a breed specific category that I can figure out (not that I have really tried since it’s not really one of those things that is important to me, but that is just me). I know their colors, black and agouti, but not their specific breeds – they are mixes of some kind.

[Deleted User]

Excellent idea, I think, I’d want to do it that way, by grouping together the rexes and the lops, respectively. Keeping in mind, though, that the small size rabbits tend to be more active.

I do realize that many rabbits on the forum are mixed of unknown breeds. Still I am eager to find enough info with the help of those members who do know their rabbits’ breeds to give this thread substance and merit.

[Deleted User]

Edit: I hope I’m not creating the impression as if I am discounting mutts; this is not my intention. In fact, we could include mutts in this discussion as their own ‘breed’ to see if there isn’t some thing that all mutts share in common.

[Sarita]

It’s fun idea – not sure how scientific it will be :~) I guess too I just feel too that rabbits are all pretty individual regardless of their breed but it will be fun what people say and I’ll look forward to reading them. I think too that some behaviors may be age related as well so those are things to think about as well when you talk about characteristics and behavior. A young rabbit may be more active just because they are young than an older rabbit.

[Deleted User]

No need for science here… just bunny talk .

Great! On with the discussion… –thanks, Sarita!

*Please everybody mention your rabbit’s approximate age, too, when posting in this thread.

[Cake]

I have a Netherland Dwarf (almost 4 months)

I all know is that each time I go near him he gets this Please Don’t Eat Me look. Because of his age I can’t really grasp his full personality yet. I’m hoping to find out more about my breed from others here

[Ruffles&Daisy]

I have a lionhead: friendly, active, sheds a ton, kind of messy (meaning she spills her pellets, poops outside of her box more than I’d prefer, and she moves the rugs around)

I also have a dwarf mix: active, curious, friendly-ish, sort of a pig (he likes to eat),

Both of my rabbits are insanely docile, but neither love being cuddled or picked up. I can pet them forever though.

[bunnytowne]

A mutt section that is a thought.  I like that.

[geekchic]

Petzy, my mini rex is all of the things that you mentioned! She is also much more vocal than the previous rabbit I had, a mini-lop. My mini rex, Pandora, is extremely curious (hence the name) and very sociable. She is probably averagely brave…it seems like she will be scared of something, but her curiosity will overweigh this and she’ll go investigate.

[bunnylove817]

Anyone know anything about brittania petits? I’m adopting one this week and would like to know what to sort of expect (I know every bun is diff!)

[Monkeybun]

Ooo thats a Polish! When I was looking for my first bun, we were initially looking for a polish. They are very curious, like lots of toys and attention, are very energetic, a bit high strung… but fun!

[Jaymie]

Saffron is a rex! I think he’s a mix though. He’s super curious, to the point of non-stop sniffing and investigating. He met my roommate for the first time yesterday, and it was sniff-city for 45 minutes. He’s also pretty relaxed. He’s the first rabbit of mine to ever do the flop – he even lays his head down. He’s confident enough lay in the middle of the floor. He’s not vocal at all. He’s more fearful than my silver martin was – when he becomes afraid he hides, even long after the scary thing is gone.

Elias my Silver Martin was perfect. He was pretty bossy. If I was holding him and he wanted to switch positions he’d shove me with his face or give me a nip. He wasn’t afraid of anything (Airedale Terriers and vacuums. He was a brave bun.) He wasn’t as curious as Saffron is – Elias would just give something an initial sniff and be done with it. He wasn’t too interested in toys either. He could eat a mountain of hay a day (something that I’m having trouble getting Saffron to do). Elias was pretty tolerant and easy to handle – I would carry him around all the time. He wouldn’t fuss when I clipped his nails. Just a really easy going bun.

[Barbie]

Well Leroy is a rex of some sort. He’ a little too heavy to qualify for the mini rex category (just heavy, not fat)… I remember someone suggesting that maybe he’s a mix of standard and mini. (Sorry, I can’t remember who that was…. Petzy maybe?)

As far as his characteristics go… he’s a butt! And I mean that in the nicest way possible He’s incredibly mischievous. He knows he’s not supposed to be on the furniture and yet every time I turn my back (and sometimes when I’m looking) he’ll jump up onto the couch. Of couse I promptly remove him and tell him no, but he tests me, and usually we go through this “dance” 6 or 7 times an hour when he’s out playing. I used to leave my bedroom door open, but he would get under the bed and had started digging at the carpet back there, so I penned around my bed with NIC cubes to His Highness’s EXTREME displeasure. The first time he saw that he couldn’t get in he thumped at me and then ran over to investigate and pull on the cubes with his teeth! Anyway, since then, he’s taken a liking to getting UP on my bed. I didn’t realize this until a few days ago when he disappeared for the longest time. I went looking for him and found him snuggled up between two pillows, sleeping! I’ve caught him like that a couple times, so I’ve had to go back to shutting the bedroom door. Once, when I was taking a shower, I had just finished and turned off the water and I heard this huge thud… I ran to my bedroom thinking Leroy had hurt himself. Nope. He was sitting there, right by the side of my bed, looking at me with one of those “I didn’t do it” looks…. he’d obviously been on my bed because the covers were all messed up.

So… to sum up…. extremely intelligent (he knows his name, the words “pellets” and “treat” and I’m teaching him a few tricks that he’s started doing on a verbal command “spin” “up” and “walk”, and he apparently knows that while the shower water is running he can do whatever he wants because I can’t get him), stubborn, thumps a lot to express not only annoyance but also excitement (though he’s not very vocal, a few grunts here and there, but not many), hyper and a complete spaz

[Jaymie]

Barbie – Leroy sounds adorable. How were you able to teach him his name and tricks? I’d like for Saffron to know his name

[Elrohwen]

I see that this thread has been re-opened! I’ll have to share Otto’s personality.

Otto is a holland lop. He absolutely fits with the general opinion that lops are lazy and lay around a lot. For a young guy, he spends very little of his day running around and most of it sleeping. He’s also very sweet, though like most small buns can be skittish (mostly when he thinks you’re going to pick him up or subject him to something).

Everything I had read about hollads suggests that they are calm, friendly, and sweet buns, especially the males. I’ve definitely found that to be true!

[Barbie]

Posted By Jaymie on 01/07/2010 06:25 PM

Barbie – Leroy sounds adorable. How were you able to teach him his name and tricks? I’d like for Saffron to know his name

 

Jaymie, thanks!  As for teaching him his name and tricks….  I started to explain everything to you and how I did it so that you can try it if you want, but it got to be such a long post that I started my own thread in the Lounge. https://binkybunny.com/tabid/54/afv/…fault.aspx

[Monkeybun]

Monkey is a netherland dwarf… and oh my, she definitely has the nethie attitude that you hear about! She’s a Lady, VERY full of herself, knows she’s the boss, isn’t afraid to let people know that, and is definitely not a snugglebun. She loves to explore, she loves to climb, she loves to dance, and nibble and play in paper bags. She uses my hubby as a step ladder to get to the back of the couch… she isn’t that fond of him, he’s just furniture to her lol. I’m just her food dispenser most of the time, although she does let me get a pet in now and then. And she does sit on my knee when I’m in her pen.

Moose, well, he’s a Dutch boy. He’s cautious, a little shy around new people, LOVES chewing, is scared of paper bags, is scared of little wood blocks, eats hay like its going out of style, naps 23 hours a day it seems… his favorite time of day is around 5 am. Thats when he likes to shred paper and tug on the sides of his play pen to try and lift them.. makign tons of noise mind you. Mischevious litte devil he is. He doesn’t mind being held, as long as its on his terms.

[Deleted User]

Posted By geekchic on 01/07/2010 04:52 PM
Petzy, my mini rex is all of the things that you mentioned! She is also much more vocal than the previous rabbit I had, a mini-lop. My mini rex, Pandora, is extremely curious (hence the name) and very sociable. She is probably averagely brave…it seems like she will be scared of something, but her curiosity will overweigh this and she’ll go investigate.

 

thanks for finding my thread. I thought it had died.

yes, vocal for sure. I have a second mini rex now and he has quite a repertoire of sounds to express himself. he whimpers, oinks, grunts I just love it. Love the mini rex.

[Deleted User]

Posted By Barbie on 01/07/2010 06:04 PM
Well Leroy is a rex of some sort. He’ a little too heavy to qualify for the mini rex category (just heavy, not fat)… I remember someone suggesting that maybe he’s a mix of standard and mini. (Sorry, I can’t remember who that was…. Petzy maybe?)

how much does Leroy weigh? The weight range for a Standard Rex buck is 7.5 -9.5 lbs. A mini really always weighs around 4 lbs., that’s not including fat deposits of course. Obesity is another trait to include with the mini rexes: they devour food and tend to get fat. They need a lot of exercise.

[vaderslave]

My nethie Vader is very brave, only gets skittish when he knows I’m going to pick him up to put him to bed or something similar. He has major attitude and he’s very mischievous, but he’s a total sweetie if you can get him to calm down enough. He also likes to lick and groom a lot. He’s very resilient, in that car rides, visiting people, and meeting new people don’t phase him one bit. It’s just a new adventure to him. Actually, not a whole lot phases him. He’s not much of a food pig either, and so far hasn’t shown a desire for chewing much of anything except his food and stuff we got for him to chew.

[Barbie]

Petzy, when we went to the vet last fall, they weighed him and he was 4lbs, 12oz so 4.75 lbs.  the vet didn’t say that he was too heavy, and I’ve been watching him carefully and he hasn’t gained any weight since I’ve gotten him, I don’t think.  He gets plenty of exercise – he’s out for about an hour in the morning and then probably 8+ hours in the evening and he finds lots of things to do to keep himself trim… as in jumping onto my couches over the the back or the arm of the couch to land beside/on me, lol. 

He was a shelter bun, so who knows what breed he really is – all I know is that he has the rex fur and body shape and I love him to bits! 

[Deleted User]

The mini rex was created using Standard Rex and Netherland Dwarf rabbits; it is possible that Leroy has both mini rex parents. Not all pure-bred rabbits meet the breed standards to a T.

[Elrohwen]

Barbie, I believe that rex fur is recessive, so he would need to have two rex parents in order to have rexy fur. So I’m assuming he’s purebred (not they you care what he is 😛 because you love him).

Also, and interesting thing that happens with dwarf breeds – there’s a dwarfing gene which makes them smaller and they should have one copy of the gene to be the correct size. If a bun doesn’t get the dwarfing gene, they will be a bit bigger. So, for example, a holland lop that would normally be 3-4lbs would be maybe 5lbs if it didn’t have the dwarfing gene. Still small, but not meeting the breed standard. So my guess is that he’s a purebred mini rex, but he lacks the dwarfing gene, causing him to be just a bit larger than the breed standard.

[MarkBun]

Here’s what I have noticed:

The larger the breed, the less skittish/scared they tend to be
Dutch’s tend to be overly opinionated – not just Maryann
Dwarf breeds tend to have napoleon complexes. The most territorial and bossy rabbits I have encountered have weighed less than 3 pounds.

[Monkeybun]

thats for sure… seems like monkey thinks the entire world should bow before her

[lashkay]

My Buddie thinks the whole world – especially me – should bow before him (that’s funny!) and he’s only 2.85 lbs. My mother thinks he’s quite masculine. lol He’s not fully grown yet I guess but I have a feeling he’s going to remain small…so, ohhhhhh boy!

[MirBear]

Posted By Ruffles&Daisy on 05/15/2009 03:19 PM
I have a lionhead: friendly, active, sheds a ton, kind of messy (meaning she spills her pellets, poops outside of her box more than I’d prefer, and she moves the rugs around)

 I also have a lionhead and shes the same way…. messy ( spills her pellets, poops outside of her box, and she moves the rugs around) she also loves to be cuddled and petted shes just a sweetheart

[MirBear]

Posted By Petzy on 01/11/2010 08:23 AM
Not all pure-bred rabbits meet the breed standards to a T.

 

thats true! hershey is a prime example! she is a pure bred lionhead but she doesnt have a mane. all of the other baby’s had manes, hershey was the only one with out a mane….she’s just cool like that though

[OhBellaBunBun]

Hey Barbie. One time you should run the shower water and not get in and wait a few minutes and catch Leroy doing something! lol

[Karla]

What an excellent idea, Petzy! Maybe in the end it is possible to create a poll, so it is easier to get a quick overview?
 

[Barbie]

Elrohwen and Petzy, that’s a good point about the “purebred” bunnies.

BellaBun, I should try that some time! He’s gotten bolder about the shower though… A lot of times when I’m showering, something outside the curtain will start pushing in on it and tugging it out…at first it freaked me out cus a shower curtain isn’t supposed to move like that! Lol but it was just Leroy… he doesn’t like when he can’t get somewhere that other people are allowed

[OhBellaBunBun]

lol one of these days he’ll probably jump right in!

[MirBear]

anyone wanna help me identify my bunnies breed?? i have NO idea on this one…

Twix

[Elrohwen]

You said rex before, and I’ll agree that the head looks a bit rexy in this picture. The fur and whiskers don’t, but those are both recessive (at least I know rex fur is) so she could be half rex.

I would actually guess something bigger – like a New Zealand, mixed with something smaller, like a nethie. That’s not a common color in large rabbits (and you said she’s fairly big) so she could be an odd combination of something big and something pretty small.

[MirBear]

i was thinking new zealand rex … im not sure though.. off to google i go!

[Monkeybun]

I don’t see any nethie characteristics in Twix at all… no itty bitty ears, face shape wrong, its probably more of a mini rex crossbreed.

[bunnytowne]

Mir Bear your rabbits breed is gorgeous absolutely gorgeous.   lol     no seriously she looks rexy to me.

Ok.   I have Cotton a dutch/lionhead mix.  He is bossy.   If he is digging on me and I go to pet him he takes my hand and shoves it away with his teeth.   He doesnt’ like being picked up or held though I have worked with him and trained him so he does lots better now.  He is a curious fellow.   However if something like a water pitcher is on the kitchen table he will stare from the middle of the room and thump at it.He didthat to the fan I put to blow the burnt food air out.  was so funny.  He is very active too. HE doesnt’ like the smell of vinegar cooking either.

He makes it very clear he hates and I mean hates other male rabbits.  The girls ok just don’t share his space with them.  He comes to me to be petted every evening for a few hours.   He tells me when it is time to eat as I get stuck on Pinky and forget the time.  He tells me when it is time for bed  cause he wants his desserts.

Now Ruby my pedigreed lionhead is a sweetie.  She will do nose bumps a lot.  Loves to be petted and takes to being held and petted.  She isn’t all too active.  Now n then you will get a popcorn binky from her. 

I am taking care of a bunny I named Laith.  She looks like my first Laith.  She is also a half pedigreed lionhead.  Her mother used to be mine but my friend really wanted her so I let her have her.  Laith is one of her kits.  She is about 1 year old.    She is very sweet and will not struggle when you pick her up or hold her. 

She acts a lot like my first Laith.  She will hide her face as in I can’t see you you can’t see me.  She came to  be in my home last nite.  She also like my first Laith likes to climb to your shoulder and jump off sometimes so I gotta watch her.   She likes to run.  She was in playtime this afternoon and kept her face towards the wall.   How funny.  When she heard me talking to her she would turn around and perk her ears up.

Oh both lionheads talk with their ears too.

Since my friends sister wants her own room my friend gave up her lionhead breeding and has kept 1 bunny for herself.  She still has a few to find good homes for.  The lady who had taken Laith wanted  a cat but they got a rabbit instead.  Then they got a cat and the kids forgot all about lonely little Laith. So she is her for now.  Being loved brushed petted and exercised.

[MirBear]

bunny towne thanks soo much for the compliments…. I’m in love with ruby though…. Hershey is a lionhead.. pure bred not pedagreed.. (obviously) all of her sibalings have manes.. my little sis didnt like the ones with the manes though…

[MirBear]

AHA!!! one of the breeders who i met on the internet (i was going to buy a bunny from her) says that she thinsks Twix is a cinnamon Rabbit.. not a very common breed but i looked the image up on google and found one that looks identical to twix… we may have a lead….

[bunnytowne]

on cotton dutch lionhead mix    he is a one person rabbit.   He lets no one but me pet him he will box or bite if you try.   After nearly 3 years he finally takes a treat from Foaud.

The girls are ok with other people.   Of course Ruby is more comfy with me.  Laith will probably become the same way after a bit.

[MirBear]

thats the way my old bun kissez was… she would box and bite anyone who trye to touch/feed/clean/ do anthing to or around her except me… and i got boxed alot but never bitten.. meanwhile hershey loves everybody and Twix prefers no only be touched if SHE rubs YOU…. its weird ive never met a bunny that wanted to pet you and not have you pet it untill its donte grooming you…

[Author]

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