Bunny Breed

[Baefull.WolfRabbit]

Hey everyone,

I recently became a bunny mom and I have no clue about the breed of my rabbit. I rescued “him” from craigslist where he was posted for free. The family I got him from had his outdoor cage full of the hamster style fluff bedding, were feeding him a mix of pellets and unsafe produce. They “rescued him” from some of their children’s friends who got a dog and were told “pick between the dog or the rabbit, if you pick the dog the rabbit will be dinner”. Since we got him we have changed his cage around; the cage bottom was entirely wooden so we removed the wood and replaced it with wire. He has a house he can sleep or sit in/on top of, I (much to my husband she-grin) keep a “carpet” of timothy hay on the majority of wire so that his feet don’t get hurt. I would really like to know what breed he is so that I can tailor some of his care better. I have thought that he was a cross between a lop and a new zealand, but the sitter I almost took him to thought he was gold tipped steel Mini Lop x Holland Lop, one of his ears is down like a lop and the other one he can stand up or let it hang down, but most of the time he has it straight out to the side like an airplane wing. I have yet to see if he is actually a buck or if he is a doe. His name is DaBunnah (I let my husband name him; he was rather specific about the spelling) Any help is appreciated.

[RabbitPam]

He’s adorable. Thank you for rescuing him and working to provide him with a good home.

First, I hate to say it, but the wire is actually worse than wood. You can remedy that easily with a set of seagrass mattes over the wire. They are good for their feet, and safe to chew. I made a whole floor by tying them together with natural sysil string. Also safe for chewing. If you prefer, a low pile, inexpensive area rug will work fine. We’ve seen them at Target or Walmart, and I then tossed seagrass mattes over that.

They hay is for eating, so you want that in a hay bin, to get it eaten rather than as a bedding. Also, get a litter pan with litter made for rabbits. They litter box train themselves or with just a little encouragement. I suggest you read through the Bunny Info. sections from the drop down menu at the top of this page for some great advice on setting up a home for a new bunny, diet, care, maintenance, and toys.

The breed usually doesn’t effect the nature of the bunny. Each has its own personality. WIthin a year it will be full grown, with ears that land in place and you will know more about what breed your bunny is.

[Baefull.WolfRabbit]

RabbitPam, Thanks for the advice. The main reason we put the wire down is his very first owners built the sides of his hutch out of unlaminated flooring but the floor with laminated pseudo bamboo something or other and as he had already chewed on the sides I didn’t want him chewing on the floor. He is quite the chewer, I rigged up a hay rack and put his eating hay in that. I put several inches of hay on the wire (which is technically baby saver wire). He digs in the hay, rearranges it, flops on it and seems happy. He’s got a hidey-hole that he can get in or on top of. He is trained by either himself or any of his previous owners to only go in one corner. Thank you for the carpet/seagrass suggestion, I’ll look into it.

[gingerg]

I’m no expert, but I think you may be right about your new bun being a holland lop; he’s got that round head-round body combo.You’d be in a better position to guess if you knew his weight. Holland lops are supposed to top out at 4lbs. 

Thanks for rescuing this cute little guy! It sounds like you’re giving him a good home. 

BTW, I believe that you can buy plastic covers for wire-bottomed cages that will help keep him from getting sore hocks, if carpet or wood-bottom isn’t an option.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Is his hutch outside?

I agree that he’s definitely got some lop in there. I totally see lop mix when I look at him. How big is he? I kind of see Flemish Giant in there too. I’m no expert, either. Just a guess.

[Baefull.WolfRabbit]

Thanks for the responses. I think he is about 4.5 lbs, when he lays down and stretches out I estimate he is almost 16 inches long from tips of his toes to his nose. He really doesn’t like being picked up (nor does he like being on his back [so I don’t actually know if he is a boy STILL]) but I was able to hold him for a bit the other day. Yes his hutch is outside, but it is protected on all sides from the elements by my house. He is entirely on fodder and fresh veggies with unlimited access to 1st cut timothy hay. I am looking into a memory foam/fleece blanket set up for him to sit on but he is quite the chewer so I am hesitant, he has a towel in his cage right now that he grooms/snuggles/chews.

[Samara87]

Apparently, fleece is a really good choice for rabbits, because it doesn’t come apart in long fibers if they chew on it. I have a fleece blanket on top of my buns cage as a little lookout sort of thing, and she loves it.

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