Bunny Breed DNA test?

[allegrabunny]

Is there a DNA test for bunnies?  I have two kits from the same litter, I am fairly certain they are both females, one is very small and petite and one is not.   The small one has short ears and the big one has long ears.   They are both Holland lops, can there be that much variation in the breed?   Can bunnies carry kits from more than one father?  

[jerseygirl]

I don’t know if there is a test but if there was it would be very expensive I imagine.

There can be big variations in a litter. Sometimes all the kits can be all unlike both parents. Even recognised breeds are a mix really. Many were establish from other, older rabbit breeds. And of course, there are many, many non “pure breds” having litters, so a lot of genes come into play.

Along with this is runts of litters or ones that get less opportunity for growth due to competition for the milk or the Doe not producing enough. Then there may be medical conditions that contribute to growth or lack of growth.

 

Can bunnies carry kits from more than one father?

Rabbit Does are induced ovulators, so they release eggs for fertilization about 9hrs or so after mating. This has me thinking it *might* be possible for 2 different fathers for the one litter if Doe was bred with 2 different Bucks in short time frame if the sperm remained viable. I REALLY don’t know!!!

A Rabbit Doe has 2 uterine horns so they can actually carry two different litters. In this circumstance I think they could be via different Bucks. Though the litters and/or the Doe may not even survive as it’s dangerous when they’re in this state.

ETA: I should note in case it’s not clear from my post  that I’m totally speculating on this from what I understand about rabbit anatomy. There’s probably a whole bunch of other factors that make the fathering scenario possible/impossible. ;o)

[jennyrabbit]

I assume you mean like the dog breed DNA tests? not that expensive, but they are completly worthless, my faverite example of that is a big 40lbs black hairy BC mix that was DNA tested..results? well, she’s a Chihuahua of coarse! I dont know of any tests like that for rabbits, but if they are like the dog ones, it wouldnt be woth the paper its written on lol

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh I ditto Jenny…unfortunately the DNA tests don’t look reliable… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a4CDvK868w

I was so excited when I heard of them but unfortunately….not yet I’m afraid. But I would suspect rabbit DNA testing wouldn’t be too far behind

[Beka27]

If one were available, I wouldn’t bother with a DNA test for your rabbits. It really doesn’t matter that much what their exact lineage is. Rabbit breeding isn’t as heavily regulated as in dog breeding, so even “purebreds” could have something else down the line.

Are they from a recognized breeder? Did you purchase them as purebred, “show quality” bunnies? If so, they should be exact to what the breed standard is. If you purchased them from a breeder who was just looking to sell them off, chances are they are not “perfect Hollands” and that’s why they were for sale. Perfect ones, the breeder would have kept for showing or breeding. Did you receive papers with them?

[allegrabunny]

Their mother was found abandoned on a roadside by a friend of mine, they were a surprise three weeks later. They have a sister who is also small. I was hoping for more of a paternity type test. They just look so different. April the big one is seriously twice and size and has really long ears and May the small one is tiny. I’ve had them separated for about a month and always make sure May is receiving lots of pellets and hay but she’s still just small. She seems healthly though. Maybe April is just really a Flemish Giant Holland Lop. I wonder how big she will get. Now I have visions of April the Giant crushing cities like Godzilla.

[allegrabunny]

And the other reason, this bugs me is because I am planning on building a custom habitat for them, so my dogs can have their kennel back. If April is from a different larger father how big do I make the habitat. Holland Lops are much smaller than other rabbits, 5 lbs v. 20lbs.

[allegrabunny]

What if April turns out giantic, then they couldn’t share a habitat.  

[Sarita]

I would be very surprised if she gets to the size of a Flemish Giant. I don’t see why they could not share a habitat no matter what size. I would not customize a condo until both are bonded and full grown – you’ll know better by the time they are able to be spayed how large they well both get.

[Sarita]

Besides the cost of a paternity test if there was one available would not be cheap and that does not make sense. You would need to know the father anyway to do that.

[jennyrabbit]

a paternity test would not even be possable without the father in the first place, that type of test compares the DNA of the babies to the DNA of the father to see if its a match, thats all, without the father DNA that type of test wont tell you jack.

[allegrabunny]

ok I’ve stopped freaking out now. thanks for the reality check….I’ll have to post some pictures

[LoveChaCha]

Just like sibling humans, they will not always look alike.

My bunny, she is a Netherland Dwarf, but lacks the true dwarf gene. True dwarfs are normally 1.5-2.0, even 2.5 pound range. Since my bunny lacks the true dwarf gene, she is about 3 pounds and doesn’t even look like a dwarf. She has long ears, a slightly bigger head, and long limbs. My bun is a black otter doe, and her sister (I don’t have), is a true dwarf – very tiny thing and is fully black.

Genetics can vary, lemme tell you.

[Beka27]

In terms of building a habitat, the bigger the better… always. Even smaller bunnies are still going to need a very large space so they can move around, and some may argue that smaller bunnies are MORE active, therefore necessitating an even larger habitat. Regardless, you’ll want to have a large area for two rabbit to peacefully coexist. I wouldn’t do any smaller than a 4×4 foot area, with multiple levels if you can.

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