Just curious about breeds

[Huckleberry]

 I don’t care about breeds. To me a bun is a bun and they are all just as wonderful as the next, but that doesn’t stop my curiosity. When people ask what she is, I would like to do more than simply shrug and say “She’s a bunny mutt I guess”. It would also be nice to know because my vet says she is overweight, but since bun weights vary by breed, I would like to know if I am turning her into a runway model or the star of the next biggest loser. I posted this same question on a yahoo group I visit and a couple people suggest that Huckleberry could be part flemish giant. I looked at some pictures and am inclined to agree. What is your opinion?

She is 11lbs (though the vet says she is almost double the weight she should be.)
She is roughly 12 inches from nose to tail in a walking position.
Her ears are about 4 inches tall and stand up.
She has a large dewlap.
Her snout is rounded and somewhat long.
Her fur is black with white tips. The fur on her paws, behind her ears, and tip of her snout is solid black. The fur is short, very soft and thick.
Her skin (which I saw when she was shaved for spaying) is white with black patches.
She came from Oklahoma, USA.
She is spayed so Im not curious for breeding purposes, I personally feel breeding is wrong. Again, just curious. 

I have more pictures of her at different ages in my profile. I posted one below of her stretched out (three months ago), the one in my avatar is the best I have of her face, she was around 4 months old in that picture.

.

Thanks,

Casey and Huckleberry

 

[Sarita]

I would say she’s some kind of mix too…I love her fur color, it is very unique – I know it has a name but I don’t know what it is.

[Huckleberry]

I love it too. She started out all black but from about 3-6 months a silver ring started moving up her body from her toes to her back. It was just one solid, pretty uniformed, ring! Then she blew out her coat in August and when it grew back in, it looked like that. She has very thin stripes of silver or black around her back. My mom says she looks like a shark took a bite out of her.

[LBJ10]

What a pretty color!
So… what exactly was the vet basing this overweight thing on? Does she have a lot of fat on her body or is she just a big rabbit? I ask because I actually had this issue with my dog. The vet kept insisting that she was overweight. She wasn’t overweight, she was just big for her breed. There’s a big difference between overweight and simply being big. If she weighs 11 lbs, then the question should be does her natural body size correspond with her weight? Hopefully I’m making sense here.

[Huckleberry]

Perfect sense! That was one reason I was asking the question. According to some site, either this one or a link posted here, you are supposed to run your hands down the length of the body and it should curve inward slightly after the ribs. Her body varies, but usually it is pretty close to a straight line. Her dewlap changes in size too. Some months it is almost gone, other months it is a large bulge. I dont actually weigh her very often because it is a bit of a hassle but the last time I weighed her she was still at 11, same as at the vets in Jan.
Thanks

[LoveChaCha]

She is a Bumba

[jerseygirl]

We were talking about this colouring not so long ago. From the pic it looks like she is steel colouring. They can be “gold” or “silver” tipped. For instance silver tipped black. : ) I love her dark tipped toes!

Can she get around to clean herself well, eat her cecals etc If she can do that then I say she’s in pretty good shape. : )

[Huckleberry]

I think she can. I never see her eating cecals but I assume she does it. As for bathing herself, she seems to have no problem doing that. She keeps herself very tidy, especially her ears. She gives her ears a good washing after a long petting session.

ChaCha, when I googled “Bumba” i came up with little animated clowns… which I have to agree with, she is a clown for sure… was that what you meant? Lol, you lost me.

[Elrohwen]

I’m not sure I see flemish, but I definitely see some kind of commercial breed like a New Zealand or something (possibly flemmie), mixed with a smaller breed. I don’t know enough about steels to know what breeds commonly come in this color (at least not among the larger breeds) but as far as I know it’s not an allowable color in new zealands, but I think it might be in flemmies which could make the case for a flemish cross. No idea what the other breeds mixed in could be!

As far as being overweight goes, your vet should be able to tell by running his hands along her. She honestly doesn’t look that overweight to me – maybe a tiny bit, but certainly not at double the weight she should be. I always tend to think my Hannah is overweight because of her body shape, but according to my vet she’s fine and that’s just the way she’s built. Maybe get a second opinion.

[LoveChaCha]

Haha Jersey, bumba is a word I call Chacha and other rabbits. Its a made up nickname for rabbits that are insanely adorable, which all are I caught Lintini using it on her facebook several times

[Huckleberry]

Ah, I see. Then she is 100% BUMBA!
I just looked at the steel colorer flemmies (http://www.nffgrb.com/Flemish%20Giant%20Rabbit%20Photos/STD-China.jpg) and I think that is the closest looking picture I have seen, but I am certain she is not a full-bred.
But I am totally happy with that. She is beautiful and happy and a huge diva and I love her! She is now angry that I am on the computer. She is sitting on the other side of the room sending the death stare my way. I better go give her loves haha

[jerseygirl]

Elrohwen, funny you mention allowed colours in regards to breed. I saw a breed description on an Aussie site (rabbit savvy owner) and we apparently have Flemish Giants and American Flemish Giants. According to this site the FL’s are the one colour described as dark grey steel but with white belly and underside of the tail. The American FL comes in other colours though ( Black, Blue, Fawn, Light Grey, Sandy, Steel Grey, White).   I really don’t know why there are 2 “different” breeds, they seem awfully similar. I’ve actually met the site owner so I should ask her next time I get a chance.   I do agree about New Zealand giant in Huckleberry…i can see that in her head shape.

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