Newbie owner wondering about bun size?

[Cameron]

Hi! A few days ago, I welcomed new bun into my life! The breeder labeled him as a dwarf lionhead-Holland lop mix. She said that the dad (a lionhead) was around 2 lbs, and the mom (Holland lop) looked to be around 4 or 5 lbs. I was just curious as to what makes a bunny a ‘dwarf’ – did the breeder list my bun as a dwarf for advertisement? It doesn’t matter to me either way, I’m just wondering how big my little Ollie will get once he’s full sized!

Thanks!

[LBJ10]

Technically there is no such thing as a “dwarf lionhead”. A lionhead rabbit is a lionhead rabbit. They are a small breed, which typically does not exceed 3.75 lbs in size. They do have dwarfism mixed into their gene pool since the breed was reportedly created by crossing a Swiss fox with a Nethie. Other small breeds were also mixed in along the way as the breed was developed. So, I suppose in this case, the word dwarf is being used as advertisement. But lionheads don’t get very big anyway.

Holland lops are a dwarf breed. They carry the dwarfism gene and they aren’t supposed to exceed 4 lbs.

Now there is the scenario where your bunny may not have inherited the dwarfism gene. What does that mean? He will be larger than what is considered acceptable according to the standards set for both breeds. Lack of the dwarfism gene doesn’t mean he will be big though. Those are still two small breeds so even without the dwarfism gene, I doubt he would exceed 5 lbs. Hopefully that helps.

[Author]

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