Could any one help me get an age estimate in Clover?

[Jayme]

Hey so I recently got my my bunny Clover. I was told she was a mini rex lionhead mix. However, I have NO idea of how old she, or how big she'll get. I want to give her veggies, but again I'm not sure if she's old enough. If anyone could help I'd appreciate it!

 

[Watermelons]

Any idea how much she weighs?
Veggie wise, as long as you introduce them slowly, in small ammounts, one at a time. Go for it, start now. Just keep an eye out for digestive upset as with anything new.

 

[Imbrium]

I have no clue as far as an exact age, but she's definitely at least 12 weeks old, so she's old enough to start slowly introducing veggies

 

[majorv]

If you could provide a current weight that would help...and maybe a picture of her with something else to get an idea of her size. Mini rex and lionheads are pretty similiar in weight, with lionheads being a little smaller. The picture you show in your Intro shows her a lot smaller than in this picture...closeup pics can be deceiving when trying to guess age.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I would guess somewhere around 8 weeks from this photo because of the baby coat. Usually the fur is sleeker and more even by 10-12 weeks.

 

[Jayme]

Well since she's a mix, she seems to have tufts of fur that obviously come from the lionhead side of her, but I feel like she's a bit older than 8 weeks because I've had her a few weeks already.

 

[Jayme]

http://www.youtube.com/v/Gis0aj6JaxQ I have no idea if I got this link up right, so someone please let me know if this works. But this is Clover, I thought maybe this video would allow for you to see her size better, even though she's just sitting there haha.

 

[woahlookitsme]

It works but the video is private. You will have to change the settings to make it public.
I kind of want to agree with julie. Babies fur changes alot between 8 weeks and 10-12 weeks old.
Here an example. This is a baby at 2month old

and a baby at 3months old. You can definitely see a difference in the coats. This is similar with any other rabbit. Although lionheads and mini rex have different coats a mini rex mix will have normal fur like this. Baby lionheads are also similar unless they are double manes. Double manes are only able when two lionheads are crossed and are completely fluffly then molt out their saddle or back and it looks like sleek normal fur.

 

[Jayme]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gis0aj6JaxQ[/ame] Okay I made it public.

 

[majorv]

Okay, this video looks more like the picture in your Introduction. I think your bun is no more than 6-8 weeks of age. Not old enough for veggies, IMO.

 

[ladysown]

if you've had her for a "few weeks" already I have to wonder how old she was when you got her....she's still got a baby look about her. At the very most...10 weeks.

I"m guessing you got her as a five week old. If you want to do greens....parsley is about as safe as you'll get. give her a sprig (not a plant, just a wee bit) see how she does on that and VERY gradually give her more.

based on her ears and general look I'd have to wonder if she truly is a mini rex/lionhead mix....

 

[Chrisdoc]

she is so cute but I´d probably say she´s around 8-10 weeks, she has a real baby look and she has a baby coat so you may want to wait to introduce veggies for another couple of weeks.

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, looking at the video, she looks younger than I originally thought ><

 

[Nancy McClelland]

She looks fairly young to us. I'd probably want to give her about two months and then start up veggies.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

After seeing the video, I'm a bit more confident with my original estimate of about 8 weeks. She looks closer to 6, maybe even 5 weeks, in the video.

It's difficult to determine age just by looking at a rabbit though. But based on the way my own kits develop, that would be my best guess.

Whether or not you start veggies is up to you. I have offered a sprig of parsley from the garden to rabbits under 6 months of age. However, I definitely wouldn't recommend a heavy veggie diet before they finish maturing. Pellets are a more balanced diet and will help ensure that she gets the right vitamins and nutrients to grow up healthy!

 

[Jayme]

okay thanks!

 

[Imbrium]

After seeing the video, I'm a bit more confident with my original estimate of about 8 weeks. She looks closer to 6, maybe even 5 weeks, in the video.

It's difficult to determine age just by looking at a rabbit though. But based on the way my own kits develop, that would be my best guess.

Whether or not you start veggies is up to you. I have offered a sprig of parsley from the garden to rabbits under 6 months of age. However, I definitely wouldn't recommend a heavy veggie diet before they finish maturing. Pellets are a more balanced diet and will help ensure that she gets the right vitamins and nutrients to grow up healthy!

I started my bunnies on veggies right at the 12 week mark as per the HRS suggestions and they were eating large amounts of the veggies that had already been thoroughly introduced by 3.5-4 mos (well, Gaz was, Nala's always been annoyingly picky about veggies)... they've turned out just fine and when they had a check-up a month or two ago, my vet said they were incredibly healthy. honestly, because of Gazzle's tendency to get a little chubby and her total love-affair with food of any sort, I feel it was actually much healthier for her to replace some of her pellets with veggies so that she could munch just as much if not more while maintaining a healthier weight for her frame.

I see nothing wrong with a veggie-heavy diet before a bunny is an adult *if* they tolerate it well... however, not all rabbits do - for some, veggies can cause some digestive problems when first introduced at 3-4 mos of age, in which case it's better to back off of feeding them and wait until 6-7 mos to try again. it really comes down to the individual rabbit and what their owner feels most comfortable with - if someone preferred to wait until 6 mos to introduce veggies to their bunny, I certainly wouldn't try to tell them they shouldn't. however, if owner and bunny (and bunny's digestive system) are happy with adding veggies to the diet starting at 3 mos, there's nothing wrong with that either.

 

[Jayme]

I was told by a pet store that she was mini rex/lionhead mix, however it's possible they could be wrong, so if there's any indicators that would help figure out what she is, please let me know! And I gave her some kale, before I knew I was supposed to wait, however she seems fine. She's eating her pellets and hay just fine, and there's no diarrhea or anything... Also shouldn't bunnies still be with their parents at 5 weeks? Ugh I hate it when pet stores do that sort of thing -_-

 

[Imbrium]

yup, they should be with mom until at least 6 weeks and shouldn't be sold until at least 8

 

[ladysown]

depends on whom you believe. HRS or people who regularly breed and raise rabbits for a living.

Tons of THOUSANDS of rabbits are weaned at four weeks of age and do just fine.
Seriously....if they didn't, it wouldn't happen.

Thousands of rabbits are sold at five weeks and DO JUST FINE.
Seriously....if they didn't it wouldn't happen.... called horrible customer service.
Horrible customer service does not sell rabbits, GOOD customer service does.
Case in point...THIS bunny, probably sold at five weeks, doing just fine for it's new owner.

Selling and weaning are TWO completely different things.
Weaning is taking away from mom.
Selling is well... Selling.

Legalities are legalities. In the states most everyone has in "don't sell before 8 weeks" because that's the easiest thing to do. Make it the same age for everything sold. Cats and dogs and bunnies...make it easy for the legislators.

BUT they can be sold in "batches" younger than that. (just like chickens).
Chickens and rabbits are most often linked together from a federal point of view as well.

Both can be and are livestock AND pets. It's important to remember that distinction. Nothing wrong with them being both as well.