found an abandoned lop ear rabbit- what breed is he please?

[dknylady]

Hi!

Oddly enough the only rabbit owner in the apartment complex (Me!) pulls up to go home and sees a white/spotted lop ear rabbit calmly eating grass under a bush. Being a friendly thing i was able to pick him up and put him my spare cage. He's the most darling boy- so sweet and outgoing!

I'm just wondering what breed he is exactly. obviously a lop ear. I would put him at about 5 pounds?

Here is a pic. Sorry for the blurriness and i didn't know how to post it to this post directly!

Thank you!!!

http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bun1ge9.jpg

 

[pamnock]

Very difficult to guess from the photo. In the range of 5 pounds, could be a Mini Lop, but from the photo the body appears to be more similar to the velveteen lop - so you may have a mixed lop.

Pam

 

[tonyshuman]

CUTE!! Looks like a mini-lop, but weight is more like a Holland. I'm not an expert though.

ETA: are you going to keep him?

 

[LadyBug]

tonyshuman wrote:

CUTE!! Looks like a mini-lop, but weight is more like a Holland. I'm not an expert though.

hollands are up to 4 pounds

it's hard to tell, if you could get a side shot, that'd help. i'm gonna guess mini lop or mini lop mix, though, based on hisweight

 

[dknylady]

thanks for the help. here is another pic of him from the side. maybe it will help?

thanks!

 

[tonyshuman]

Head looks like a mini to me, but the weight is a little low for a typical mini, IMHO. Maybe a mix, or underweight?

 

[pamnock]

The lateral view helps. Could be either a large Holland Lop or a Mini Lop. I more commonly see broken blacks in the Holland Lop breed.

Pam

 

[dknylady]

thanks for the replies!

he may be underweight, or maybe not full grown. he probably has been living off just grass for months, and he acts like a young rabbit.

i named him Monster. He snuck out of my bedroom and jumped in the high hutch with my girl rabbit. uh oh. i hope she's not in heat b/c the last thing the world needs is more little buns to find homes.

next i've got to try to litter train him. :shock:

 

[naturestee]

Oops!:shock: FYI rabbits don't go into heat, they are ALWAYS ready to breed. Depending on the age and health of your girl and whether she's much smaller than the boy or not (and whether you can afford and care for the babies), you may want to look into doing a spay/abort. We do this at the local humane society all the time but I know it's a hard choice for a pet owner. Either way, we'll be here to help you and give you advise.

Are you planning on keeping him? Boys need to still be separated from girls for at least one month after being neutered (they will still have some sperm left), but if she is pregnant and you neuter him in the next month or two he'll be ready to bond with her by the time the babies are weaned.

Really hope she's not pregnant!:shock:

 

[dknylady]

ugh not good to hear! she is about 3-4 years old and she's almost twice his size, i'd say.

i can afford to care for the babies but i wouldn't be happy about having to find homes for them when there are already rabbits out there that need homes. i just never thought the boy could jump that high!

how will i know if she is pregnant? she seems to be acting the same as always except she grunts a lot when she sees the boy.

 

[gentle giants]

I would get her spayed asap, and it would be a good idea to get the buckneutered as well. With her being the age she is, and not having had a litter before, she has a much higher risk of having serious problems with delivery.

You probably won't be able to tell if she is pregnant until the kits arrive. Rabbits don't "show" like a dog or cat does, since they are prey animals they don't get all fat and waddly when they are pregnant. When did the buck get into her pen? She would be due 31-33 days after that.

 

[dknylady]

it was 3 days ago- i'm not sure how long he was in there. it wasn't that long.

getting her spayed would cost about $400 around where i live- crazy.

won't her behavior change at all? right now she acts pretty normal. she seems annoyed with him. when he stands up to look at her in the hutch she grunts really loudly.

my poor girl! what are the odds i rescue a boy rabbit...ugh. i hate the people who abandoned him, whoever they are.

 

[tonyshuman]

I do want to say that you're probably going to want to have her spayed eventually, especially if you're going to be keeping a male bunny around her. Unspayed bunnies can go through false pregnancies, where they act pregnant (grumpy), pull fur, and make a nest. Having a male around (whether or not he is altered) can make her more likely to do this. In addition, there is a much greater risk of contracting uterine cancer in unspayed females. It's very high--probably 50% or greater. That is a lot more expensive to treat and may cause you to have to put her down. Also, unspayed females will mark territory by spraying urine and will just be grumpier. The fact that she grunts at him is just a sign of more aggressive behavior to come. And if you're going to keep the intact male around, that's just asking for trouble. Ask around at local shelters and rescues to see if you can get a discount on spaying. It may be expensive, but in the long run it's worth it.

ok off my :soapbox now.

 

[dknylady]

thanks! so she's not too old to spay? i asked my vet about it and she didn't seem to care- she just said she's a mature rabbit.

hehe she's so cute when she's grumpy.