Giant rabbits

[me0kat]

I was wondering how many of you have rabbitsthat quality as "giants" and how much care they really need. Do theymake good pets? Do they still need to be kept in cages?

I'm really fascinated.

I ran across some articles of giant rabbits bred by a german to feedNorth Koreans, they do seem adorable. You've probably heard of them too

Articl=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,458863,00.html

 

[jil101ca]

I own a flemish. She lives outside and doesn'trequire any more care than my other rabbits (mixed breeds) Although shedoes demand more petting and head scratches than the others and if youdon't give it to her, she lets you know about it. Eventually she willcome into the house and have free range but for now she lives in a hugecage.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

It kills me to see a large-breed rabbit being scruffed like that.

 

[Michaela]

I've never owned on, would love to though.

That picture is horrible, the poor thing, I could never lift a bunny like that:cry2

 

[grumpybabies]

Yes that pic is horrid! I own a french lop whichis large rather than giant i think, she isn't the most friendly thoughand so if you have an unfriendly large rabbit they are obviously goingto be more of a problem than an unfriendly small rabbit, andtransportation to the vets etc is more of a problem, and obviously theyeat more, and will need a larger hutch/cage, but i think they can bringmore joy in some ways than a smaller rabbit because they are morecuddly and affection in some ways.

 

[Maureen Las]

The rabbit that the german is holding doesn'tlook natural. Do you think that he uses hormones and steroids etc. toget them to that size? I can't imagine breeding any 2 breeds andproducing anything that large. I really really feel sorry for them.

 

[ec]

A lot of the giant breeds are truly huge - see http://www.giantrabbitrescue.co.uk/for pics and more.

here's a photo (real!) from their home page -

 

[MrCarrots]

so cute, can you imagine cuddling on the couch with that big chunk o fluff?

How much poo and pee would they produce tho, I can't imagine my dustbuster would be able to cope with what came out of that giant bun

 

[ec]

One of the bunnies (very sweet) that was in theshelter when I adopted Nibbles was a largish French lop. She weighedabout 14 lbs. at the time, though this was partly due to the fact thatshe wasn't getting much exercise there. She was lovely (and has sincebeen adopted), but she certainly was a big bun! (The NIC condoI'd bulit wasn't large enough to house her... Nibbles, being small,fits just fine. If I'd known about the possibility of larger rabbits,I'd have been a bit better-prepared to take one on.)

 

[Maureen Las]

Omg ec I had no idea there were rabbits as petsthat large..so very cute..I'm sure mydogs and cats would bein awe. I'm going to look on pet-finder and see if there are any inrescues. I'm sure I haven't seen any this large before. Their poopwould look just like deer poop.

 

[ec]

That's the thing - few are raised to be pets... But from all accounts, they're good ones.

Still, I know there's someone on here with a Flemish Giant, and they'vetalked about the difficulty of finding crushproof boxes (etc.) to playwith.

 

[Bun~Bun]

There are some really big fatFlemishes I've seen in the county fair. Their like 50 pounds. I feelsorry for those poor things, all squished up in those small pens.

 

[naturestee]

Actually, all the Flemish breeders that have been on this forum raised them for show and pets, not meat.

Tinysmom and Sugar Gliders have pet Flemish Giants, as do several othermembers who aren't here often any more. Carolyn has one thatshe adopted. Ayglnu13 has two, Dajeti had one, Jenniblu hadone.

The breed pictured is a Continental Giant, and there are only a few in the US that were recently imported.

 

[Yourillusion]

I have a Flemish giant, there really is not muchof a difference between him and the mini lops as far as care goes. Webought two of the biggest dog kennals we could find and took oneofthe sides off and put them togather, so he has a doublewide. He just turned a Year last month, and is still growing from whatI understand. He's just a Big furry baby, he loves to cuddle andsnuggle. He also picks up after himself after he's doneplaying with his toys, wish the kids would.



Heather

 

[clarzoo]

I've got 13 Checkered Giants in my care rightnow, granted 12 of them are younger than three months. They don'ttakedifferent care than any other sized rabbit, but they dorequire MORE of everything. More space, more food, more water, etc...

Checkered's don't really fit the 'Gentle Giant' name like the Flemishdo. They aren't aggressive- but the breeders do like them to have a bitof an attitude because they are shown as a running breed and need to beconfident enough to show themselves off well on the table. Also, theyare built to be a bit more powerful than some of the other giants,because they have the full-arch body type. They are very lean despitebeing 18+ or so pounds. Now, the litter of five I hand-fed are totalmush's-all they want to do is cuddle and give kisses. I lovethem!

 

[Starina]

OMG! I want one!! It is The Beast from Curse of the Wererabbit!! :inlove:

~Star~

 

[Maureen Las]

What is a running breed? Is their such a thing as rabbit racing?

 

[katt]

i have owned 3 flemish giants. . .soy and soulfood (my 2 females i had) were very sweet rabbits, always full of cuddles.

bruno was my boy,and he ment a lot to me. i had owned rabbitsfor about 3 years before i was aloud to bring a flemmish home (i hadwanted a giant from the get go, but my parents felt it was important tostart with a small or medium breed to get use to handling and all).

i remember the day i brought bruno home, i was at a rabbit show and wesetup next to a guy with a litter of flemish giants. i eyed them allday long, finally he was about to pack up and asked me one last time ifi wanted one (we had been talking about them all day long). . .my momended up buying him for me and i held him the entire way home. . .hewas around 10 weeks old, and already larger then most of the rabbits inmy barn.

bruno lived in a rabbit hutch year round. it was completely decked outduring the cold winter months, and if the temp would be below around 15degrees he was moved into a smaller cage inside the barn. his cage wasaround 3 feet deep by 6 feet long. . .and it was a good 30 inches high.he was litter trained (took to it himself) and was one of the bestrabbits i had. i use to take naps with this guy in a rope hammockduring the summer. . .we would just lay in the breeze for hourssleeping. . .he would sprawl at my side. . . i wish that i had the roomand money for a flemmish giant. . .they are second place in my mind(nothing will outbeat my love for english lops, but flemmies comeclose).

i sold him along with my 2 females to a very nice lady. . .i struggledto sell him in the first place, but then 2 weeks after he left, trixie,my heart bunny died and the thought of losing both of my favoriterabbits in 2 weeks nearly killed me. . .

after trixie died my mom wanted to try to talk the lady i sold him to,to sell him back to us, but in the end we didn't get him back and i gotwinnie instead.

but these guys are a great breed. i have never been bittin by one,never growled at or lunged at. . .they never mind being held, and arealways ready to lounge with their owner. . . a great breed.

 

[katt]

angieluv wrote:

What is a running breed? Is their such a thing as rabbit racing?

a running breed is a full arch breed that is judged by running up and down the table at a show.

breeds considered 'running breeds' are: checkered giants, english spots, rhinelanders, tans, belgian hares.

the only us breed that is a full arch breed is a brit, but they aren't ran on the table. . .they are posed upright.

there is no such thing as rabbit racing that i know of. there is rabbit hopping . . .

 

[cdekim]

I have a flemish giant buck, he just turned 12weeks old and he weighs in at 6 lbs. I also have a thriantra buck, heis also 12 weeks old ..they live together in an 8' x 8' wendy house(old garden shed) that my husband built. They have two large litterboxes and they bascially litter trained themselves in threedays...Flemish are very smart and friendly...I would try to house themin as large of a cage or house that I could....as they really need theroom to exercise. They really make wonderful pets and Flemishare my number one pick for pet rabbits....ps they do poop alooooot andbig poos too!