How can you tell whay kind of rabbit you have?

[foreverblue127]

I have a very,very sweet rabbit that I got from a feed and seed store. He is a mix breed I am sure. But what kind? I cannot really tell the difference between some of the bunny types. He is a kind of silvery gray,with a white cotton tail and ears that stand up. Any Ideas?


maxwell

maxwell aka: bun bun
maxwell

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Because of his color, size, and ear that is trying to lop, I would guess that he may be a Mini Lop mix.

It is difficult to tell what rabbits are mixed with because when bred together, most breeds will not retain their identifying characteristics. For example, you can breed a lop breed with an up-eared breed and get all up-eared rabbits. Without knowing the origin of the parents, you'd never know it was a lop mix.

So the best anyone can do is guess by their characteristics. But even that can be off.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Looks just like our Peter. He's a large (8.8 pounds) bunny with Chinchilla coloring. Don't know if he's a mix or not as he was a rescued with no info attached.

 

[foreverblue127]

Well, I thought it was worth a try. He is pretty big. He's a heavy little guy. And his ear doesn't usually do that. I just thought I would ask. It doesn't really matter what breed he is I love him to bits. He just started licking me, which made me fall in love with him more. Thanks guys!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We usually look thru books and try to match up what we see. Thought Serena was and English Spot when we got her, but she kept growing. Found a match in one of our books that said Checkered Giant--she's now 17 pounds.

 

[Yield]

[align=center]Looks a LOT like my Flemish Giant, Silas, but Silas doesn't have the "floppy" ear. =P

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Nancy McClelland wrote:

We usually look thru books and try to match up what we see. Thought Serena was and English Spot when we got her, but she kept growing. Found a match in one of our books that said Checkered Giant--she's now 17 pounds.

The only problem that comes with doing this is that there are approx. 50 breeds recognized by the ARBA and many of those breeds come in various colors and patterns. So the generic pictures don't paint you a full picture- English Spots and Checkered Giants are not the only breeds that come in a broken black pattern. And in fact, they are two rarer breeds that are not as likely to be seen outside of the 'show world'.

Coat color or pattern is not usually a good indicator of breed, with a few exceptions. For example, the color black tort is the most common color in Holland Lops and not as common in Mini Lops. So it's safe to say that a smaller lop rabbit that is black tort in color is probably a Holland Lop or Holland Lop mix. But broken blacks are recognized in American Fuzzy Lops, Holland Lops, Mini Lops, English Spots, Checkered Giants, Polish, Netherland Dwarfs, French Lops, Jersey Woolies, Mini Rex, Satin...you get the idea.

That makes determining unknown breeds difficult, but sometimes ear length, weight, and body type are better indicators.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

That is why we went to the books. We tried to match up body, ears, shapes and sizes. The easiest way is if you can get info from the person you got your bunny from--with rescues, this usually is not an option. So with books and the help of our Crystal Ball, we take a shot at it. Also, with genetics, there are always anomalies and throwbacks even when you know the pedigree. Our Great Dane is black with one white paw--her parents and litter mates were all Harlequins. Like Ricky used to ask Lucy, "splain?"

 

[elrohwen]

In general I agree with Julie that it's hard for a novice to match up breeds based on books. Also, so many breeds are rare and there are a few that seem to dominate the rescues (and pet store market) - if you know what these common breeds are it's easy to identify most mixes as a mix of these common breeds.