What breed are my rabbits?

[chrism]

I'm wondering about my two rabbits .. both were adopted at different times. My male bunny, I know is a lop, but i'm unsure what kind ... a mini lop I think, but i'm not sure. Here's his pic.

The female I *thought* was a cottontail, here she is:

The reason i'm now wondering, mostly about her, is because this morning I woke up to these:

5 cute little baby bunnies ..... I read all over the internet that lops and cottontails cannot breed due to chromosone differences .... now i'm wondering if i'm wrong about what kind of bunny she is, or if this just isn't true?

Either way I have 5 new bunnies that are just darling, but i'm concerned about their health and their breed.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Looks like the Broken Orange is a Mini Lop.
Your other rabbit isn't a cottontail. It's a domestic rabbit, but the colouring, Agouti, is very similar to that of cottontails.
Could be any mix of breeds, really...Probably some type of small rabbit.

Right, cottontails can't breed with domestic rabbits because they are a separate species.

By the way, what type of shavings are you using? Those look like Cedar, which are not safe for rabbits.

Emily

 

[chrism]

It is Cedar ... I didn't know it wasn't safe ... when we adopted her, that's what her owners gave us .. what is safe?

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Kiln Dried Pine bedding is fine. Make sure it's kiln dried though. You can also use wood pellets, Yesterday's News (a brand of bedding often used for cats), Equine Fresh - wood pellets.

Emily

 

[chrism]

Thanks ... i'm going to go check the bag and make sure it's cedar, then i'm off to the pet store for different bedding.

 

[la~la~land]

If you can find it Aspen is the best It doesn't have the aromatic oils that cedar and pine have (thats what harmful).

 

[elrohwen]

Aspen is safe, but I find it doesn't absorb odor well. Emily gave some awesome suggestions.

 

[chrism]

What about corn cob bedding? I have a ton of that because we use that for our bird.

 

[elrohwen]

Corn cob bedding isn't safe because bunnies can't digest it. Stick to something made of wood (like wood stove pellets) or recycled newspaper (like Carefresh or Yesterday's News)

 

[bigwigbunny]

You need to seperate the two rabbits now before you get another litter!

 

[chrism]

lol ... I did that right after I found the babies ... so that I wouldn't end up with another litter.

I found the aspen bedding and the yesterdays news, so i'm giving both a try. I'm also switching our bird over to the yesterdays news to see how it helps with her messes.

 

[butsy]

speaking of bedding, i dont use any for my rabbit .. is that bad/mean ?? . i have puppy pads with hay in one corner and the rest is just the metal .. i tried newspaper bedding, but i change her cage pretty often so it was basically a waste..

 

[Icarus]

butsy wrote:

speaking of bedding, i dont use any for my rabbit .. is that bad/mean ?? . i have puppy pads with hay in one corner and the rest is just the metal .. i tried newspaper bedding, but i change her cage pretty often so it was basically a waste..

It can be uncomfortable for the bun to be on only metal, and may cause hock sores. It's best to have some kind of bedding (Yesterday's News, Aspen, Pine) so they're feet have something to sink into.

My favorite is pine bedding, with a layer or straw or hay over top of that. Plenty of cushion, especially for buns recovering from hock sores.

 

[mistyjr]

all my bun's are on wire cages!

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

butsy wrote:

speaking of bedding, i dont use any for my rabbit .. is that bad/mean ?? . i have puppy pads with hay in one corner and the rest is just the metal .. i tried newspaper bedding, but i change her cage pretty often so it was basically a waste..

Do you have a solid-bottomed cage? If so, you don't necessarily need bedding for the rabbit. There are plenty members here who keep their rabbits on carpet, towels, linoleum, and even wood flooring. As long as your rabbit is comfortable with it, and it's no problem for you to clean, then it's fine to not have shavings. It's not bad or mean.

If you have wire, then the point of the shavings/bedding is that it is under the wire flooring in a pan, or maybe the feces/urine just falls to the ground (if your cages are outdoors). Wire floors aren't as bad as people make them out to be. They are easier to clean, stay clean longer even, and as long as you have some type of material (like an EZ mat, or piece of wood or sheetrock) for the rabbit get off of, then your rabbit's feet should be fine.

Emily

 

[butsy]

no i have a solid cage bottom ! i went out and bought lots and lots of stuff for her today and bought some bedding stuff ! ill try it ouut

 

[Tessie]

la~la~land wrote:

If you can find it Aspen is the best It doesn't have the aromatic oils that cedar and pine have (thats what harmful).

Aspen is what I buy and I feel my bunny is very safe with it. I checked on line and your right It is the best and cheap

Cedar is bad for all small animls. It is only good for outside dog houses and dog beds because it repeals fleas because of the high content of oils.

i get my Aspen at the pet store here.

Tessie and Eittle bunny

ETA for spelling

 

[elrohwen]

If you have a solid bottom cage, I recommend not using "petstore" bedding and using towels or fleece blankets instead. Using petstore bedding can be wasteful (lots of throwing away instead since it's not reuseable) and can confuse a bun and destroy their litter habits. There needs to be a clear diferentiation between litter in the litter box and bedding. Bedding really isn't necessary at all on solid bottom cages and get set your bun back.

 

[missyscove]

If your rabbit is in a solid bottom cage, then there is no need for bedding. Personally, I find having bedding in the cage anywhere but the litterbox just confuses them.

 

[Tessie]

missyscove wrote:

If your rabbit is in a solid bottom cage, then there is no need for bedding. Personally, I find having bedding in the cage anywhere but the litterbox just confuses them.

What about the nest box?