What breeds are my new bunnies?

[misskitty]

Hi everyone. I; new to rabbit lkeeping though I do have lots of other animals..rats, hamsters, fish etc. Anyway I was wondering if you could tell me what breeds my 2 new bunnies are:

I've been told by the owners that Dad is a dwarf lionhead?

Mum is tri-coloured with angora heritage

So here are the babies...Zephyr, who is stripey..with orange and grey/black

And Marley...

Any idea what colours and breed they would be? I think Zephyr could be a harlequin?

 

[KatyG]

I would think they are some kind of dwarf due to the little ears and I think you are right that that sort of colour is called harlequinbut the breeders should be able to help more. I just wanted to say that zephyr is absolutely adorable, you are so lucky. I love the name too.

 

[NZminilops]

The dad to me (is he the one in the first pics?) looks like a mini lop/holland lop cross with something, as he has odd ears. He looks to be a fawn/orange. Mom looks more like a lionhead or something fluffy with ears like a netherland dwarf and that stripe is very unusual kinda looks like the face colour pattern of a dutch. And I'd agree the baby looks like a harli in colouring.

Beautiful bunnies :bunnydance:

 

[misskitty]

Yep, the Dad is in the first pic.

Any idea what Marley would be? The same as his dad...fawn/orange mini lop/holland??

 

[katt]

okay. . .dad looks to be a holland lop mix. . .by the photo i guess holland lop and not mini lop due to the body structure. . .his color is orange, and i *think* that that is a white paw, so he could be an orange sport (a rabbit that carries the blue eyed white gene, these rabbits often have blue eyes or white snips on thier body).

the mom looks like a super fuzzy lionhead, her color is a harley sport (you can see the blue eye, and the white snip up her nose). the babies appear to be a sooty orange (these are oranges that have a brown tinge to the fur in certain areas) and another harley. remember that there is a color harlequin and a breed harlequin, just becaue your female has the harlequin color doesn't make her part of that breed. you have the harlequin color, not the breed. that is often confusing to people new to breeding and colors

 

[misskitty]

Thanks so much for that. Its really interesting. What breeds would it make the babies then... super fuzzy lionhead, holland lop crosses?

 

[katt]

mutts. . .sorry, but i would call them a lionhead/lop cross. . .

 

[TinysMom]

If dad is a dwarf lionhead, he's lost his mane so I can't tell for sure if he's single mane or double mane (some double manes will lose their manes). The fact that mama is angora makes her either a non-lionhead or lionhead mix. That means the babies are a lionhead mix at best (as far as breed goes).

I'm guessing dad is orange or fawn - looks more orange to me in that photo. Mom looks like a sport harlequin to me...I have a sport harlequin (she has one blue eye and one brown eye even!).

Ok..on to the babies. I agree with the poster who said that the babies are a sooty orange and a harlequin (the pattern - not the breed). I love Zephyr - I breed lionheads - and have several harlequins like that and I just adore them.

Your rabbits could be super fluffy because of two things - either the angora in mom's background (added to the lionhead genetics) or the fact that some lionheads have what is called a "teddy bear coat" or they're known as "teddies". Many times these rabbits will shed out their coats much later in life (9 months to a year) and become beautiful lionheads as adults....often times keeping their mane (from my own experience - others may not). That would depend upon the genetic line the rabbit came from as some lines do tend to keep their manes and others don't.

I wish I could see a better picture of the mama to see if she has a white foot or white anywhere else on her. My sport harlequin gave me three BEWs (blue eyed whites) and 3 sport chestnuts when she had her litter....because I had bred her to a BEW. Many breeders will use sports in their blue-eyed white breeding programs!

Well - that's probably far more than you wanted to know.

BTW - I have some lionheads who have ears that lop when they're younger but then stand up when they're older....I had one buck that I thought would never have his ears unlop - but once he reached about 9 months of age....they started standing up right. It was fascinating....and I've noticed that trait seems to be in some of my bloodlines but not others too!

Peg

 

[misskitty]

Thanks for that. Its all very interesting.

They are being seperated from their mother this weekend (they'll be 5 weeks old) and will live together. I was thinking about having them desexed to help with any agression they may have. Is this a good idea?

Also, at what age could I introduce an older male to them or is this not a good idea? He is their father and has not been desexed, but is currently living alone and very lonely. He has a tendancy to try to mate with all the rabbits (males included) we have put in with him and I don't want him to do this to my boys. Would desexing help him to stop this behaviour?

 

[TinysMom]

I don't know that I would put them in with your male even if he's neutered. First of all - when their hormones kick in - they may want to fight the male...even if he's neutered.

Secondly, I have found that males will try to mount anyway simply as a dominance issue. Even bucks that grew up together will mount each other...(then again - females will sometimes mount others to show dominance too).

Why are they being taken away from mama at 5 weeks? I mean - I've had some mamas that were ready for the babies to be weaned...but a large portion of my lionhead mamas and litters prefer to stay together till 7 weeks or so....and I've found over the last year of breeding that the ones who stay in a bit longer - do better socially, etc. (Just my own experience though).

Good luck w/ the rabbits! I love lionheads!

Peg

 

[misskitty]

even if they are neutered too?

We were advised by the vet that they are okay to be seperated from their mum at 5 weekks. All of her other 56 babies have gone to new homes now so its just my two left with her. Should I keep them all together for afewweekslonger then?

 

[naturestee]

It is better to keep the babies with the mom for a few weeks more, unless there's a reason for separating them such as mom is feeling ill or getting aggressive with the babies.

I also wouldn't suggest putting the dad in with the babies. Even with the babies, be prepared for the possible need to separate them when they hit puberty. Hormones can make rabbits more territorial, and it's not unusual for them to start fighting with other rabbits, even their siblings. Once they're neutered you can sometimes rebond them, although male pairs don't always work out.

Very cute babies, BTW!

 

[misskitty]

ooh okay. At what age would they reach sexual maturity? We were told by the vets 5 weeks which is why we were going to seperate them from their mum & sisters this weekend

 

[naturestee]

Babies are generally separated from the mom around 8 weeks of age. I think that's what the British Rabbit Council also recommends, and I think there also may be laws about this in some areas of Britain. I know some of our states have laws about the minimum age a rabbit must be when it's sold. They usually state 6-8 weeks.

Usually the earliest they reach sexual maturity is 12 weeks. Are you sure this vet is familiar with rabbits?:?