Tag: breeds

The French Lop Rabbit Breed

The French Lop rabbit breed is an amazing breed of rabbit for nearly any living situation. These rabbits are extremely loving and affectionate, and are guaranteed to win your heart over. To learn more, continue on with this post.

The History Behind the French Lop Rabbit Breed:

It is believed that the French Lop rabbit breed came to be from an English Lop and a French Butterfly rabbit, which resulted in the French Lop rabbit breed. This rabbit breed, the French Lop, was used for meat industry purposes, but now, rabbits aren’t really used for meat, at least where I live.

The French Lop was first bred is 1850, which is when the meat industry was really going for his rabbit breed. The neighboring countries, such as Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany were starting to favor this rabbit breed too. It was reported that 10 French Lops were brought from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom. It took 27 years for these rabbits to become popular in the UK. It took until 1970-1971 for these rabbits to come on over to the United States.

Common Characteristics Found in French Lops:

French Lops are very similar to Flemish Giants, but with a shorter body, and heavier. French Lops have short front legs, and back legs that should lay parallel to the rabbit’s body. Their ears average the length of 5 to 8 inches long, usually a bit below their jaw. They also have a large head, and the most adorable and chubby cheeks.

The coat to this rabbit is very dense, silky, and soft. This fur isn’t quite long enough to be spun into any sort of wool, but it does have the texture to it. As for the certified colors, French Lops have the certified colors of white, brown, blue, black, opal, fawn, chinchilla, steel, along with siamese. These colors are both accepted in solid and broken.

Personalities Commonly Found in French Lops:

The French Lop rabbit breed is well known to be very affectionate and connected to their owners, which also ties in with how gentle this rabbit breed is. These rabbits are very playful and lively, just to tie in with how sweet these rabbits are.

With this, French Lops are great for nearly any living situation, assuming the family known the basics of proper rabbit care. These rabbits are great for free roaming, families with older children, as singles, even though rabbits are best in pairs, with a couple, and with a singular owner. They also do great as apartment free-roamers, and in large bunny-proofed rooms.

Sizing and Weight:

The size of this rabbit is considered to be a giant rabbit breed. This is very considerable due to the size comparison, considering the fact that Flemish giants are lighter than these rabbits, despite the fact that these rabbits are shorter, and overall, just barely smaller than Flemish Giants.

As for the weight, the average weight of a healthy French Lop is anywhere from 10 to 15 pounds, which like I said, is heavier than a Flemish Giant. This is quite heavy for a rabbit, but is very easily displayed through this rabbit breed’s bigger features. This rabbit breed is especially known for its adorable chubby cheeks.

Common Medical Problems:

French Lops aren’t affected by any particular illnesses through their bloodline and genetics, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t susceptible to nearly any sickness out there for rabbits. Make sure to look out for signs of illnesses in rabbits, no matter how often they seem to get sick, look for signs any time you go to see your rabbit for a while.

Extra Care:

This rabbit breed isn’t in any need for any necessary extra care, but that doesn’t mean that this rabbit breed’s size will slow them down. Because of this overbearing weight that this rabbit breed has to lug around, these rabbits, like all others, need plenty of support and padding for their hocks.

Works Cited:

“French Lop Breed Information and Pictures.” PetGuide, 21 Oct. 2017,                                                 www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/french-lop/.

Sources:

Link to Thumbnail Image (All credit goes to the photographer and owner of this photo)

Posting Dates and Times:

  • The French Lop Rabbit Breed: 9/19/2019: 5:45 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
  • Rabbit Care Necessities: Bunny-proofing Supplies: 9/21/2019: 4:45 P.M. CT., (USA)
  • The Materials Needed and Recommended For Bonding a Pair of Bunnies: 9/23/2019: 6:15 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
  • The Giant Angora Rabbit Breed: 9/26/2019: 6:15 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
  • Rabbit Care Necessities: Rabbit Bedding: 9/29/2019: 5:25 P.M. Central Time (USA)

 

The French Angora Rabbit Breed

The French Angora is an amazing pet rabbit option, like many other rabbit breeds are. This breed stands out from many other rabbit breeds, not only because of its looks, but its personality as well. French Angoras are a great option for a pet, so why not learn more about this awesome rabbit breed?

The History Behind the French Angora Rabbit Breed:

The history behind this rabbit and its breed is quite simple, actually. The French Angora is said to be the most similar rabbit to the original Angora, from Ankara, or Angora, Turkey. The first Angora to set a paw on American land was said to be around 1723, brought over from France.

This original Angora rabbit was known to be an “Angora Wooler”. At this time, the four different types of Angora rabbits didn’t exist quite yet, they were all known to be one large breed. It took until 1944 for the ARBA, American Rabbit Breeder’s Association, to split these rabbits into different breeds. This is where the French, Satin, English, and Giant Angora came along. At this point in time, the French Angora is still runner up as the second most popular Angora rabbit breed, the English Angora taking first.

The Common Characteristics of French Angoras:

French Angoras are owners of decently large bodies, along with plenty of muscle, which is hidden by all of their fluff. The French Angora’s coat is very long and coarse, causing the undercoat to be considered under-wool, and allowing many to agree that they grow wool, rather than fur.

The coat of this rabbit is considered wool, and this wool is known to cover the rabbit’s entire body, except for the rabbit’s face. The maintenance that will be needed to keep the rabbit’s coat well-maintained is necessary, not only for looks, but for the internal health of the rabbit.

The accepted colors and patterns for this rabbit include the following:

  • Pointed White Angoras: pure white with markings on the rabbit’s nose, tail, feet, and ears.
  • The “Self Group”: blue/ruby eyed rabbits (white coat), black, blue, chocolate, and lilac are the other colors to this group.
  • The “Agouti” colored Angoras: chestnut, chocolate agouti, copper, lynx, and opal.
  • The “Chinchilla” coloring: plain chinchilla, chocolate chin, lilac chin, and squirrel chin.
  • Along with this, there are also more color groups, these being the shaded, ticked, and wide band color groups, which all have specific colors that fall under these categories. These different categories can be looked over on the website I used, which is cited below.

Common Personalities Found in French Angoras:

French Angoras are extremely docile and sweet. These rabbits would work great for those willing to take more time on one rabbit, which would pertain to grooming, and maintaining its coat. This rabbit is amazing with nearly everybody, but seems to work better with older children for the families out there. These rabbits are extremely calm when they feel the need to, so don’t be surprised to see this rabbit splayed out and relaxed as ever, strongly enough to say, many agree that there is a 100 percent guarantee that they are just having a lazy day, as long as there haven’t been any signs for GI stasis.

Like mentioned before, these rabbits work great with nearly any rabbit owner in any situation, so for those out there with a family with younger children, I would consider looking into a different breed, or figuring out how well the rabbit does with your children ahead of time.

Sizing and Weight:

The size of this rabbit breed is considered to be large, which really shouldn’t be all that surprising for those who consider the muscle mass on this rabbit breed, it’s astounding. This rabbit is very muscular despite the looks of the rabbit, mostly because the fur/wool of this rabbit covers up what could be considered its “true identity”.

The average weight for a healthy French Angora should be anywhere from 7 and a half pounds, to ten pounds, which is quite a bit of weight for the size of the rabbit, yet again, it’s that muscle mass. This rabbit breed is very unpredictable when it all comes down to the estimated measurements, so many people would assume that this rabbit breed is very large, rounded, and stocky, but it really isn’t, it’s just the fur/wool that throws us off.

Common Medical Problems Found in This Breed:

Because of the unbelievably long fur that this rabbit breed can grow, woodblock is a very common illness that can easily overtake the rabbit. Woodblock is when a rabbit ingests too much fur from grooming itself, which blocks up and congests the GI track of the rabbit, so in other words, woodblock is almost another, not so serious version of GI stasis. The difference is that woodblock still allows the GI track to function, when GI stasis doesn’t.

Extra Care:

The only extra care that should be addressed specifically for this rabbit breed would be the excessive grooming that will be necessary to keep this rabbit healthy. To prevent woodblock and matting, this rabbit should be groomed every day, once a week being the very minimum amount in a time span.

Works Cited:

“French Angora Rabbit Breed Information and Pictures.” PetGuide, 21 Oct. 2017,                             www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/french-angora-rabbit/.

Sources:

Link to Thumbnail Image (All credit goes to the photographer and owner of this photo)

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Posting Dates and Times:

  • The French Angora Rabbit Breed: 9/13/2019: 4:50 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
  • Rabbit Care Necessities: The Exercise Pen: 9/15/2019: 4:55 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
  • Why Should Rabbits Be Kept in Pairs?: 9/17/2019: 5:25 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
  • The French Lop Rabbit Breed: 9/19/2019: 5:45 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
  • Rabbit Care Necessities: Bunny-proofing Supplies: 9/21/2019: 4:45, CT., (USA)

 

 

 

The Florida White Rabbit Breed

The Florida White rabbit breed is a very self explanatory breed, and is much more recognizable, and popular after realizing that this rabbit breed happens to be popular, and very multi purpose, but not exactly anymore. These rabbits are much more known now for their color and body, but not exactly by their name. The reasoning of this is spoken about below.

The History Behind the Florida White Rabbit Breed:

The history of this rabbit is very simple compared to most rabbit breeds. There was a man by the name of Orville Miliken, that happened to be a rabbit judge for what was common at this time, rabbit shows. What he was really looking for was to form a breed that would be all purpose, which meant the rabbit would have to reach the standards for meat, fur, shows, and to be a fantastic pet.

The most interesting reason why Miliken wanted to create this new breed, was for testing, yeah, this guy’s new creation, was made to be a test subject, WHAT? The reasoning is quite simplistic though. New Zealands had been used as test subjects for the longest time, but the laboratory workers really wanted to see a much smaller rabbit for a change, which is where Miliken decided that he would make a smaller rabbit for this testing. This is why the Florida White came along.

The name choice was extremely simple. Miliken desperately wanted to name the rabbit after where he came from, Florida, but because this rabbit was so distinctively known for its color, he decided to include that too. This is how the Florida White rabbit breed came along and into our arms, with its very self-explanatory name.

The Common Characteristics of Florida Whites:

For this rabbit breed’s overall posture, looks, and muscular build, sometimes this rabbit can look a little odd from different angles. This rabbit breed has quite the rounded body with stubbier front legs, and very large back legs. The back legs (hindquarters) of these rabbits are extremely muscular, and large, for their size and overall body shape. Because their hindquarters are so large, this particular rabbit breed is known to have more slender looking shoulders, and large, wide, hindquarters.

These rabbits’ heads are a decent size for their body, and fit quite well, considering how odd these rabbit’s bodies can look. This rabbit breed’s head should be well rounded, a bit on the smaller side, but still fitting, with a more pointed muzzle and large ears to top it all off. The rabbit’s ears are meant to be on the smaller side, despite the fact that they look very large compared to the rabbit, most likely because its head looks a bit too small at times. These rabbit’s ears are known to fall to one side at times, so don’t worry when there’s a Florida White with partially lopped ears, it’s actually quite common.

Moving to this rabbit’s coat of fur, the fur is meant to be on the much shorter side, with a soft and partially silky texture. These rabbits don’t exactly shed all that much because of their short fur, which can become a large factor when considering when and which rabbit will be welcomed into your household.

To go along, but sort of against this rabbit’s color, white, these rabbits are known to have a red, or sometimes, pink hue to their eye color. This doesn’t make them an albino, but they definitely have similar characteristics to what would be an albino rabbit.

Common Personalities Found in Florida Whites:

Overall, this rabbit is extremely sweet, and for those out there who haven’t met one of these rabbits, they are very docile, and work great for nearly anybody in nearly every situation. The most common personality that truly shines in this rabbit breed is how amazingly docile this rabbit breed is, despite how lazy or active the rabbit is on that specific day.

These rabbits work great for families of nearly any situation, for single men and women, for those living in an apartment or house, or if the owner happens to be trying out a new lifestyle with a different pet. This rabbit breed is genuinely amazing for practically anybody, and for others to see that, would be amazing, especially for those who don’t feel that rabbits are truthfully amazing pets.

Sizing and Weight:

This rabbit breed happens to fall under the small and mini rabbit size category. This category happens to be the section to the most petite rabbits, whether their overall size is just ridiculously tiny or if the weight is unbearable, in a light manner.

Speaking of weight, the average weight for a healthy Florida White rabbit is anywhere from 4 to 6 pounds, which is a decently light rabbit. The weight of this rabbit can be best compared to a Dutch, or a Satin breed rabbit. A Dutch rabbit would be towards the lighter side of the weight range, while Satin rabbits would be closer to the median point.

Common Medical Problems Found in This Breed:

There aren’t any medical problems that are extremely well known, or even genetically carried for this particular breed. Even though this breed isn’t well know to be susceptible to any specific illnesses or overall medical predicaments, this rabbit breed, like all others, can obviously still become extremely ill without proper care and dieting.

Extra Care:

This breed doesn’t have any extra care to consider, at least when this breed is compared  to other rabbit breeds. Because this rabbit breed isn’t particularly known to be needy, still keeping a close eye is key, just because it is hard to pay intense attention when you really don’t feel that you have to all that often.

Works Cited:

“Florida White Rabbit Breed Information and Pictures.” PetGuide, 28 Mar. 2019,                            www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/florida-white-rabbit/.

Sources:

Link to Thumbnail Image (All credit goes tot the photographer and owner of this photo)

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Posting Dates and Times:

  • The Florida White Rabbit Breed: 9/7/2019: 4:00 P.M. Central Time, AKA CT., (USA)
  • Rabbit Care Necessities: Litter: 9/9/2019: 5:45 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
  • Is a Pair of Bunnies Right For You? For Everyone? 9/11/2019: 6:00 P.M. CT., (USA)
  • The French Angora Rabbit Breed: 9/13/2019: 4:50 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
  • Rabbit Care Necessities: The Exercise Pen: 9/15/2019: 4:55 P.M. Central Time, (USA)

 

 

 

The Flemish Giant Rabbit Breed

The Flemish Giant rabbit breed is one of the most popular rabbit breeds by far, but from my experience, not many people out there really know the details behind this large breed. Despite the rabbit’s popularity, not many choose to own this rabbit, but why? If you’d like to look into adopting a Flemish Giant for yourself, or for a friend of yours, follow along to learn the basics of the Flemish Giant rabbit breed.

The History Behind the Flemish Giant Rabbit Breed:

The true history behind the origin of this rabbit breed still remains a mystery. Some researchers have come to believe that Flemish Giants originated from the Patagonian, or Stone rabbits, some may say both. Along with this confusion, other researchers have come to a conclusion that these giants originated from the Argentinian Patagonian rabbit.

As for the facts that are proven and reliable, we do have proof that these rabbits originated in the countries of Belgium and England. These rabbits were then transported to America in the 1890’s, to then be recognized frequently in livestock shows around the early 1900’s. The National Federation of Flemish Giant Rabbit Breeders, or the NFFGRB, came along in the year of 1915, the ARBA came into existence in 1924, for reference.

Because the National Federation of Flemish Giant Rabbit Breeders helped out the ARBA, they were taken in, to then become part of the American Rabbit Breeders Association. The Flemish Giant rabbit breed was then established as a true and recognizable breed in 1929, by the acceptance of the ARBA.

The Common Characteristics of Flemish Giants:

As for the overall appearance of this rabbit, Flemish Giants are known to have large and muscular bodies, along with a long, slender build. These rabbits definitely won’t look slender, but when you really think about it, they are very slender looking compared to their weight.

Flemish Giants’ ears are meant to be erect and quite long, the average length being about 5 inches from the base of the ear, to the tip. The rabbit’s head is just big enough to be fitting for the rabbit’s size. By the way, when I mention the Flemish Giants size and weight later in the post, please realize that when I say that they are particularly light for their length, it’s because the longest Flemish was 4 feet and 4 inches long, but only 49 pounds, which may seem heavy, but for that length, not really.

The coat of this rabbit breed tends to be short, dense, and slick. These rabbits’ coats aren’t all that hard to maintain, then main factor is the amount that needs to be maintained. The certified colors for the Flemish Giant rabbit breed are: sandy, fawn, light grey, steel grey, black, and blue (which is more of a grayish color with a tint of blue).

The American Rabbit Breeders Associations doesn’t certify “broken” colored Flemish Giants, also recognized as Flemish Giants with more than one color incorporated in their coat. In other words, to be a certified Flemish by ARBA standards, you must be one solid color, which has to be one of the six certified colors.

Common Personalities Found in Flemish Giants:

Flemish Giants, like many larger rabbits, are very well known to be energetic in a  manageable way, and excruciatingly sweet, it’s insane. These rabbits are also very docile, which helps maintain the rabbit’s energy level, along with everything the rabbit has to lug around, its entire body.

These rabbits are amazing for anybody. Most giant breeds are only necessarily meant to be owned by very experienced rabbit owners, but these rabbits are so incredibly docile and sweet, that they work for any lifestyle.

*Despite how amazing these rabbits really are, if you don’t know that you have the money to spend on a rabbit, don’t try adopting a rabbit. The moment someone adopts a rabbit and can’t take care of it, they feed the rabbit improperly, and will usually re-home the rabbit with improper care, or just place them back in the adoption center, if not, on the side of a road. Even though rabbits carry many natural instincts and behaviors, that doesn’t mean they can survive in the wild. If wild rabbits struggle with living and thriving, how will a rabbit with no experience living out in the wild manage a life, surrounded by predators?

Sizing and Weight:

The overall sizing for this rabbit breed is no surprise. Flemish Giants, are indeed, giant sized rabbits. Flemish Giants are known to be extremely long, despite how much smaller they look when they just stand in place. Since giant is the largest sizing for a rabbit, this also means that they can be quite heavy, which I will go over next.

The weight for a healthy Flemish Giant averages anywhere from 9 to 14 pounds. Despite the lengths these rabbits can easily reach, Flemish Giants really aren’t all that heavy. By no means is this a light, small rabbit, but they are particularly light for their length.

*Please do realize that mixed breeds can vary the average weight of this rabbit breed. A pure bred Flemish Giant could weigh up to 22 pounds, and still have a healthy life, it really just has to do with the rabbit’s build. Also keep in mind that the longest rabbit in the world is a Flemish Giant named Darius, that weighs 49 pounds, just for reference. So please, consult with a vet if you are concerned for your rabbit’s health.

Common Medical Problems Found in This Breed:

There aren’t any true illnesses that are very widespread throughout Flemish Giants, but the main problem that I would look out for with such a large rabbit would be sore hocks. With the extra weight that this rabbit breed has to carry, more and more weight is being compressed onto the rabbit’s hind legs, which can easily resort to sore hocks.

Extra Care:

All I have to mention for extra care is the extra work needed during grooming sessions, and the space to be cleaned up after. Because these rabbits are so incredibly large, they need and incredibly large enclosure, whether this is an entire room to free range in, or the entire house, either way, cooping this rabbit breed up, or any rabbit breed up, is a horrible idea.

Please remember that finding rabbit products that work for this breed will most likely be a struggle. If I were to look for rabbit products for a Flemish Giant, I would go straight to the dog section, honestly, they weigh as much, if not more, than most dogs, and are longer than practically any dog laying completely flat.

Works Cited:

“Flemish Giant Rabbit Breed Information and Pictures.” Petguide, 20 Feb. 2019,                               https://www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/flemish-giant-rabbit/

Crone, Jack, “Darius the World’s Biggest Rabbit is Facing Competition From His Son” Daily Mail Online, 06 April, 2015, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3026731/The-                        beaster-bunnies-Darius-world-s-biggest-rabbit-weighs-four-stone-faces-                                 competition-giant-rival-son-Jeff.html

Sources:

Link to Thumbnail Image (All credit goes to the photographer and owner of this picture)

The rabbit in the thumbnail image is Darius, the longest rabbit rabbit.

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Posting Dates and Times:

  • The Flemish Giant Rabbit Breed: 9/1/2019: 4:15 P.M. Central Time (USA)
  • Rabbit Care Necessities: Litter Boxes: 9/3/2019: 5:25 P.M. Central Time (USA)
  • How to Form a Bond With a Newly Adopted Rabbit: 9/5/2019: 5:45 P.M. CT. (USA)
  • The Florida White Rabbit Breed: 9/7/2019: 4:00 P.M. Central Time, AKA CT., (USA)
  • Rabbit Care Necessities: Litter: 9/9/2019: 5:45 P.M. Central Time, (USA)

 

 

 

The English Spot Rabbit Breed

Despite the fact that this is one of the oldest breeds of rabbits, I feel like this breed isn’t really mentioned all that much. I personally, never knew that this was a breed, but now that I think about it, I’ve seen multiple rabbits like this. To catch you up on what you may, or may not have known about this breed, I will be going over the basics of this breed, including the history, size, personality, and more!

The History Behind the English Spot Rabbit Breed:

Like I have mentioned, this happens to be one of the oldest rabbit breeds, dating back to the mid 19th century, or the mid 1800’s. The reasoning behind this breed was simple, this breed was meant to be bred for show purposes, like many other rabbits. The main thing was that rabbit shows weren’t really known or important at this time, the rabbit meat industry was though.

There are thoughts that the English Spot had originated from the Giant Papillon, but others could argue that the English Spot came from the English Butterfly, also known as the Checkered Giant.

During the year of 1910, the English Spot was transported to North America, but 14 years, later, the American Rabbit Breeders’ Association recognized this rabbit to be a true breed. It was the year of 1924, not 1922, that the English Spot rabbit breed was accepted, I checked on the ARBA’s website because the site, Petguide, that I use said 12 years later, when it was saying a range from 1910 to 1924, it was a typo.

Because the ARBA, the American Rabbit Breeders’ Association, accepted the English Spot as a rabbit breed, the American English Spot Rabbit Club was established, the same year that the ARBA accepted the breed.

The Common Characteristics of English Spots:

The English Spot rabbit is pretty straight forward. The ears are very pointed and vertical, and the back is very arched, but in a smooth and rounded manner. The legs of this rabbit are very short by looks, but in reality, their legs are long, just like how all rabbit’s legs are longer than they look.

The English Spot’s name is quite revealing. The body of the rabbit is covered in spots, how surprising, I know. The English Spot’s fur with be pretty dense, short, and smooth. When this rabbit sheds, there really won’t be too much to look for. Even though this rabbit doesn’t shed all that much fur, they still need regular grooming during this time. With this being said, shedding isn’t bad for this breed. You will still see fur everywhere, but not giant clumps sticking to every inch of furniture and clothing like you would with a different rabbit breed, instead, you may notice: Clumps of fur in corners, Thin fur on your clothing, etc., but nothing to the extent of other rabbit breeds.

There are multiple different colors that are official and accepted by the ARBA, like most, if not all rabbit breeds. The colors for the English Spot breed include: Black, blue, chocolate, gold, and tortoise for the the accepted colors of English Spots. The markings of this breed are pretty distinctive as well. These markings include: Nose Markings: Butterfly, Eyes: Circles, Cheeks: Spots, Ears: Colored, Back: “Herringbone”,  and the Body: Chains of Spots.

Common Personalities Found in English Spots:

English Spot rabbits are very energetic, but in a controllable manner. They are great with affection and do amazing with practically anyone, even with young children. These rabbits are know to have a different, almost special personality. These aren’t your typical rabbits, yet they still are. They have this little spark in them that you won’t find in any other rabbit, in my opinion, all rabbits have their little spark, but for this breed, it’s prominent. Despite their unique personality, that could vary from rabbit to rabbit, and breed to breed. These rabbits are amazing for almost anybody in any situation, as long as the rabbit’s owner is able to manage the expenses, and they know the proper care.

Sizing and Weight:

The sizing of this rabbit isn’t all that special, which kind of makes this rabbit breed special. English Spot rabbits are considered medium sized rabbits, which are great sizes for families that enjoy owning rabbits, the rabbit isn’t too large, or too small. I personally feel that if you are going to have a rabbit and you have a family with small children, a medium sized rabbit breed should be considered first and foremost.

The average weight of a healthy English Spot should be anywhere from 5 to 8 pounds. This, like many other medium sized rabbits, is a very sustainable and easy weight to deal with, making this rabbit great for families. I’ve mentioned this before, but I believe that a medium sized rabbit with a medium weight is just the best for families, and really anyone.

This may be biased because both rabbits I own are considered medium sized rabbits, and weigh less, or in the weight range of this rabbit breed (English Spot). They are amazing bunnies and they did amazing with my two and seven year old step-nieces. If you ever want extra advice on finding the right rabbit for you, leave a comment below, or dm me on Instagram, which will be listed below.

Common Medical Problems Found in This Breed:

There aren’t any common medical problems that are very well known for this breed. Even though there many be some illnesses found throughout almost all rabbits contained in this breed, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t the same for another breed. This being said again, medium sized rabbits aren’t known to struggle with common medical problems from my research, knowledge, and experience with them.

Extra Care:

This breed doesn’t contain any extra care, but that doesn’t mean that they are “low maintenance” animals like Petguide says. Just because a rabbit breed doesn’t need extra care, doesn’t mean that they are “low maintenance.” If you want a low maintenance animal, get a betta fish, not a rabbit.

Works Cited:

“English Spot Rabbit Breed Information and Pictures.” PetGuide, 21 Oct. 2017,                                www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/english-spot-rabbit/.

“National Specialty Clubs.” ARBA, 1 Aug. 2019, arba.net/national-specialty-clubs/.

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Sources:

Link to Thumbnail Image (All credit goes to the photographer and owner of this picture)

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Thank you for coming to this post. I would appreciate it if you would share this post with your family and friends, and give this post a like (a star) if you enjoyed it. I’m sorry for all of the ranting about the medium sized rabbits and the “low maintenance” subjects, but when I want a point to get across, I rant, a lot, but it works.

Please come back every other day anywhere from 4 P.M. to 7 P.M. Central Time for a new post. Feel free to come later if you need to, it’s just that my posts come out anywhere from 4 P.M. to 7 P.M. Central Time, (USA).

If you would like to contact me, feel free to leave a comment or dm me on Instagram @hannah_blockhead. (There is a meaning behind the blockhead part of my Instagram username, and it isn’t in a negative way for anyone who may be unaware) I plan to make an Instagram account just for Ollie and Luna, so stick around for that information, it’ll be coming soon, most likely today.

 

 

The English Lop Rabbit Breed

The English Lop rabbit breed is a commonly known rabbit from its defined characteristics, but what about its personality? Suiting a rabbit to a human’s needs can be difficult, but today, I’ll be describing and explaining the English Lop’s personality, history, and more!

The History Behind the English Lop:

Though some believe that the English Lop originated in Africa, the first English Lops recorded were found in England. The variety of these rabbit came around in the mid 1800’s, to then be shipped to America.

Back around this time, rabbit breeders used to harm these rabbits through waxing and stretching these rabbit’s ears, just to make them look longer. Now, this could be considered animal abuse, and improper care and treatment.

Luckily for these rabbits, breeders and owners wouldn’t even think of doing such a thing. We care way too much for our rabbits to put them through any harm for any reason. These rabbits, and any other rabbits, don’t deserve this torture that they were put through for their looks, that’s like beating up a human to try to make them look better, don’t try it, you should already know that it won’t work.

The Common Characteristics of English Lops:

This rabbit breed is very distinctive from its extremely long ears. These Lops can have ears that are long enough to touch the ground, some are long enough that the rabbit can actually step on them. English Lops are like the rabbit version of Basset Hounds, just without the droopy eyes, and of course, they have the rest of these characteristics:

English lops have very large, rounded heads, along with the very large and long ears, which should be rounded at the end. English Lops have this look of always standing up straight, which should be more defined as they grow to be an adult.

As for this rabbit breed’s fur, it should be soft, decently short, and well maintained. The colors for this rabbit breed are: black and orange coloration, also known as fawn, agouti, or opal, chinchilla, red-eyed-whites, along with black and blue torts.

Common Personalities Found in English Lops:

To blend well with this rabbit’s soft and forgiving looks, this rabbit breed is extremely sweet and docile. Because of this, this rabbit breed is amazing for rabbit owners with children of any age, for beginners, but really, for anyone who has the knowledge and facts to take care of this rabbit.

These rabbits, like many other rabbits, are very energetic, and of course, love to play. It’s no doubt that these rabbits are just the best for practically anyone. They are amazing animals, and for anyone looking for an emotional support animal, this could definitely be the one for you.

Sizing and Weight:

This rabbit breed is considered a medium sized rabbit, which makes plenty of sense. These rabbits are muscular, but not quite stocky. Overall, I find that medium sized rabbits are the best for first time owners, and for owners with children. If you are a first time owner, I would recommend finding a medium sized rabbit, but you really don’t have to.

As for the average weight of a healthy English Lop, the weight should range anywhere from 9 to 10.5 pounds. This is definitely a heavier rabbit to be a medium sized bunny, but it’s really just because they have very strong muscles, no that they really show all that much.

Common Medical Problems Found in This Breed:

Because these rabbit’s ears do tend to drag around on the ground, doing these three things are extremely important:

  1. Keep the nails of the English Lop as short as possible. This way, if the rabbit were to step on its ear, the rabbit shouldn’t feel any pain from its nails digging in. If the rabbit happened to be running with long nails, it could easily tear its ear, which would more than likely become infected, and cause a potential sickness, in much more extreme cases.
  2. Check the section of where the ear drags on the rabbit. If there seems to be a red bruising from the ground, I would look for an alternative to give softer cushioning in your rabbit’s pen to keep this from happening.
  3. Clean and check your rabbit’s ears consistently. Lop rabbits, of any kind, already tend to struggle with hearing, due to their lopped ears, but it wouldn’t help anything if the rabbit’s ears were full of wax. Cleaning the rabbit’s ears will not only help the rabbit’s hearing, it could very easily prevent ear mites.

Extra Care:

What I have said above would be what I would consider extra care. All rabbits’ nails should always be clipped short, and they should always have clean ears, but I feel that this should be stressed with this particular breed. This rabbit breed is very susceptible to many predicaments, due to their over-sized ears. Because of this, keeping an extremely close eye on their health, like any rabbit owner should, is important.

Works Cited:

“English Lop Rabbit Breed Information and Pictures.” PetGuide, 21 Oct. 2017,                                  www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/english-lop/.

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Sources:

Link to Thumbnail Image (All credit goes to the photographer and owner of this picture)

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As always, I would like to thank you for coming and reading through this post. Please come back every other day for a new reading. From here on, I will be adding in another post subject. One day there will be a breed post, two days later there will be a post about rabbit necessities, and another two days later, the other subject will be on bonding.

With this being said, I can now help out multiple rabbit lovers in their different situations. Anyone looking for a rabbit can be assisted through the usage of my breed posts. If someone has found the rabbit they want, the posts on necessities could help them out. Last but not least, for the current rabbit owners, the bonding posts could really help.

Now that I will have different subjects to cover those in different steps of owning rabbits, I would like to mention that in no way is looking at a rabbit breed post while owning a rabbit a problem, or that or that you look at the necessities and bonding posts even though you don’t even have a rabbit picked out, I just thought that it would work best.

To wrap this all up, please leave a like if you think the change in post subjects will help as many rabbit lovers, and rabbit owners, as possible. Until next post, continue to spread proper rabbit care, and I’ll talk to you soon!

 

The English Angora Rabbit Breed

The English Angora is very well known for its fluffy coat and its grumpy looking face, but what is the true personality and love behind the cover of this rabbit. This rabbit can be amazing for some owners, but what about the others? Find out in this overall description of the English Angora rabbit breed.

The History Behind the English Angora Rabbit Breed:

The Angora rabbit, one of the oldest rabbit breeds, originated from a city named Ankara, located in the country of Turkey. At this time in history, the city that is known today as Ankara, was actually called Angora at this time of discovery. This is where the name Angora, for this rabbit breed, came from.

Before 1939, this breed of rabbit made its way over to American land. This rabbit, being one of the woolly rabbits, was called the “Angora Wooler”, do to its heavy and thick coat of fur, that is instead called wool. From here, this rabbit breed was split to be classified in two groups, the English Angora, and the French Angora. It was the year of 1944 that the ARBA, American Rabbit Breeders’ Association, took these two groups of Angoras, to then make them their own breeds. This is what we know today to be the English Angora, and the French Angora.

Common Characteristics of the English Angora Rabbit Breed:

The English Angora is quite popular for its characteristics. The most commonly known feature to these rabbits would be the amount of wool that sticks off of their ears. These rabbits have a very small body, believe it or not, they just have so much wool. The body of this rabbit breed isn’t very muscular because this rabbit was known for its fur, or wool, not its meat.

The overall coat of this rabbit, along with the placement of the fur, is very interesting. Despite any other Angora breed of rabbit, the English Angora has an abundant amount of fur on its face, most Angoras don’t really have fur on their faces. The amount of fur on this rabbit is amazing. Their coat is soft, can be sleek, but most of all, extremely long. This rabbit’s coat needs a lot of maintenance to keep the rabbit healthy, so please do keep that in mind.

As for the accepted colors of this rabbit’s coat, the acceptable colors for this specific rabbit breed includes the Agouti, Self, Shaded, and Pointed groups of colored Angoras. The colors of each category are:

  • Agouti: Lynx, Chestnut, Chocolate
  • Self: Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac
  • Shaded: Black Tort, Blue Tort, Chocolate Tort , Lilac Tort
  • Pointed: Black Pointed White, Chocolate Pointed White, Blue Pointed White

Common Personalities Found in This Breed:

Despite this rabbit breeds looks, which may portray a grumpy rabbit, these rabbits are extremely friendly and docile. The English Angora is very well known to be curious and willing to try new things, from loving the time to play and run around, but not to forget the love and sweetness of having some time with their owner.

Sizing and Weight:

Despite the weight of this rabbit, which will be gone over in a bit, this rabbit breed is considered a small/mini sized rabbit. The overall body size has been just too small to be considered a medium sized rabbit. This rabbit isn’t very muscular, which could have easily made a difference in the way that the ARBA looked upon this rabbit breed.

Despite this rabbit breed’s sizing, this rabbit is able to weight as much as a medium sized rabbit. This rabbit breed’s average weight, for a healthy purebred, is anywhere from 5 to 6 pounds of body weight. This happens to be a heavier rabbit of the small/mini rabbit breeds, but that won’t stop them!

Common Medical Problems:

The most common medical problem found throughout this breed is a predicament called “Woodblock.” What woodblock is, is a lack of the owner grooming their rabbit, of which the rabbit has to groom itself to stay neat. This then leads to the rabbit ingesting too much fur to the point that the rabbit’s GI track is plugged up. With the length and thickness of this rabbit’s fur, looking out for this rabbit’s coat is so incredibly important.

Since woodblock clogs the GI track, this blockage would then lead to GI Stasis, in which consulting a vet would be necessary within a day.

Extra Care:

This is quite obvious, but the extra grooming for this rabbit, whether they are shedding or not, is so incredibly important. This rabbit has very thick and fluffy fur clumps, and without proper grooming, this rabbit could have matted fur, not to forget woodblock, to then lead to GI Stasis.

Even though this rabbit breed is so amazingly tame and docile, this rabbit breed should only be taken care of by experienced rabbit owners that have the money to take this rabbit to a professional groomer for trimmings. This rabbit owner will also have to know the proper grooming for this rabbit, not to forget the proper diet that is necessary for any rabbit, but especially for the rabbits with matted fur near their hindquarters. This could lead to indoor flystrike, which could easily take a rabbit’s life. It may make me seem as though I’m looking at all of the negatives, but without the negatives, there aren’t the positives to compare.

Works Cited:

“English Angora Rabbit Breed Information and Pictures.” PetGuide, 21 Oct. 2017,                          www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/english-angora-rabbit/.

Sources:

Link to Thumbnail Image (All credit goes to the photographer and owner of this photo)

 

Thank you so much for joining me for this post. If you appreciated this post, please leave a like and share this post with your family and friends. I post every other day, so please come again for that. Until next time, continue to spread proper rabbit care!

The Dwarf Lop Rabbit Breed (AKA the Mini Lop)

This breed of rabbit is so cute and adorable, and is great for owners of all experience, but what about those extra little details. Because the little details still matter, I would like to go over the Mini Lop, or Dwarf Lop, rabbit breed.

The History Behind the Dwarf Lop Rabbit Breed:

The Mini Lop rabbit breed originated from the German Lop, from Germany, and when a breeder bred the German Lop with a Chinchilla rabbit, the Dwarf, or Mini Lop came about. At this time, the breed was known as the Klein Widder, also known as the “little hanging ear.”

In the 1970’s, a man by the name of Bob Herschbach was in the country of Germany when he spotted some of these rabbits in a rabbit show. From here, Bob Herschbach, a rabbit breeder, brought three of these rabbits home with him, to California. These rabbits were then bred to The Standard Chinchilla Rabbit Breed to then establish what we know now to be the Mini Lop.

At this time, the breed was still considered the Klein Widder rabbit, this was until 1980 when the ARBA, or American Rabbit Breeders Association, accepted this breed and renamed the breed to be the “Mini Lop.”

Common Characteristics of the Dwarf Lop Rabbit Breed:

The overall body of this rabbit breed is very straight forward. The body is very well rounded, with a small and well rounded head. The muscles of this rabbit’s body do happen to be very prominent. The overall rabbit’s size is quite small. With this, does do tend to be smaller than bucks, so please keep that in mind.

As for the coat of the rabbit, the fur should and will most likely be very silky, fluffy, and cuddly. The fur length itself has about a medium length. The maintenance of this rabbit’s coat can be a little tougher. The fact that this rabbit has so much fur means that there is more to brush out and dispose of when shedding seasons come around.

The accepted and “proper” colors of Mini Lops, according to the ARBA, are: agouti, broken, pointed white, self, shaded, ticked, and white band.

The accepted color patterns and markings for this breed include: tri-colored, two colors, solid colors, and more!

Common Personalities Found in This Breed:

This breed, like many others, is known for the rabbit’s unbelievably sweet nature and the affection shown throughout the rabbit and its personality. This breed is also known to be very energetic, not to forget docile and curious. A Lop rabbit would love time outdoors for playing, not to forget the time reserved for snuggling and affection.

Sizing and Weight:

Despite the name of this rabbit breed, this rabbit is not categorized to be a mini/small rabbit, in fact, Mini Lops are actually medium sized rabbits. If you have ever seen a Mini Lop in person, you would know why. They have very stocky and smooth bodies, not to forget all of the built up muscle and energy of this breed. Even though this bunny’s body is short and stubby, this rabbit isn’t weak at all.

The average weight of a healthy Mini lop should be anywhere from 3 to 6 lbs. Even though your Lop might be heavier, or lighter, mixed breeds can really mess up with weight. As I mentioned before, does do tend to be lighter than bucks, so if you have a small mixed breed doe, expect a light weighed bunny.

Common Medical Problems:

There really aren’t any common medical problems, besides a commonly found predicament that is very common in long-haired rabbits, especially those with soft fur. The problem comes when the Mini Lop, or really any rabbit, isn’t properly groomed and the fur by the rabbit’s hindquarters gather stools and urine to the point that there is a large pile of feces stuck to the rabbit. This pile of feces could attract flies, fleas, dung beetles, mites, and could also give a higher chance for an infection.

I would also like to mention that an improperly groomed rabbit that constantly has to groom itself can easily clog its intestinal track, which would cause GI Stasis, which is a very serious illness that must be treated immediately, or within 24 to 48 hours, otherwise your rabbit may not live.

Extra Care:

All I can really say for extra care would be the excessive grooming that would be necessary to keep this rabbit healthy. Even though these rabbits are like many others, and all rabbits need appropriate grooming, this rabbit needs the excessive grooming to stay healthy. Grooming this rabbit every week would be sufficient, and every day grooming sessions for shedding seasons.

Works Cited:

“Mini Lop Breed Information and Pictures.” PetGuide, 6 Feb. 2019,                                                      www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/mini-lop/.

Sources:

Link to Thumbnail Image (All credit goes to the photographer and owner of this photo)

 

Thank you so much for all of the support. Some of you may have known that the 8th of August was Ollie’s birthday, so thank for to anyone that thought of him. I would have mentioned it on his birthday, but I was at a camp and had to prepare my posts ahead of time, so it didn’t exactly cross my mind at that time. Please share this post with your family and friends, but until next time, continue to spread proper rabbit care!

The Dwarf Hotot Rabbit Breed

These lovable, little fuzzballs are amazingly adorable to look at, but what about the care that goes into this rabbit? Are they moody, lovable, or calm? Are they the pet for you? I can help you out today if you are willing to ask, and answer those questions.

The History Behind the Dwarf Hotot Rabbit Breed:

The regular or “normal” sized Hotot is not just a larger version of this rabbit breed. There is a misconception that Dwarf Hotots are mini versions of a regular, or Blanc de Hotot, also known as the White Hotot. Even though the regular Hotot did definitely contribute in the making of this breed, there is way more to this breed than the size difference to make a different breed.

The original Hotot was developed and discovered in the early 20th century, by Baroness Bernard, in France. Breeding efforts went on in Eastern and Western Germany to make these rabbits smaller, but to keep the original breed the same. There were two separate breeders that used the same two breeds of rabbits to make or establish this new breed, the Dwarf Hotot. White Hotots and Netherland Dwarfs were used for the establishment of this new breed. Keep in mind that this happened in the 1970’s.

The year of 1970 was very big for this breed. A woman by the name of Elizabeth Forstinger, coming from California, brought seven Dwarf Hotots from Western Germany to the USA to be shown. This breed wasn’t shown until 1980. It wasn’t until two years later that the Dwarf Hotot Rabbit Club was established, to then certify the breed to be official in 1983 by the ARBA, or the American Rabbit Breeder’s Association.

Common Characteristics of the Dwarf Hotot Rabbit Breed:

This breed of rabbit is extremely popular for what is known to be the “eyeliner” on the rabbit. This rabbit has short, white fur that can be quite soft. The body type to this rabbit can explain many things.

First off, this rabbit has a well-rounded, fitting head, a short neck to fit the small body of the rabbit, rounded shoulders and hindquarters for strength and power, but to finish it all up, the ears are small, stubby, and thick, just large enough to make the ears fit the head appropriately.

Common Personalities Found in This Breed:

Despite the small stature of this rabbit, this rabbit can have and express large personalities. This breed is known to be very sweet and snuggly. The rabbit’s energy can contradict its snuggle time. This rabbit will gladly appreciate a large amount of time out and about, just like any rabbit would.

The times that these rabbits are calm and cuddly are great bonding moments. If you would like an emotional support rabbit, you defiantly have the support with this rabbit. The affection found in this breed is astonishing and adorable for the owners, and those aware of it.

Sizing and Weight:

The size of this rabbit is very obvious. Yes, this rabbit is a dwarf, I know, very surprising. These rabbits are particularly small and cute. They are known for their tiny bodies and the small sizes.

The average weight of a healthy and happy Dwarf Hotot should be somewhere from 2.5 and 3.5 lbs. These little fuzzballs are made up of just enough muscle to help them out on energetic days, but not to forget the lazy nights.

Common Medical Problem(s):

Even though this rabbit is adorable, there is a common medical problem found throughout this breed, and many other dwarf breeds. Malocclusion is the proper name of this condition.

Really what Malocclusion is, is a condition of which the front teeth of a rabbit, particularly a dwarf rabbit, are directly above the lower teeth, in which uncomfortable conflict can easily occur. This can cause many problems, such as discomfort in eating, which could cause a nutrient deficiency if the rabbit avoids eating food. Because of this, it is very important to bring your rabbit to the vet around every 6 to 8 weeks, or whenever your rabbit-savvy vet tells you.

Extra Care:

There isn’t exactly extra care for the rabbit, more like extra care for you. You will need to be extremely cautious of where to step, the access the rabbit will have to other areas of the house, and how many extra dangers such a small rabbit could run into. Because of this, small children around any rabbits of this breed is the worst idea ever. One step on this rabbit by a child could instantly kill one of these rabbits. My suggestion would be to avoid this breed at all costs with any child younger than eleven. This is for the children’s’ safety, and the rabbit’s.

What I’m getting to, is that this rabbit should only be interacted with if the person is a teen or older, I wouldn’t even risk allowing a child near this rabbit, even though they would be supervised. One wrong move could kill this rabbit immediately.

Works Cited:

“Dwarf Hotot Rabbit Health, Care, Feeding, Temperament, and Coat.” PetGuide, 13                     Mar. 2019, www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/dwarf-hotot/.

Sources:

Link to Thumbnail Image (All credit goes to the photographer/picture taker of this photo)

The Dutch Rabbit Breed

One of the most popular rabbit breeds, the Dutch rabbit breed, has quite a lot of information behind history, and just simple facts. To satisfy needs for those in love with this breed, I feel that going over all of the little details of this breed is appropriate.

The History Behind the Dutch Rabbit Breed:

The Dutch rabbit breed is quite old, in fact, the Dutch is one of the oldest breeds of rabbits. Because of the history of this rabbit, it has made this breed very popular, especially since it’s so old.

The Dutch rabbit breed was a descendant of a breed called the Petite Brabançon, rabbit that came from Flanders, more specifically, the Brabant region. These rabbits were born and raised to be meat rabbits, which were very important to the rabbit meat industry. Their popularity for the meat came around the late 19th century.

The actual Dutch breed rabbit was known to come around in 1850, in the country of Holland, which gave this breed’s name, the Hollander. It wasn’t until 1864 that this breed was being transported across the world, England especially.

Today, this breed is now considered to be the Dutch rabbit breed, rather than the Hollander rabbit breed. Times and names change, but when this change happened isn’t very put out and obvious.

Common Characteristics of the Dutch Rabbit Breed:

Overall, the size of this rabbit’s body isn’t much. A Dutch rabbit should have a small head that should be well-rounded, but fitting. This rabbit should also have longer back legs that are muscular, and a well-rounded body overall.

The markings and colors of this rabbit breed are so unbelievably well known, that I’m almost completely positive that you already knew what rabbit breed I was going over just from the thumbnail image. The Dutch rabbit is well-known for its white strip of fur that lines the nose, and up to its eyes, this marking is considered a “blaze”. The paws and legs of this rabbit will sometimes have white as well.

The other color on this rabbit’s body could vary. The accepted colors for Dutch rabbits, besides the white would include: Black, Blue, Chinchilla, Chocolate, Gray, Steel,  and Tortoise Dutch colorations.

Common Personalities Found in This Breed:

Being that this breed is very popular among rabbit owners, it’s not a surprise that this breed is extremely popular for its energetic and positive energy, not to forget the loving compassion that shows throughout this breed. This rabbit breed is a great choice for anyone looking for an emotional support animal.

This rabbit is extremely compassionate, so spending plenty of time with this rabbit is so incredibly important. Like always, all rabbits deserve love and attention, not to forget 24/7 exercise time. If this isn’t an option for you, owning a rabbit isn’t for you, the rabbit needs all of that exercise.

Sizing and Weight:

Dutch rabbits are actually small sized rabbits. Even though they do have a very rounded, and pretty large body for their sizing, their weight is what it all came down to.

The average weight for a healthy Dutch rabbit should be anywhere from 4 pounds to 5 and a half pounds. I would like to mention that mix breeds can cause a larger, or smaller weight than this average weight. This site that I use also seems to go on the high side of weights, so just keep that in mind.

If you are ever concerned about anything with your rabbit, please contact your rabbit-savvy vet for appropriate information that goes with your rabbit’s needs.

Common Medical Problems:

The Dutch rabbit breed isn’t susceptible to any major medical problems that would only be found throughout its breed. Dutch rabbits have been around for so long, and have been through so many sicknesses, it’s amazing that this rabbit breed doesn’t carry these sicknesses throughout genetics.

Extra Care:

The Dutch rabbit breed doesn’t need any extra care. All I would like to note is that since this is a small/mini sized rabbit, it can have problems with getting into extremely high litter boxes, so watch out for that. This also means that I should point out that all rabbits can jump extremely high, so don’t downsize on the exercise pen height.

Works Cited:

“Dutch Rabbit Breed Information and Pictures.” PetGuide, 21 Oct. 2017,                                            www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/dutch-rabbit/.

Sources:

Link to Thumbnail Image (All credit goes to the photographer and owner of this photo)

 

If you love the Dutch rabbit breed, let me know down below with the like button. Please come back every other day for a new post. Thank you for coming back and/or to this post, but until next time, continue to spread proper rabbit care, and I’ll talk to you soon in my next post.