Help with Rabbit diet

kimjenny16 · Aug 19, 2013

Hi!

I've only been a rabbit owner for a few weeks and I'm just wondering about my rabbit (Pipo). Can anyone tell me if she is a checkered giant or not?
I've seen photos of those giants but they all have straight lines going down their backs. Also, can anyone tell me how much .. my rabbit should eat? (I'm new here so I'm not sure if people can see my rabbit from the picture

)
Thank you!

ladysown · Aug 19, 2013

how big is your rabbit?

Not a checkered giant. Where did you purchase her? Breeder? Pet Store?

She makes me think of a mini rex, or a cross with mini rex in it.

She'll probably eat about 1/2 cup pellets a day. Mind, it all depends what viewpoint you take on feeding your rabbits as well, as to how much you feed of what. People on this board vary in what they feed.

missyscove · Aug 20, 2013

Hi there and welcome to RO!
While I can't tell you what breed she is (try posting some posed pictures in our rabbitry sub forum), I would say she is definitely not a checkered giant. Lots of breeds actually come in that broken color pattern. She sure is cute though.

For an adult rabbit, my typical recommendation is about 1/4 cup of a good quality pellet daily per 5 lbs of body weight (personally I feed oxbow), unlimited grass hay (e.g. orchard, timothy, costal, brome, meadow, etc.) and roughly 2 cups of leafy greens. If she's not getting veggies now though, be sure to slowly work the veggies into the diet.

woahlookitsme · Aug 20, 2013

That fur definitely looks like Rex fur. It has a very soft cottony feel and is one of a kind. Welcome to the forum

MikeScone · Aug 20, 2013

Welcome to RO! I'd vote for some sort of Rex or mini-Rex (or a mix including those) too. Rex fur is very distinctive - it stands up like plush velvet. Another giveaway is that rabbits with rex fur have scraggly whiskers instead of long straight whiskers, and I don't see any long straight whiskers in your picture.

An adult mini-Rex would be about 4-5 pounds in weight, a standard Rex about double that.

The fur color is broken black, which, as others have said, can be found in lots of rabbit breeds, including mini-rexes. Here are pictures of a few broken-color mini-rexes for comparison:

Nancy McClelland · Aug 20, 2013

She looks more like our boy Finn (Havana/Mini-Rex mix). Our girl Serena is almost 20 pounds and a true Checkered Giant--the black on her back is in more solid blocks and more toward her hind end and does give her a checkered appearance. As to feeding, more info is needed---weight, age would be helpful. If under six months, pretty much all the pellets they can eat unless they are becoming blob like and alfalfa also as it's higher in protein and calcium. After six months, cut the pellet to the amount recommended on the packaging which is by weight or ask your vet and transition to hay or orchard grass which will still be in unlimited amounts as they will no longer need the alfalfa and the calcium could then promote sludge. With the larger breeds, their growth takes up to a year so they would stay on the growth feed cycle longer than the smaller breeds. Also, if you have a Rex it will have smaller curly whiskers on it's snout just like in the last picture Mike posted.