Stray Bunny - What Breed??

[candi9]

I found a stray bunny and I think it's a full grown mixed breed but I thought what if it's a developing flemish giant or similar? Because he/she has very large ears. Anyway, if he/she is developing I want to make sure I am feeding it appropriately versus an adult diet.

Can anyone tell what breed this is? And/or any way for a novice to tell if it's full grown mixed vs developing giant?

Thanks in advance to everybunny for the help

 

[White Rabbit]

Have you tried to weigh it yet? That might help some of the more experienced members on here, if you could give a weight. I don't think it's a Flemish though, but I am also a novice(I also found and rescued mine recently) Could be one of the meat rabbit breeds going by it's size and ears. If you can post his/her weight it would help those more experienced them me. Very nice coloring by the way. If worried about food, just leave unlimited hay for now and slowly add more greens/pellets as you see is needed.

 

[Diane R]

Gorgeous bunny! Always a good idea to get a check-up with a rabbit vet when you have a new bunny, especially a stray. They can sex them, give you some idea of age and you can schedule a neutering appointment.

 

[candi9]

I found a stray bunny and I think it's a full grown mixed breed but I thought what if it's a developing flemish giant or similar? Because he/she has very large ears. Anyway, if he/she is developing I want to make sure I am feeding it appropriately versus an adult diet.

Can anyone tell what breed this is? And/or any way for a novice to tell if it's full grown mixed vs developing giant?

Thanks in advance to everybunny for the help

UPDATE: I weighed the rabbit and he is 69.5oz (4lb 5.5oz) and his ears are 4 and 5/8 inches long.

I was thinking if it was one of the giant breeds that maybe it's still growing?? Are there any non-giant breeds that have ears that large?

 

[candi9]

Gorgeous bunny! Always a good idea to get a check-up with a rabbit vet when you have a new bunny, especially a stray. They can sex them, give you some idea of age and you can schedule a neutering appointment.

Thanks Diane... I'm not planning to keep him and the shelters I am on the wait list for are no-kill and will spay/neuter.

 

[White Rabbit]

UPDATE: I weighed the rabbit and he is 69.5oz (4lb 5.5oz) and his ears are 4 and 5/8 inches long.

I was thinking if it was one of the giant breeds that maybe it's still growing?? Are there any non-giant breeds that have ears that large?

Quite a few mixes and meat rabbit breeds can. For example similar size and ears and almost head shape. People use these sadly for meat. Yours just needs to bulk up most likely(depending on age). If you do end up keeping him/her and not giving it up to the shelter I hope the bonding goes well, it looks beautiful. Great coloring.

 

[candi9]

Quite a few mixes and meat rabbit breeds can. For example similar size and ears and almost head shape. People use these sadly for meat. Yours just needs to bulk up most likely(depending on age). If you do end up keeping him/her and not giving it up to the shelter I hope the bonding goes well, it looks beautiful. Great coloring.

Thanks for the info! There are so many breeds and really difficult for me to tell what he might be. He is quite trim at the moment but I'm happy that he won't be being used for meat!!

PS Your bunny is very cute!

 

[Preitler]

He looks almost but not completly fully grown to me, but not a giant, but that's really hard to tell with rabbits. Ear size is not a reliable indicator - I get pretty big differences in the same litters, real Dumbos and rather small ones too.
Meat breeds can make very good pets, they tend to be bred to be relaxed, friendly and healthy. No fun working with unpleasant, skittish or sickly rabbits. Not much incentive to breed just for looks or cute deformaties. I also like the size, my two free roam house rabbits are medium size at about 10lbs, big enough to not step on one in the dark and quite easy to lock them out of places they are not supposed to go.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Probably on the younger side--most rabbits that are dumped are not usually that old--out of 60 rescues, only 5 were adults. Such a shame.

 

[candi9]

He looks almost but not completly fully grown to me, but not a giant, but that's really hard to tell with rabbits. Ear size is not a reliable indicator - I get pretty big differences in the same litters, real Dumbos and rather small ones too.
Meat breeds can make very good pets, they tend to be bred to be relaxed, friendly and healthy. No fun working with unpleasant, skittish or sickly rabbits. Not much incentive to breed just for looks or cute deformaties. I also like the size, my two free roam house rabbits are medium size at about 10lbs, big enough to not step on one in the dark and quite easy to lock them out of places they are not supposed to go.

That's a good point about them being bred to be friendly. This one is pretty nice ... a little skittish the first day or 2 but who knows what his owners were like to him. He's getting friendlier each day.

 

[candi9]

Probably on the younger side--most rabbits that are dumped are not usually that old--out of 60 rescues, only 5 were adults. Such a shame.

It's so sad and irresponsible for people to dump them after they have learned to be dependent. He could have been an Easter present and the family got bored...... I believe that is why the shelters have more rabbits than usual at the moment.... all the Easter dumps. People are terrible and it sets a really poor example for children. God forbid the owners go out of their way to find a new home or wait until a shelter has a spot available.

 

[JBun]

He doesn't have that young rabbit look to his eyes to me. I would agree with Preitler, that he's close to fully mature, but still may be growing a little. You're probably fine going with an adult diet, though maybe feed a bit more pellets than usual for the next few months, and/or a higher protein leafier grass hay. And maybe weigh the bun twice a week, and if he is still steadily gaining weight without looking like he's getting fat, this can be an indication he's still growing.

Weight management

 

[JLMH]

He's a handsome rabbit! He may be a mix, but I doubt he is a full bred giant. At that size he would be heavier. My girl is a Flemish and she is just over 20 pounds at tenth months and still growing.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Our bunny Serena came from the shelter in Lodi, CA. They said she was full grown and an English Spot mix and was just under 7 pounds and on the skinny side. After 8 months, she weighed 20 pounds--turned out to be a pure Checkered Giant and our Vet estimated she was 4 months old when we rescued her. Very sweet and turned out to be a lap bunny.