Tell me about nethies...

[sootybunny]

Anyone who has experience of them? What are they like? Share opinions of them please?

 

[SableSteel]

Hello
I used to breed netherlands. They have a reputation for being aggressive but mine were friendly enough; the males were high strung but sociable; the females, while they could care less for people, didn't bite. The temperament varies a lot from line to line too; especially since so many of the lines are pet quality/backyard breeder-esque stock. Show quality dwarfs get expensive because they are hard to breed for show; they have small litters, take some time to mature, and even then you often get more of the litter being unshowable than not. Because they can have a lot of health issues (especially malocclusion and hooked spine) I would try to find a responsible breeder (probably a show breeder, selling some of the not show quality kits they produce as pets) to buy from instead of just settling for any dwarf. When you are buying them make sure to check the teeth for the correct bite.

 

[Popsicles]

Unless you intend to show them, there really is no benefit to getting a purebred rabbit, and if anything, like sablesteel said, purebreds suffer more health issues. (Especially nethies, as that cute flat brachycephalic face causes teeth and middle ear problems). I also don’t believe that certain breeds have certain personalities - the same as with dogs, it is individual personality and upbringing and experience that makes a rabbits personality.

 

[sootybunny]

Unless you intend to show them, there really is no benefit to getting a purebred rabbit, and if anything, like sablesteel said, purebreds suffer more health issues. (Especially nethies, as that cute flat brachycephalic face causes teeth and middle ear problems). I also don’t believe that certain breeds have certain personalities - the same as with dogs, it is individual personality and upbringing and experience that makes a rabbits personality.

I was asking about their personality and what they are like that’s all.

 

[sootybunny]

Hello
I used to breed netherlands. They have a reputation for being aggressive but mine were friendly enough; the males were high strung but sociable; the females, while they could care less for people, didn't bite. The temperament varies a lot from line to line too; especially since so many of the lines are pet quality/backyard breeder-esque stock. Show quality dwarfs get expensive because they are hard to breed for show; they have small litters, take some time to mature, and even then you often get more of the litter being unshowable than not. Because they can have a lot of health issues (especially malocclusion and hooked spine) I would try to find a responsible breeder (probably a show breeder, selling some of the not show quality kits they produce as pets) to buy from instead of just settling for any dwarf. When you are buying them make sure to check the teeth for the correct bite.

Thanks so much for the information

 

[chlocbfkgj]

I own a Netherland Dwarf. He’s quite friendly and loveable once he is warmed up to being around someone. Everyone that has ever been around him has loved him & I love having him. Mine personally is super sweet and cuddle. He’s quirky and he likes to dig. But the female that had been around him all his life was the complete opposite. It really all just depends on your rabbit

 

[sootybunny]

I own a Netherland Dwarf. He’s quite friendly and loveable once he is warmed up to being around someone. Everyone that has ever been around him has loved him & I love having him. Mine personally is super sweet and cuddle. He’s quirky and he likes to dig. But the female that had been around him all his life was the complete opposite. It really all just depends on your rabbit

Thank you that’s great to know and very helpful. This evening he seems a lot calmer than yesterday. He just hid yesterday but this evening he is out exploring his crate and eating his food and even did a flop onto his side so he is starting to relax

 

[Popsicles]

I was asking about their personality and what they are like that’s all.

I was just saying I think all rabbits are individuals despite breeds, and can’t really compare breeds for their personalities, in my opinion. Does sound like your baby is very relaxed and happy with you though

 

[sootybunny]

I was just saying I think all rabbits are individuals despite breeds, and can’t really compare breeds for their personalities, in my opinion. Does sound like your baby is very relaxed and happy with you though

Charlie the English lop is super chilled out. Our previous e lop was also. I do think there are some traits that are synonymous with certain breeds. The nethie is very jumpy and nervy and alert, whereas Charles is like a puppy dog following from room to room and not flinching at anything. He doesn’t get bothered by the dogs, in fact he likes to nap with them. I don’t think this nethie will ever be like that though. English lops have the most wonderful personality and I’ve yet to come across or hear stories of nasty ones.

 

[April LD]

I agree with Popsicles - I currently have 29 rabbits (way too many - that's what I get for rescuing strays from the park and finding out later they are pregnant). I had three rabbits - Tigger mixed or American breed super sweet after nurtured. Much like a cat - he would run around the house - jump up when he wanted love, lay on the couch just out of reach when he didn't etc. Binks - supposedly he was a dwarf female - NOPE - bad stree breeders! He was super sick when I got him - Rat Bite Fever - should have died but he was a fighter so I was his fighter. He was on injects for the first 8 months of his life, eating from a syringe and drinking from a syringe, did I mention he was TOO YOUNG TO BE AWAY FROM MOM TO BOOT! Fries my nerves...vet thinks he might be flemish but due to the sickness he has missing bones and arthirtis (shot of pain meds once a week and oral as needed) and he is the sweetest thing you could EVER imagine. He loves to give kisses, snuggle, loves when I wear a dress - he loves to get under there and claim my legs...silly boy! But he was obsessed with me so I decided to get him a girl friend (Tigger and Binks didn't get a long). So comes Mrs. Bon-Bons (who by the way named herself - long story maybe another time). She was mean, frightened, aggressive, with us humans....LOVED Binks. September 23, 2017, we find "Ink Spot" and Binks falls in love and she is alright with him...we bring her home and within 5 days they are housed together, but she hates us, fears us, she was in bad shape. I took her to my vet for a check up and found out she was severely obese, her toes had been broken from the long nails that the person before us did not cut, etc. Vet says, this is a pure breed Mini Rex...you can tell by the tattoo in her ear. It took about 6 months for her to understand we wanted to lover her, make her feel special, get her a name that FIT, and now she loves to snuggle, be petted, etc.
It's all in the handling of rabbits...with enough patience and love they grow to understand that you want the best for them and you are there to love and snuggle them. Though some prefer snuggles on the floor than in the arms...even my babies I have handled since the day they were born. They are part lion head and something else - but SUPER CUTE!!!! Looking to adopt them out to a good bun-bun home I am in concord CA.

 

[A & B]

I agree with Popsicles - I currently have 29 rabbits (way too many - that's what I get for rescuing strays from the park and finding out later they are pregnant). I had three rabbits - Tigger mixed or American breed super sweet after nurtured. Much like a cat - he would run around the house - jump up when he wanted love, lay on the couch just out of reach when he didn't etc. Binks - supposedly he was a dwarf female - NOPE - bad stree breeders! He was super sick when I got him - Rat Bite Fever - should have died but he was a fighter so I was his fighter. He was on injects for the first 8 months of his life, eating from a syringe and drinking from a syringe, did I mention he was TOO YOUNG TO BE AWAY FROM MOM TO BOOT! Fries my nerves...vet thinks he might be flemish but due to the sickness he has missing bones and arthirtis (shot of pain meds once a week and oral as needed) and he is the sweetest thing you could EVER imagine. He loves to give kisses, snuggle, loves when I wear a dress - he loves to get under there and claim my legs...silly boy! But he was obsessed with me so I decided to get him a girl friend (Tigger and Binks didn't get a long). So comes Mrs. Bon-Bons (who by the way named herself - long story maybe another time). She was mean, frightened, aggressive, with us humans....LOVED Binks. September 23, 2017, we find "Ink Spot" and Binks falls in love and she is alright with him...we bring her home and within 5 days they are housed together, but she hates us, fears us, she was in bad shape. I took her to my vet for a check up and found out she was severly obese, her toes had been broken from the long nails that the person

I want to hear that story about her name haha

 

[0piperstar]

I have a little netherland dwarf named Basil. He is so friendly and loves to be around people. My friends have netherland dwarf bunnies too. One of them is a little timid and will bite but when he is in a good mood he will sit for head rubs and will kiss you. The other one sorta likes to be pet and is a tiny bit shy but he never bites and is friendly. What all three netherland dwarfs have in common is that they are friendly most of the time and are full of energy. Of course this depends on each individual rabbits personality so yours could be conpletely different

 

[April LD]

Well, she came to us as "ink spot", we tried everything to get her to come to that name, ink, inky, spot, spots, spotty, then I said come here bon-bon and she came...looked at me and ran the other way (I was on the floor in my daughters room with Binks next to me). So then we continued for a week calling her bon-bons, she liked it better, then one day she she nipped me and I said sternly, Mrs. Bon-Bons..."why did you do that!", she came right over to me and actually let me pet her, and then she became - our Mrs. Bon-Bons...she is a mini rex otter color, now sweet, beautiful, and still fat...she doesn't want to run much but over the weekend she did binky's out side with her boy friend Binks. LOL

 

[A_Ponderance]

I raise netherland dwarf bunnies, along with a few other breeds.

As people are saying, they are normally non-agressive, often evasive. My favorite Netherland Dwarf is a Blue-Eyed-White we named Storm. She comes to the front of her cage and waits for us to pet her, or give her any kind of attention, and will sit with us for hours in the grass, or ride around on a shoulder if we're doing work. We also have a Netherland dwarf we named Boxer because she would box every time you reached into the cage. She even bit a few times.

Like most rabbits, in general, Nethies can range from one extreme to another. It all depends on their early weeks of life. If they learn that people are their friends, before they are weaned, they are set for awesomeness. If ignored, they will become evasive and even hostile. If abused... they are not even good for breeding.

The only rabbit breed I know that is almost constant in their personality are lops. They are bred for personality, so they are almost ALL sweet, attention-seeking, lovebugs. But, I have had a few lop bunny rescues that were rather unpleasant to deal with... until they had enough attention, then they became friendly but never truly affectionate.

 

[sootybunny]

I raise netherland dwarf bunnies, along with a few other breeds.

As people are saying, they are normally non-agressive, often evasive. My favorite Netherland Dwarf is a Blue-Eyed-White we named Storm. She comes to the front of her cage and waits for us to pet her, or give her any kind of attention, and will sit with us for hours in the grass, or ride around on a shoulder if we're doing work. We also have a Netherland dwarf we named Boxer because she would box every time you reached into the cage. She even bit a few times.

Like most rabbits, in general, Nethies can range from one extreme to another. It all depends on their early weeks of life. If they learn that people are their friends, before they are weaned, they are set for awesomeness. If ignored, they will become evasive and even hostile. If abused... they are not even good for breeding.

The only rabbit breed I know that is almost constant in their personality are lops. They are bred for personality, so they are almost ALL sweet, attention-seeking, lovebugs. But, I have had a few lop bunny rescues that were rather unpleasant to deal with... until they had enough attention, then they became friendly but never truly affectionate.

Thank you. Well this little bunny is becoming quite a sweetheart. Which lops do you refer to? My English lop is amazing.

 

[A_Ponderance]

All Lops are amazing, bred just for loving, calm, temperment. My all time favorite are holland lops because they are so small, averaging around 2 pounds like the Netherland Dwarf bunnies. I must admit to having better overall attachment and bonding with my more recent mini lops, which are usually much larger. I've not had the chance to raise English lops yet, as the winters here are so cold those giant ears will freeze since all my bunnies are outdoor only. So, I can't really say any lop is better... they just all rock!