What breed is he..?

[CuriousOne]

I was visiting my local flea market the other day and happened to stumble upon a rather large rabbit. They didn't really know anything about him since someone literally dropped him off not even 20 minutes prior. They disclosed that since he was so big they would have to give him to a breeder farm if no one took poor Sully home. Within moments the kids had named him Biggie Smalls and we were taking home a Rabbit. Now I've had a (mixed breed) Rabbit before and loved it! But I'm not sure what his specific needs are according to his breed or any breed specific conditions to look out for. Any help is appreciated! Thank you in advance for helping my family provide the best care for this Bunny!
-Brandy and Biggie

P.S. Sorry for his messy cage. We seemed to disagree on the fact that the bedding was to stay IN there with him. We're resolving this today with a deep bottomed cage

 

[CuriousOne]

He is currently in an extra large dog crate and I believe it's considered a Chinchilla Colored Rabbit since he doesn't look like the Chinchilla breeds

 

[ladysown]

his colour is chestnut... either that or a brassy chinchilla. If he's brassy, he might be a young rabbit yet. And you'll have to wait and see how big he'll get.

He looks like a typical flemish giant/new zealand cross.

 

[BlackRabbits]

You could be right re the chinchilla breeds. I have a young Giant Chinchilla male and he's paler than your bunny. On the other hand your bun could be a GC cross.

Flemish Giants come in a steel grey colour which is very similar to your rabbit. His ears aren't quite the right size and shape for a pure Flemish, however, a large percentage of farm bred meat rabbits are crosses between meat breeds, especially Flemish/New Zealand. It's possible that your bun is Flemish/New Zealand.

Here's a page that shows pics of the Flemish Giant colours: http://flemish-giant.com/varieties

Re breed requirements: the biggest breeds have a shorter lifespan, around 6 years. They grow faster and bigger than smaller breeds, so it's a good idea to free feed their pellets instead of limiting what they can have each day. However, vegetables and fruit should be limited, otherwise they can cause diarrhea.

Larger breeds tend to be calm, friendly and affectionate, but each rabbit is different. My GC is shy (though he's getting better) and my Flemish doe is a HUGE suck, even with the cats.

 

[CuriousOne]

A giant breed huh..? Well I did consider he may still be young or small for his breed (I have a habit of picking runts without knowing it lol)
He's easily over 6 pounds though not quite as heavy as a 10 lbs sack of potatoes. I suppose I should look into how people care for their giant babies and see what some of their quirks tend to be so I know what to look for. He does look like the steel grey color for the Flemmish along with the white belly. I'll follow the lead and see where he takes me. Thanks a lot for the fast responses btw n.n

 

[Watermelons]

I would work on getting him litter trained. Is he peeing in any spot in particular?
Having hay along the whole bottom of the cage can make litter training difficult, that and hay is great for eating but it is not absorbent at all.
The big dog cage is likely a way better option then a typical rabbit cage which is probably much smaller.
Large breed rabbits still need their pellets limited 1/4cup per 5lbs body weight is the typical. No matter how big a rabbit gets its important they eat lots of hay and not fill up on pellets.

 

[BlackRabbits]

I would work on getting him litter trained. Is he peeing in any spot in particular?
Having hay along the whole bottom of the cage can make litter training difficult, that and hay is great for eating but it is not absorbent at all.

My male was peeing in one corner when I first got him, I'd wipe it up and use vinegar on the spot to get rid of the smell to discourage him from going there again. It seemed to work. I also sweep up poop and put it in the litter box to encourage them to use it. I notice that they can go back to their old habits if there's a stressful situation. My two giants are in separate pens until they're fixed. I swapped their enclosures the other day and cleaned them with vinegar, but my Flemish doe is now peeing and pooping outside the box again, likely because she can still smell the male.

Large breed rabbits still need their pellets limited 1/4cup per 5lbs body weight is the typical. No matter how big a rabbit gets its important they eat lots of hay and not fill up on pellets.

I should have been more specific and said "while they're growing". I did some more research on feeding giant rabbit breeds and found some sites saying to free feed, but most were of the opinion that the amount should be restricted. So - I guess I'll have to start restricting the pellets for my giants! :embarrassed:

 

[katiecrna]

I don't know but he is very cute!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: