What breed is my new bunny?

[ayumibear]

I know he's a mix of some kind. He's 12 weeks old and about 3 lbs. He's gray with splotches of white and tan on his feet and belly. His brother looks about the same as him. his sisters and tan with small splotches of gray. They're all the same size. They're pretty small too. I'm really curious as to what breed he is?

 

[maxysmummy]

gorgeous bun!

perhaps posting an unedited pic would help people properly identify?

 

[ayumibear]

I didn't change it much. I had to make it brighter though because I was afraid the flash would scare him. You can't really see anything unedited. I'll add it though. Thanks~

:'D

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

It appears to be an opal colored Rex mix. Mixes are hard to tell for sure though. Unlike with dogs, rabbit characteristics are not quite as defined and the differences between breeds and accepted color patterns are minimal. So it's usually not easy to pick apart or guess what the rabbit may be mixed with, whereas sometimes in dogs you can see that it's clearly a lab mix or something.

 

[ayumibear]

OakRidgeRabbits wrote:

It appears to be an opal colored Rex mix. Mixes are hard to tell for sure though. Unlike with dogs, rabbit characteristics are not quite as defined and the differences between breeds and accepted color patterns are minimal. So it's usually not easy to pick apart or guess what the rabbit may be mixed with, whereas sometimes in dogs you can see that it's clearly a lab mix or something.

Hmm! I think you're right! But he's really, really tiny. So maybe a mini rex? Thank you so much~ I was thinking American or something but I think you're right.

Here's an unedited pic I just took. I don't think he likes photos much...

 

[Yield]

He looks like my bun Solara, probably not color-wise, but body shape, ear shape, face shape, and back shape. And I think Solara is a Mini-rex mix, so probably that =]

 

[Flash Gordon]

is his fur super plush and soft?..and are his whiskers curly?..

 

[ayumibear]

@yield: oh really! Then he probably really is a mini Rex mix! But he definitely has a lot of mixing in him because his fur is almost just plain three colors. His front is very very light gray an his rump is a darker shade. His belly, paws, eye region, and tail are all white. He has splotches of tan everywhere! Haha.

@flash Gordon: his fur is definitely plush and soft but I'm not sure if it's so different of the fur of other rabbits. His whiskers are straight though.

 

[lelanatty]

He resembles a Flemish in my opinion. Especially sinc he's only 12 weeks and already 3lbs.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I missed the 12 week old and 3 lb. part, but if that's the case, he's probably not a Mini Rex mix. I'd still vote for a Standard Rex mix though because of his angular face and body type. His ears are large though so it is difficult to say. I could possibly see Flemish mix as well but Flemish just aren't as common outside the show circuit, so it's unlikely although possible.

If he's a rex mix of any type (Mini or Standard), he will not necessarily have plush, rex fur. That is the result of a recessive gene so generally when mixed to a regular furred rabbit, the babies will be normal furred.

 

[ayumibear]

He's definitely not a Flemish! Her foster mom is pretty sure he's never going to reach the size of even a Himalayan.

His ears arreee definitely huge though! He has older siblings who are teeny as well. His foster believes he will end up at around 4.5 lbs.

 

[Flash Gordon]

if hes already 3lbs at 12 weeks im thinkin hes gonna pass that 4.5 lb real quick.

 

[ayumibear]

I just emailed her foster. She said that his mom was only 4 lbs. It also turns out that he's already 4 months old.
I'm all muddled with information. D:
His foster says that if he's a flemish, he'd be 8 lbs by now.
Phew, because I'm nervous about his housing if he's going to be 20 lbs!
Thanks for the help guys !!
I'm actually thinking he might be a tiny bit flemish because his ears are bigger than the average rex.

 

[Flash Gordon]

i think hes got a whole poopload of dif breeds in him ,which makes.......the perfect bunny.

 

[ayumibear]

Agreed! He actually let me take pictures of him today. I'll post them if anyone's interested! Thank you so so so much for the help~

 

[Flash Gordon]

PICS PICS PICS!!!

 

[lelanatty]

ayumibear wrote:

I just emailed her foster. She said that his mom was only 4 lbs. It also turns out that he's already 4 months old.
I'm all muddled with information. D:
His foster says that if he's a flemish, he'd be 8 lbs by now.
Phew, because I'm nervous about his housing if he's going to be 20 lbs!
Thanks for the help guys !!
I'm actually thinking he might be a tiny bit flemish because his ears are bigger than the average rex.

That makes a lot more sense. Congrats on your new bunny and I wish you two a happy and wonderful life together!

 

[ayumibear]

I'll post more soon~

@lelanatty;
THANK YOU! Is 3 months and 4 months a huge difference?

 

[Yield]

ayumibear wrote:

I just emailed her foster. She said that his mom was only 4 lbs. It also turns out that he's already 4 months old.
I'm all muddled with information. D:
His foster says that if he's a flemish, he'd be 8 lbs by now.
Phew, because I'm nervous about his housing if he's going to be 20 lbs!
Thanks for the help guys !!
I'm actually thinking he might be a tiny bit flemish because his ears are bigger than the average rex.

Not all flemishes are 20 lb =] Some are smaller. I have an 11 pound flemish. He's 2 years old- so he's full grown.

Your bun reminds me A LOT of Solara when she was younger, she had pretty big ears too.
I thought she was gunna get bigger too cause she has bigger ears than a mini-rex but she's only 5 lbs. =P

That's Solara. =]

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

This is just a little side info for anyone who cares.

A lot of mixes end up with BIG ears. Big ears are not always an indicator of a large breed or large adult size. Even when breeding my Hollands, I occasionally get babies with LONG ears, even though I'm breeding for tiny short ears. And Mini Rex and Rex can often end up with longer ears too, especially if they are from not-so-great lines. So I'd imagine that Rex mixes can end up with pretty big ears.

Usually body shape/size and ear shape (sometimes size) is an indicator of what might be mixed in. But generally, ears are "messed up" in mixed breeds and do not display the characteristics of the breeds that were mixed.

Like Flash Gorden said too, it's pretty likely that he's a mix from mixes. "Purebred mixes" (say Mini Rex to Dwarf) are not very common because reputable breeders don't often cross such different breeds. If reputable breeders are crossing breeds, it's generally a cross with a similar breed. For example, some people use fuzzy HL with their AFL to shorten ears. Or ND with their JW to get shorter ears, etc. Therefore, most purebred crosses will actually look like a recognized breed. Most of the time, random or "backyard" crosses are not from two genetically pure, purebred animals OR are not from two purebreds that are good examples of the breed.

Whew! Got a little long-winded. But yeah, that's why it's hard to determine for sure what they're out of.