What breed(s) are these?

[Blue eyes]

I've gotten my rabbits from rescues and understand they are likely mixes. I was curious, however, on what breed(s) they may be.

The lop is in the 5 lb range and the 2 brothers seem the same or slightly smaller.

Please pardon the red-eye from the flash and the messy (temporary) bonding pen.

Thank you!

 

[ldoerr]

The lop might be a mini lop but I am not sure. The 2 brothers I have no clue. I am not good with breeds.

 

[whitelop]

The lop looks like a mini lop. I have one and they look pretty similar, and if you said it is like 5 lbs, then I think thats in the right weight range for a mini lop.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

It is difficult to determine rabbit breeds from physical characteristics. For example, the others are right that 5 lbs. would be correct for a Mini Lop. However, a Holland Lop without the dwarfing gene can also be 5 lbs.

Because of the comparatively short ear, I would actually lean toward Holland Lop lineage.

From the second picture, I would make a wild guess that your other two may be Mini Rex or Rex mixes. The body type (wide and pudgy) and the length/shape of the face suggest those breeds. Since rex fur is a recessive gene, a mixed baby would have normal fur like your bunnies do. And finally, chestnut agouti (called castor in MR/Rex) is a pretty common color in that breed. Again, the comparatively short (though slightly long) ears also lead me in that direction.

So that's the best guesses I can make! In all honesty, they could all three be French Lop x Lionhead mixes and share the same characteristics. LOL! But based on what I see in front of me and what I know of recognized breeds, that's the closest I can get.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

All appear to be mixed breed bunnies, so it hard to determine lineage. Cute is definitely their "type".

 

[Blue eyes]

Well, I typed up a response last night, but it got lost in the server changes as RO went offline temporarily.

I should've been more clear, but by 5lb range I meant between 5 and 6 lbs.

Thanks, Julie for your ideas. Mini lop does seem close. I never considered the length of the ears. Nor did I know(notice) Hollands had shorter ears. Perhaps she has some Holland too. Someone at a rescue thought her markings looked like that of an English Spot.

For the boys, I never would've considered Rex. I thought they'd have to have the velvety fur. My Sapphire girl is way softer than the boys. But I do see what you mean by the shape of their face.

@Larry, yes, they are cute (no bias :wink) Yeah, I figured they were mixes but was curious to see what combinations they might be.

Thanks everyone for your input!

 

[KittyKatMe]

Sapphire looks a lot more like a Mini Lop, and the boys could be Rex or Mini Rex, possibly mixed with Mini Lop?

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Blue eyes wrote:

Someone at a rescue thought her markings looked like that of an English Spot.

Oh boy.

A lot of rescues or pet owners tend to think that coat pattern is an indicator of breed. Which is understandable, we're not born knowing these things! But coat pattern is often not an indicator.

Broken (spotted) patterns are recognized in a lot of breeds. They are very common in both Mini Lops and Holland Lops. Circles that looks like mascara around the eyes can be characteristic of Dwarf Hotots, but it also occurs in "charlies." Charlie is a term to describe a rabbit with a double broken gene, so they have very very few spots. Likewise, there is a Harlequin breed of rabbit that has the distinct black/orange or white/gray checkerboard pattern. However, a lot of other breeds come in harlequin colors too. They're not even an accepted color in Hollands, but there are breeders working on them.

So now that you know, that's a bit of help you can share with others too. Rabbits aren't quite as easy to identify in mixes as dogs are. With a dog, you can clearly see it has characteristics of a lab or a collie, etc. But mixed breed rabbits can really be tricky! They don't have as many defining features.

 

[Hyatt101]

I think one of them is agouti coloring. Anyone else think so?

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Hyatt101 wrote:

I think one of them is agouti coloring. Anyone else think so?

Yes, both of the up-ear bunnies are. The lop is broken blue.

 

[Hyatt101]

I agree with julie!!

 

[ldoerr]

I breed Mini Rex in exclusivley Castor for 4 years. Your rabbits are DEFINETLY not castor. They are very cute.

 

[Blue eyes]

I know photos can be somewhat deceiving. During a "first day tussle" this came from one of the boys:

The white at the bottom is from closest to his skin. You can see all the color layers in each of the strands of fur.
Does that help you experienced bunny breed people determine color better?

Looking online at the rex castor coloring, it sure seems to be like my boys - even the slate under color that one can see in this photo. The smoothness isn't there though so they look a bit mottled maybe?

 

[ldoerr]

That does look very simmilar to Castor fur. I guess that the outside does not look like castor to me. Shiny Things is a Castor Mini Rex.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

ldoerr wrote:

I breed Mini Rex in exclusivley Castor for 4 years. Your rabbits are DEFINETLY not castor. They are very cute.

The reason they look different is because castor presents differently between fur types, and has different names between breeds. In most breeds, it is called chestnut agouti and has the appearance of the two bunnies in the original photo.

On rex fur, it looks just like the photos you posted. But the color is genetically the same.

So that's why I said their color supports my guess that they may be Mini Rex or Rex mixes. Their body types and ear size looked consistent with a rex breed mix, and castor (chestnut agouti) is a common rex breed color.

 

[woahlookitsme]

I just wanted to throw this video in there that i made and I think you should let the rescue people watch it. I disliked it so much that people were saying their bunnies are english spots because of the color that I made this!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5GBu-6GfM4[/ame]

 

[Blue eyes]

woahlookitsme wrote:

I just wanted to throw this video in there that i made and I think you should let the rescue people watch it. I disliked it so much that people were saying their bunnies are english spots because of the color that I made this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5GBu-6GfM4

Informative :big wink:

 

[ldoerr]

That is a GREAT video!!!

 

[CosmosMomma]

woahlookitsme wrote:

I just wanted to throw this video in there that i made and I think you should let the rescue people watch it. I disliked it so much that people were saying their bunnies are english spots because of the color that I made this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5GBu-6GfM4

I admit, I called Cosmo an english spot for a while, mainly because a friend told me that's what he was cause of his coloring. :confused2: Then I came on here and asked, and looked on wiki at the body shape of an English Spot, and he is definitely NOT.

Now I know his Breed makes no difference since he's just a fur-child (read: pet).

 

[KittyKatMe]

Great video! Funny thing is, a friend of mine has a bunny that she adopted and was told was an English Spot. I was like "yeah right" so went to visit her and she actually was a gray English Spot! About 7 pounds with the same body structure and pretty obvious markings. Lol!