What is Harvey?

[Hazel-Mom]

Can anyone tell me what breed Harvey can be? We were told he was maybe 5 to 6 months when we adopted him (about a week ago). He was just neutered the day before we got him.
Last Saturday he had his first check-up with our vet. He weighed 7 lbs 2 oz.
We thought at first he might be a fawn-colored Flemish, though he's a bit light for that at 6 months, even at 5? Then we thought he may be a Palomino, but isn't he a bit heavy for that? Could he be a mix of the 2?

Another question, when do Flemish or Palominos reach sexual maturity? Or maybe a better question is, when do they drop the testicles? He is just neutered, but does not display any hormonal behaviour, and never has. So is he maybe younger, and the rescue just thought he was 5-6 months because of his size?

The hand is my husband's, for size reference

We measured him yesterday, he is 17 inches from nose to end (without tail) when laying fully stretched, with his legs stretched back.

 

[mistyjr]

he kinda looks flemish, but maybe more as an Palomino

 

[Hazel-Mom]

Thanks Misty. Can you tell me what you would base this on? I mean, to me he has lots of Flemish traits, but then again he also could be Palomino. That's why I was asking people who might know

So I guess what I'm asking is basically, what are the differences? To me, a Palomino looks very much like a Flemish, only smaller. But then again, I'm not experienced with either breed. So what in particular should I look for to make the distinction?

 

[mistyjr]

Im not either in the breeds, I know that flemish are huge even when little, He looks like flemish head and the body of something else, But i dont know anything about Palomino's, But im guessing and Palamino or mix with flemish!

 

[woahlookitsme]

I see pal in him just because the ears arent huge and definitely have that shape
http://www.omypet.com.au/uploads/breed/20100522110774529956120506.jpg
What i used to compare. Of course the color looks right also
Cute boy

 

[tamsin]

Is it me or does he look a little Thrianta ish? Not 100% of one but a little in the shape and the gingerness - particularly in the last pic where he's got a bit of shine going on.

 

[woahlookitsme]

I could see thrianta but his coat is WAY TOO dilute to be one of those fiery little rabbits. Plus max weight on a thrianta is 6lbs. Max weight on a pal is 11lbs

 

[OneTwoThree]

One of the easier ways to tell is with the back, if you look at the photos on here http://www.arba.net/breeds.htm
and compare to your bun, the Flemish Giant has a sway back,
and the Palomino is short blocky and compact.
He does kinda look Flemish, but he seems small. My 9 week old Flemmie is about 15in from rump to nose laying down.

 

[Hazel-Mom]

Could it be that he is small because he was underfed? He was on limited pellets (1/8 cup a day) and timothy hay already. I already upped his pellet ration, and started adding some alfalfa hay.
Btw, he measures 17 inches nose to butt, when he is lying stretched out.
Might he also be younger than the rescue thought? Do you know when Flemish giants drop their testicles? He was young enough to not show any hormonal behaviour... no spraying, smelling, humping... just a loving goofball of a bun

 

[OneTwoThree]

I've never fed my buns alfalfa hay, they've had timothy from 6 weeks out. He doesn't look super young, and I don't think the vet can/would fix him if he hadn't dropped. Do you know how long the rescue had him? If they said he's 6 months old they probably had some sort of base birth month to go off of. The ears are more Pal than Flemmie too I think. Gorgeous bun though btw!

 

[mistyjr]

Hazel-Mom wrote:

Could it be that he is small because he was underfed? He was on limited pellets (1/8 cup a day) and timothy hay already. I already upped his pellet ration, and started adding some alfalfa hay.
Btw, he measures 17 inches nose to butt, when he is lying stretched out.
Might he also be younger than the rescue thought? Do you know when Flemish giants drop their testicles? He was young enough to not show any hormonal behaviour... no spraying, smelling, humping... just a loving goofball of a bun

Yes, that can happen with underfed, I have an mini rex here that was underfed and hes very tiny

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Cute!

 

[woahlookitsme]

also if hes old enough for the testicles to drop and they haven't he might be a she or a cryptorchid. A vet SHOULD be able to tell. wrong sex happens all the time.

Age they drop: 3-5 months

 

[mistyjr]

woahlookitsme wrote:

also if hes old enough for the testicles to drop and they haven't he might be a she or a cryptorchid. A vet SHOULD be able to tell. wrong sex happens all the time.

Age they drop: 3-5 months

But he also been fixed, So he wont drop?

 

[Hazel-Mom]

He was neutered the day before we adopted him. He definitely is a boy. And he "dropped" before he was neutered.
I asked specifically about Flemish Giants, so I can have some idea about how old he really is, because he seems to have been neutered young enough to not show hormonal behaviour. Or do Flemish Giants (or Palominos) not show much hormonal behaviour in general?

 

[mistyjr]

i dont know about big breeds, but my small breeds dropped at about 5-6 months old! And when that happen they try to do things!

 

[woahlookitsme]

Hazel-Mom wrote:

He was neutered the day before we adopted him. He definitely is a boy. And he "dropped" before he was neutered.
I asked specifically about Flemish Giants, so I can have some idea about how old he really is, because he seems to have been neutered young enough to not show hormonal behaviour. Or do Flemish Giants (or Palominos) not show much hormonal behaviour in general?

Ohh im sorry i must have missed that he was neutered. Im not sure there is a specific way to find out how old a rabbit is.

 

[OneTwoThree]

I want a pro to chime in! He could be a mix of the 2 maybe? I see Flemish in his face, but the ears don't see long enough (in a pal, the ears are about the same length as the face, where on a Flem they are like, an inch longer than the face length, if that makes sense). There's also a range, he could be a flemmie on the smaller side, more towards 11 lbs than the 18-22lbs that my girl will be, and that would explain why he's only a couple inches longer than my girl but so much older. Unless he is actually more towards 3-4 months than 6-7, I know my vet neuters at 3 months. But you think the rescue would know that he was only 3 months...
Anyway, just thinking out loud! He is gorgeous, and if he is a flemmie, they are (at least in my limited experience) a completely different temperament than smaller breed bunnies.So much more loving and mild!

 

[CCWelch]

I see alot of Flemish in him, I have raised a couple Flemish and one had the longer ears one did not. One of the two also stayed undersize/weight(the one with the short ears) but it had been the runt of the litter.