What's the difference between a flemish giant and a german gray giant?

[BlueGiants]

The photo is real, and it was not photoshoped... but it was taken with a "fish-eye" lens to make the item in the center of the picture appear larger. And if you read the Snopes article, "Herman" was only 17 lbs. And we have plenty of Flemish that get that bigger or bigger.

According to the British Rabbit Council, the Flemish is a seperate breed from the Continental. Different body structure and confirmation, different colors. The ARBA does not recognize the Conti in the US.The Conti is known to have heavier bones and carry less "flesh" than the similar sized Flemish. The Flemish has to have a "mandolin" shape to it, the Conti carries less rise over the loin and hips, and is posed differently than the Flemish.

There are some breeders that have crossed Conti's and Flemish (in the US) but it tends to produce rabbits that do not meet the standard for showing as Flemish. It takes a number of generations to eliminate the DQ's, and most breeders look at the cross as unproductive for the Flemish breed.

 

[Sweetie]

Yeah I saw that guy on animal planet before too. He does have huge rabbits.

Lifespan of rabbits are as follows:

Giant breeds: 3 to 5 years
Standard to Mini breeds: 5 to 7 years
Dwarf breeds(including Holland Lop, I think): up to 10+ years

This is if I remember correctly about the lifespan of the rabbit breeds out there. It is one reason why I prefer to have a small breed rabbit instead of a large breed rabbit.

 

[BlueGiants]

Yeah, well we won't tell my rabbits about that. I have a 6 year old Flemish Giant buck that still "likes the ladies" and I've had quite a few live to 6 and 7 and one was 8 1/2 when he passed. I generally tell people 5-7 years for the Giants...

And I still think that any day with a Flemish is better than a day without one... (Hmmm... but having lived with them for over 16 years,I might be slightly biased... forgive me.)

 

[TinysMom]

BlueGiants wrote:

And I still think that any day with a Flemish is better than a day without one... (Hmmm... but having lived with them for over 16 years,I might be slightly biased... forgive me.)

Amen!

 

[Blaze_Amita]

That was one HUGE bunny. i thought some of the flemmies i saw today were big, but that just dwarfs it.
We've usually had our mini rex, holland lops live from 8-12 years, so that's usually the time span i give people. I would love an American Chin though, i want to get into bigger rabbits, i just don't have the room or the cages yet to do it.

 

[DeniseJP]

If that big bunny thumped his foot I am sure it would register on a seismograph somewhere -

Denise

 

[wabbitmom12]

DeniseJP wrote:

If that big bunny thumped his foot I am sure it would register on a seismograph somewhere -

Denise

lol! Can you imagine being in the woods and coming across one of those huge rabbits? I'd probably go screaming in the other direction. :shock:

 

[DeniseJP]

wabbitmom12 wrote:

DeniseJP wrote:

If that big bunny thumped his foot I am sure it would register on a seismograph somewhere -

Denise

lol! Can you imagine being in the woods and coming across one of those huge rabbits? I'd probably go screaming in the other direction. :shock:

Me too... unless it offered me a ride home... :biggrin2:

If I saw one of those in the woods I would also be wondering if someone spiked my coffee or Diet Pepsi....

Denise

 

[Sabine]

I've seen those pictures before too. I always visualize those as "guard rabbits". Imagine the face of a burglar if he suddenly feels that paw on his shoulder:biggrin2:

 

[wabbitmom12]

LOL!

 

[Demismith]

In the UK we have 3 main giant breeds - The Flemish, British and Continental. The continental giant is sometimes called the German giant or Vlaamse Reus. Over here, conti's and british giants come in nearly all colours, and conti's are bigger. Flemish giants only come in steel grey, and they are smaller than conti's.

 

[wabbitmom12]

Demismith wrote:

In the UK we have 3 main giant breeds - The Flemish, British and Continental. The continental giant is sometimes called the German giant or Vlaamse Reus. Over here, conti's and british giants come in nearly all colours, and conti's are bigger. Flemish giants only come in steel grey, and they are smaller than conti's.

What? No blues, sandys, fawns, light gray, black or white Flemmies? No fair!! You guys are missing out

 

[BlueGiants]

wabbitmom12 wrote:

Demismith wrote:

In the UK we have 3 main giant breeds - The Flemish, British and Continental. The continental giant is sometimes called the German giant or Vlaamse Reus. Over here, conti's and british giants come in nearly all colours, and conti's are bigger. Flemish giants only come in steel grey, and they are smaller than conti's.

What? No blues, sandys, fawns, light gray, black or white Flemmies? No fair!! You guys are missing out

According to British Rabbit Council rules, the Conti (German Giant)comes in black, Dark Steel, Light steel, Agouti, Opal and Yellow... and they are working on the Blues in Germany. The British Giant comes in White, blue, black, steel gray, brown gray and opal.

They only recognise the Flemish in one color... Steel gray...

 

[Demismith]

Yep