# Flemish size differences



## bunnytamer (Apr 23, 2009)

Does anyone know if the wieght or size of flemish giants differ by what color they are? Like is the Sandy bigger than the Whitevariety?


----------



## Erins Rabbits (Apr 24, 2009)

I don't see how the color of an animal should affect it's size.


----------



## OakRidgeRabbits (Apr 24, 2009)

Well, I don't know of any over-arching generalizations. However, Flemish are being bred to be bigger and bigger, so I would assume that if one color is more common than another (like torts in Holland Lops), the overall size may be bigger in that color?


----------



## TinysMom (Apr 24, 2009)

I was thinking I'd heard that the white and sandies tend to be the largest - but I'm not sure.

I'll ask BlueGiants to take a look at this thread since she breeds flemish.


----------



## Bramblerose (Apr 24, 2009)

Yes, the colors that have been worked on the most seem to be the largest and have the best conformation. Sandies and Whites are the largest. Then Fawns, followed by Light Grays, Blacks and Steels, then Blues. I used to breed Light Grays, on average they ran 13-17lbs, with an occasional really big one, but thats true with all the colors, I saw a massive Black at one show, it was huge. I've never seen a truly huge Blue, or Steel. A decent Sandy can be hard to beat.


----------



## BlueGiants (Apr 27, 2009)

It's kind of hard to say one Variety (color) is bigger than another. Yes, the Sandys tend to be a little bigger than a Blue or a White may be bigger than a Light Gray. But I have 20 lb. Blues and have seen 13 lb. Sandys... The whole idea is to breed towards a "good size" with good health and close to the published Standard. 

If I had a dollar for every request I've had for a 25 lb. rabbit, I'd be wealthy. Too many people obsess over weight. Unless you put them on a scale, most people can't tell the difference between an 18 lb. rabbit and a 24 lb rabbit. I've had people look at a 15 lb rabbit and heard later they told people it was 25 lbs. Personally, I'd rather have a healthy, content 17 lb rabbit than an obese, sickly 24 lb. rabbit. 

Once they get over 18-20 lbs., they tend to have much shorter life spans, more difficulty breeding (if at all), higher kit mortality, and a lot more health problems.

If you are buying a young rabbit, it can be very difficult to judge how big it will be as an adult. You can not just go my it's color. You need to look at it's sire and dam, and it's breeding and care. But don't judge it by color. (This is where a really ethical, responsible breeder can be your best starting point.)


----------



## Bramblerose (Apr 27, 2009)

Here's a link to the NFFGRB article page, lots of good info on there, a number of the articles mention color and its relation to size. The articles on Blues and Light Grays are really informative. Some of the articles bring up using Sandies, Whites and Fawns to increase size, bone and quality, folks can read these and come to their own conclusions. 

http://www.nffgrb.com/FlemishArticles.html

I've actually seen a 25lb White that was sitting on a scale, it belonged to John Long. It was one huge bunny, not fat, just massive, great deal of bone. His Whites in general were quite large. Very important point brought up by Blue Giants is fertility in the larger rabbits, while my light gray does were very fertile and producing large litters into their third year my friends much larger Sandies did not. Seems the larger they get, the sooner fertility drops off. Old time breeders that I know told me that most does fertility in the big ones dropped off at 2, so thats when they sold off their senior does.

I do pick my rabbits based on color first, I think a lot of people do, and its a big deal in Flemish because there's such a stigma on crossing many of the colors. If your selling a Light Gray it better not have Sandies on the ped, you'll lose a sale, and get a reputation as someone who crosses the wrong colors. Same thing in Silvers, in fact the three colors are all very distinctly different from one another, in some ways almost like three different breeds. Fawn Silvers are smaller, fine boned, elfish almost, Blacks are bigger, better fleshed and solid, big difference between the two. In Mini Rex Castors, REW and Blacks are most often picked for Best of Breed, and say, BEW are still a work in progress and not up to the quality of some of the other colors. But the difference in MR is the lack of a stigma in crossing colors, so its easier and quicker to improve the newer color varieties. I know that there are color vs size/quality differences in many breeds, not just Flemish, and these seem to be more marked in breeds that have strong color crossing rules. Of course its just based on averages, your always going to have above and below average individuals.

Very interesting point, there's someone working on Opal Flemish, thats going to really freak some folks out. I hope it will eventually be accepted as a new color though.


----------

