# Flemish giant.



## michellexgix (Feb 17, 2011)

I would lovea flemish giant rabbit, though don,t think it will happen anytime soon.. Most likely acouple of years in the future.. But just wondering if you have a cage, at least a 3X6 c&c cage, do you think you could keep a flemish giant in that and let them out then during the day surpervised for excercise? Just that it wouldnt be able to be out full time as I have cats and dogs, there fine with my three small rabbits so would be fine with a flemish but I still wouldnt thrust the, alone with eachother..

Also if I ever do get one could I let him play with my three other rabbits? Or would size be an issue? my three other rabbits are small.. 



Do they require anyother care than smaller rabbits? I presum it would be like feeding two of my rabbits, as it would be near enough double veggies, double pellets and double hay that I give them.. 



Thanks


----------



## woahlookitsme (Feb 17, 2011)

I know they need a solid floored cage. You cant put flemish on a mesh or wire floored cage. 

As far as bonding yield has bonded her flemish nicely with her smaller rabbits and they're such gentle giants i wouldn't see any problems. Maybe a buck would better bond than a doe?


----------



## michellexgix (Feb 17, 2011)

Yes, My three have solid flooring so of course the flemish would too.. 
My three I have now are males so I though a doe would be better to get..?


----------



## farmerchick (Feb 17, 2011)

i have a un neutered black flemish (dayl), we got her thinking she'd be a house bound bunny, and everyone else would have their pens, but she was crafty and kept breaking into the other cages, and she accidently bonded with my neutered new zealand (hank)and his unneutered holland lop girlfriend (sophie) the 3 LOVE each other, and i totally wasn't expecting it to happen. they all live together 24 hours a day. Dayl is 18 weeks old now and is bigger and longer than my 6 month old new zealand, and she is probably 3-4 times the size of sophie, but size doesn't seem to matter. she has made the 2 more playful and goofy. the three of them lay together always and snuggle!!! definatly something i wasn't expecting. Flemish giants are totally gentle giants! they are unlike any other rabbit. But they do eat ALOT, i cant believe how much pellets she goes through and veggies, and also they need lots of room to run around and be goofy.

my flemish is still a baby and she runs around wagging her head side to side doing binkies! sooo cute


----------



## michellexgix (Feb 17, 2011)

Awh shes adorable 
How much does she eat about?


----------



## nochoramet (Feb 17, 2011)

I would be careful though, our flemmie and my rabbit were bought at the same time, same age and the flemmie has beat my rabbit up multiple times when we tried to bond them. Not saying they aren't gentle giants but they can be aggressive. She also bit my finger and slit it like a razor blade (not maliciously though, more of a "Let me out!") just be careful because they are large and when they get angry can cause more damage than a smaller one. Not trying to offend anyone by saying this, but I just want to make sure there are no misconceptions. 

She's super sweet to people  and good golly she eats a ton of food!


----------



## michellexgix (Feb 18, 2011)

Awwh, I supose it depends on personlaity too.. Maybe there personality just didnt go together..


----------



## nochoramet (Feb 18, 2011)

I don't think it did unfortunately. We were really hoping they'd get along, but they both have very dominate personalities! Flemmies are great though, I love ours.


----------



## TinysMom (Feb 18, 2011)

As a flemish giant breeder, I have a few flemish giant girls that are just sweethearts - with humans - but will attack any other rabbit that comes near them or their cage.

I also have several flemish giant does that live together in a herd and even have holland lop friends and an e-lop friend too.

It just depends upon the individual doe and her personality. 

I use dog kennels/cages for my flemish giants - I like to get the ones for giant dogs (150 pound dogs) but I also go one size down if I need to (and I have used the medium size I think). 

I've had three to four flemish girls napping at a time in a giant dog cage - so I know its easily big enough for one to live in.


----------



## Yield (Feb 19, 2011)

woahlookitsme wrote:


> As far as bonding yield has bonded her flemish nicely with her smaller rabbits and they're such gentle giants i wouldn't see any problems. Maybe a buck would better bond than a doe?



[align=center]Of course, I came to this thread because it's about Flemish's and then I saw this and I was like.. YAY 8D

But yes- my male Flemish Giant Silas does very well with other two, smaller buns. He seems to love every animal XD He loves both of my bunnies (but is such a humper that my female runs from him.. lol)

To be completely honest- I didn't even do any bonding between my Silas and the other two (i did bond the other two). They met Silas through his pen and he groomed them and loved on them and they ended up getting along great- even the two boys.

Silas has always been like that though- he's the gentlest rabbit I've ever met. We took him to Petco and all these dogs were barking and he was completely at ease and when some dogs came up to meet him, he touched noses with them and wanted them to groom him.

But yes- Silas (the flemish that is 11 lb) and gets along good (besides the humping) with my 4.5 lb dutch, Sabriel, and my 5.5 lb mix, Solara. (in my icon XD)

I wouldn't recommend introducing buns like that though, obviously XD. They had been living in pens beside each other for a long while and were quite used to each other.

But yeah- every rabbit's personality is different than each other though.. no matter the breed.

Like, I had a female rabbit (not a flemish) but she attacked all my rabbits and LOVED humans. So yeah. It all depends.

Size isn't really an issue... =P

They do require more food. While Sabriel and Solara get 2 cups of veggies each and like.. a dishful of pellets, Silas get's 4.5 cups of veggies and unlimited pellets (which he's a pretty special case (since they recommend limiting pellets)- he doesn't eat them if he's not hungry. He eats more hay than anything. XD).

I have to change the litterbox more often as well.

Like Tinysmom, I use a giant dog kennel as well and a giant NIC pen. His poop is much bigger as well... lol


----------



## Toastasaraus (Feb 22, 2011)

*woahlookitsme wrote: *


> I know they need a solid floored cage. You cant put flemish on a mesh or wire floored cage.


I've had my flemish on soild wire floored cages for 10years with no problems. If you get one will poor breeding it won't be able to support the weight of it's body on the poor bone that it has. Keeping it on a solid floor cage will help "prevent" sore hocks but it won't always stop your rabbit from getting them. Find a breeder with good solid bone on their rabbits. You want their hind feed to be straight (not tipped in or out) and their hind legs to be as wide as their rear end. If they have this you won't have sore hock issues on any flooring as long as they are kept clean and on a proper diet. OH and my giants are 22lbs, so it's not like I'm raising light ones  I also try to not let mine live in anything smaller than a 36x48 cage (3ftx4ft). Ideally rabbits have 1sq ft of floor space per 1 pound of body.


----------



## AngelnSnuffy (Feb 22, 2011)

I want one too! But, don't think I'd cage it, ever, free roam bunneh! 
They're just too big to have enclosed, it's not right for that breed imo.


----------



## tristaw. (Feb 22, 2011)

Crys, I thought the same thing until I got one. My bunnies were free to roam anywhere until I had more than one at a time. My Flemish Giant got into loads of trouble as a baby. I ended up having to put him somewhere. He had litter training issues for months but now since he's been in an xxxl dog crate and I kept him in it for 3 excrutiating days in a row in order to train him(( he is now fully trained. He used to pee on the couch and chairs. He was an escape artist and he peed a LOT and has a LOT of pee given his size.
I have always thought cages were cruel until people started telling me they like their own space. he is much happier now that he has his own place to chill in. No pee or poop anywhere, ever and he is a pleasure to be with now.
I think if the space is smaller than an xxxl cage it would be mean but he can stretch out completely, doing a few binkies, do the DBF and when he stands, his head is nowhere near the ceiling of the crate.
Happy Bun means Happy Mama and I don't end up bawling in frustration with him chewing and peeing and pooping ... I could go on.
All that said, I LOVE that breed. Love love love..but much more work than I would have ever thought. I have to change the litter daily because he fills it up that quick! He's 15 lbs at 4 months so I think he will be a giant "giant"


----------

