# What breed is my bunny?



## mae9406 (Mar 16, 2010)

I recently purchased a baby rabbit from a local Tractor Supply, and they had no idea how old they were/are or what breed they were/are. So now I am trying to figure out what she is...

NOTE: This is my first rabbit. 

I _thought_I had figured it out, but after seening some pictures of other rabbits on this site and what breed they are I'm not so sure anymore. I was thinking Rex? But now I see that that most likely isn't right and she could/might be a Red Lionhead? 

I'd love to hear what others think! 

Thanks, Melissa





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## pamnock (Mar 16, 2010)

Possibly Mini Satin.


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## yamaya17 (Mar 16, 2010)

im thinking satin from the shine of the fur, very cute rabbit though!


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## mae9406 (Mar 16, 2010)

I have never heard of a Satin- now I am trying to look up some information on them. Do they have thick, very soft fur? Or is that a baby rabbit trait?


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## yamaya17 (Mar 16, 2010)

its a bit of a baby trait but yes, they have extremely soft fur


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## pamnock (Mar 16, 2010)

Baby rabbits do have softer coats. The satin fur is finer in diameter than normal fur.

The Mini Satin is a small rabbit with a satin coat. Red is a popular variety.


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## mae9406 (Mar 16, 2010)

How do you tell if she's a mini or a regular satin? And could she be mixed? Looking at pictures of satins makes it look like there fur isn't very long. She's half the size of my full grown guinea pigs and has fur that's very close to or almost an inch thick. onder: But it is very soft and shiny...


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## mistyjr (Mar 17, 2010)

i don't know what she is but she is sure cute...

i purchase 3 bunnies at a farm store couple months ago. and had my pictures up and ppl thought they were mix Mini Rex.. but i found out they are purebred Mini Rex.. They coats weren't as soft as they are now.


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## pamnock (Mar 17, 2010)

You'll be able to tell more when the bunny gets older and sheds its baby coat. (It was way to young to be sold - but Ohio doesn't have any laws regulating sale age.)


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## mae9406 (Mar 17, 2010)

Pamnock- How old do you think she is? You seem to know alot about rabbits. I was thinking she looks super young too- she was MUCH smaller then most of the other rabbit babies there, but honestly not by much. :S


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## pamnock (Mar 17, 2010)

*mae9406 wrote: *


> Pamnock- How old do you think she is? You seem to know alot about rabbits. I was thinking she looks super young too- she was MUCH smaller then most of the other rabbit babies there, but honestly not by much. :S


She really doesn't look more than 3-4 weeks of age. However, since you indicated that she was the runt of the litter, she may appear younger than she is.


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## mae9406 (Mar 17, 2010)

I honestly don't know if she's a "runt". The litter looked like it was mixed with different breeds. There only seem to be about 2-3 rabbits that looked identical to her, the others varied from coloring to facial and body structure being completely different. The lady at the store said a guy just brought them in. They could have also come from a "dead or alive- rabbits your way" farm not too far away from the store. onder::bigtears:


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## mae9406 (Mar 17, 2010)

Oh, I forgot to add that the other rabbits that looked the closest to her were about the same size, none of them were bigger then a "handful" though.(She can honestly fit in one hand with her little neck stretched out to sleep no problem.)


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## irishbunny (Mar 18, 2010)

Poor baby looks a little young 
The other bunnies might have just been put in there with her, and not actually be from the same litter. Make sure to just give her hay and alfalfa pellets. She should probably be still on her Mother's milk, and it could be very easy to upset her system, which could be fatal.

Don't give her veggies for another few months at least


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## mistyjr (Mar 19, 2010)

I have to agree.. She looks a little young


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## Lunaraine (Mar 19, 2010)

Wow i just love the fur! The bunneh and the kid is cute!! XD


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## mae9406 (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks everyone! 

Should she still be on mommy's milk? I was debating the thought before when Pam suggested she might only be 3-4 weeks old but she seems to be eating lots of hay, drinks(but only from a dish), and as far as I can tell hardly ever, if ever, eats the pellets. 

I CAN see she IS growing though . She's slightly larger then she was just a week ago. Of course it's not drastic or anything but it is there. Bunny is also not sleeping as much now as she was so I think those are both good signs for a thriving rabbit, right?


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## irishbunny (Mar 19, 2010)

They start to nibble of food around two weeks old, and most of the time still stay on their Mother's milk till approx. 6 weeks. Like a human baby, they will eat solids but still need milk 

Hopefully she will be fine, if you notice anyway runny poops or a funny gooey substance around her bum, take her straight to a vet.


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## OakRidgeRabbits (Mar 19, 2010)

Once a kit has been weaned from their mother's milk, it would be more stressful to put them back on that diet than to just continue the diet they've been on.

I'd suggest offering lots of fresh grass hay along with a regular rabbit pellet. You can also supplement her diet with rolled oats (regular, uncooked Quaker oats).

As long as she is eating on her own and seems to be digesting it ok (poops are normal), she should be perfectly fine. As Pam stated, she looks a bit young to be away from her mother. But if you've had her for about a week with no issues yet, you've been doing things right.


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## bearbop (Mar 19, 2010)

the rabbit looks like a satin. very cute, isnt it too young to be away from parents


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## katt (Mar 19, 2010)

very cute!

you are in for a treat, I have found satins to be a very smart breed of rabbit. and they are so adorable!

here is my 6 month old boy, Chaucer







he does look young, but with a good indoor home he should do fine!

welcome to the world of bunnies!


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## pamnock (Mar 20, 2010)

*bearbop wrote: *


> the rabbit looks like a satin. very cute, isnt it too young to be away from parents



If it's a Satin, then it's _extremely_ young . . .

Here's a photo of a 2 week old Satin Angora bunny . . .


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## pamnock (Mar 20, 2010)

Young Mini Satin bunny . . .


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## mae9406 (Mar 30, 2010)

I'm not sure why but I stopped getting notices for replies to this thread for some reason... 

Anyways, I just wanted to add more pictures of Bunny(now named Ruvy- like Ruby, but with a "v"- Remember my daughter is two and its her bunny. HAHA)

Ruvy is thriving. It's been almost 3 weeks since getting her and she has doubled in size already! She has officially been eating pellets for a week now, I was right when I suspected she wasn't eating the pellets at first so I started giving her carrots, celery, orange and apple pieces regularly until she finally started eating the pellets and then I cut out the veggies as it did start giving her mushy poops with the pellets and the veggiesboth in her diet right now. 

She's also A LOT more active then she was before, but still sweet and calm as canbe. Ruvy has learned that if she doesn't want to be picked up or snuggle to hop away to where my daughter can't pick her up- which is great. But with that said,she still enjoys being snuggled and hugged on a daily basis. 

Thanks for the pics Pam on the twodifferent baby rabbit breeds. Istill don't know what she is- except red. LOL The angora one seems to fit her better fromher earlier pictures becauseher fur is still thick- itlays down more now, but it's thick for sure. Her fur is still soft as can be though. Then on the other hand, themini satinpicture kinda fits her now except she's more fluffy, in my opinion, then what the mini stain looks like... maybe, butI guess I will allow you guys to be the judge on that as I have new pictures of her from today so maybe it will help in the decision process. 

Notice in this picture she is almost the size of my female guinea pig now:




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## mae9406 (Mar 30, 2010)

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## mistyjr (Mar 30, 2010)

She is sure cute!


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## mae9406 (Mar 30, 2010)

Thanks Misty! :happybunny:


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## wooly_queen (Mar 30, 2010)

Aw, she is adorable... I do agree that she does look like she might be a satin or mini satin. So we will just have to wait and see what she looks like when she is a bit older.


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## pamnock (Apr 3, 2010)

She's so tiny that I'm still thinking Mini Satin. Ohio is a "hot bed" for the Mini Satins, as it's the state where they originated. 

Keep us updated! She seems to be doing very well.


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## mae9406 (May 7, 2010)

I know it has been awhile, but I figured I would update the pictures of Ruvy for anyone that's curious to see how she's grown.  

This picture is off Ruvy from about a month and a half ago, maybe two months... For some reason she prefers her pellets split, not bowled LOL. 






This one is from a few weeks ago. She's decided that our apartment balcony is her new "tanning" spot when the sun is out. 






These next 3 are from today. Her coat has started to change into the darker red color that's on her, but I still see a few small areas where it's still darkening down. 






I've also noticed that she tends to "droop" her ears when she wants too. Is that common in non-lop rabbits? This picture isn't the best to show it, but they are somewhat down here. She usually has them hanging somewhere down around her eye level at times. I find it very cute and amusing.  






and here is another of her head-on. 




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Her fur has changed in texture somewhat. It's still VERY soft and silky just not quite the same as when she was smaller especially since the new color in her fur has come through during the past couple of weeks. 

Assuming the 3-4 weeks old when we got her idea she would now be somewhere around the 4 to 4 1/2 months oldmark(?) and she weighs 2lbs 10 oz. I'm not sure if that makes her more on the mini side or normal side?


Hope you enjoy the updated pics


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## elrohwen (May 7, 2010)

She's beautiful!

I hope you don't mind a little advice, but I would take that collar off of her. Collars on bunnies are very dangerous as they can easily get caught on something (especially since bunnies like to squeeze through small spaces) and they can choke themselves.


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## mae9406 (May 7, 2010)

Here is a good exemple of her drooping her ears down.


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## mae9406 (May 7, 2010)

*elrohwen wrote: *


> She's beautiful!
> 
> I hope you don't mind a little advice, but I would take that collar off of her. Collars on bunnies are very dangerous as they can easily get caught on something (especially since bunnies like to squeeze through small spaces) and they can choke themselves.



Thank you. I think she's a beauty too.  

And no I don't mind advice, and I was worried about the collar getting caught on things too...Her's is a "breakaway" cat collar though. If she was to get stuck it will/would break off. I have it on her so that she canhave some form of I.D. incase she ever got out of our apartment, or loose during one of our many trips with her. Granted if it was to break off it wouldn't matter but, I'd like to increase the chance of her being returned to usjust incase. She's our little fur-baby. So far she hasn't got herself into any situation around the house where she needed it to break off. XD


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## elrohwen (May 7, 2010)

I've also never seen a fully uppy eared bunny with droopy ears like that, so I would guess she has some lop in her background.


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## mae9406 (May 7, 2010)

The funny part is she droops them like that and then the next minute she pulls them all the way up like they were when she was a baby. You can actually see in the pic with her by her bowl chil-laxing that one of her ears was starting to "droop" then. For some reason that one ear seems to be down alot more then up. LOL


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## timbaland (May 7, 2010)

I'd say she has some mix breeds in her past but she looks a lot like a satin.  I love her color btw.


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## pamnock (May 11, 2010)

The weight at this age leans towards Mini Satin - but boy are those ears HUGE! Below is a photo of one of our Mini Satins of about the same age and weight . . .


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## Erins Rabbits (May 11, 2010)

Rabbits sometimes do that, especially the ones with larger ears that don't have a strong ear base. Both of my champagnes went through phases where I was really worried because they had SOOO MUCH ear controll, both at younger ages. It's normal and as she gets older it should straighten out.


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## jcottonl02 (May 13, 2010)

Hehe she looks like a TOTALLY different bunny now!!! Still utterly stunning though.

Jen


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## mae9406 (May 13, 2010)

Pam- Your lil black mini satin is adorable. I can kinda see some resemblance in Ruvy in comparison to it though- just defiantely NOT the ears. haha. Your black lil bun's ears are a lot smaller in comparison to hers. Does that mean she COULD grow into them but is just on the smaller size for an average Satin rabbit? 

Erin- Love the picture of your Bun's ears. They look fairly large as well.  I really don't mind the lare ears my ideal rabbit for myself would have been a lop. Hahaa 

With that said, Jen, I LOVE your bunnies!


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## jcottonl02 (May 13, 2010)

Lol thanks 

I have to say, when I saw those first pics of Ruvy I was shocked (in a good way). It's not often that you see such a fiery-red bunny with fur that looks like silk. 

Jen


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## mae9406 (May 13, 2010)

Jen- Really? How come? I'm sorry if this seems like an obvious question but I'm clearly new to the bunny world. :embarrassed:


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## jcottonl02 (May 13, 2010)

Well, I am no expert on breeding, but I do love to browse pet stores, breeders online, all the buns on RO, and the only bright-red rabbits I have seen is yours, Butterfinger's Moonflame, and the baby Thriantas in the Rabbitry. 

I think that's why I find them so stunning- because I so rarely see them. 

Ruby and Millie were red Rex's I think, and they were beautiful too. 

I'm sure a load of people will come on here and say how common bright red rabbits are 

But it's not purely to do with that- it's also the texture of Ruvy- she looks like silk. She looks as though if you touched her you would barely be able to feel her fur- I've personally never seen a rabbit with fur like baby Ruvy's (but then again, I reiterate, I am no expert with breeds, as anyone here on RO will verify  ).

The combination of her stunning silk-like fur, and her fiery-red colour is enough to wow me!

Jen


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## jcottonl02 (May 13, 2010)

Hmm....maybe I would have been a little better to say 'In the UK', because after some research I see that the New Zealand, and the Mini Satin both often come in a startling fiery red.

I have to say, especially in the UK, I think you'd really have a hard time finding a rabbit of such a strong red. Perhaps orangey. But definately not the red of a Mini Satin or a New Zealand and most definately not a Thrianta. I can't find any Thrianta breeders in the UK at all.

Jen


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## mae9406 (May 13, 2010)

Oh, ok. It would make her seem more of a novelty to rabbit lovers of the "bright, firey reds" from over seas if they aren't even available to you over there.  I think it was Pam that said they were supposed to be quite common over here or something?! I'm really not sure though... :dunno

Is that color even in demand in the UK? If it were then you could almost make out like a bandit if you got your hands on a breeding pair and no one else had any.  LOL

I too love the bright red of her coat. I was disappointed for awhile there too because her fur almost looked like it was going to be a dull orange. She went through a phase where her fur color went very pale and light(almost beige/cream) instead of the color she was when we bought her. It didn't last long thouh because shortly after that is when I noticed the firey red color coming in under neath her coat dulled-out one(which is now the color of her fur again- I think it's even brighter/sharper a red then it was when she was a baby). Not sure what that whole process was all about though. I'm guessing the shedding of her baby coat? maybe? 

The shiny look somewhat dulled down too during that time but the texture of her fur has always stayed the same. You say it looks "silky" and I must say it IS silky! It almost reminds me of my daughter's hair when she was a newborn baby. That super, fine, soft texture. Once anyone starts petting her it's VERY hard for them to just sit her back down even if they aren't big "animal people".


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## jcottonl02 (May 13, 2010)

Well I have never seen a red rabbit in real life, and only the few I mentioned on here, so they are so gorgeous to me.

Out of interest, I have just had a look online for any Mini Satin breeders/New Zealand breeders or Thrianta breeders.

I cannot find a single Thrianta or Mini Satin breeder, and can find a few New Zealand, but no red kits at all.

Perhaps it's because there isn't such a huge market in the UK for rabbit showing etc.? Or maybe I have just totaly made that up lol?

Jen


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## mae9406 (Jun 14, 2010)

Quick Update: 

My last post was about 5 weeks ago, and since then Ruvy has grown A LOT so I decided to reweigh her and she has gone from being a little under 3 lbs to being 6 lbs on the dot.
Is that normal? It seems quite a drastic weight gain for such a small animal in such a fairly short period of time. Especially where she is a free-range buns so she gets tons of exercise running through our apartment like a mad-woman. LOL 
I'll try and get a new picture up soon for those that would like to see her. :biggrin2:


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## Tessie (Jun 14, 2010)

Very Very cute


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## Lionheadlover (Jun 15, 2010)

In the second picture she looks like a stuffed animal! So cute!


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## mae9406 (Jun 16, 2010)

Thanks Ladies. 

Here is a few new pictures of Ruvy. Hope you enjoy .







^^^^She was SOUND asleep and enjoying her nap too. ^^^^








^^^Ruvy outside enjoying some yummy grass^^^






^^^ Tanning in the sun- she wasn't to impressed with the kids(not in the pic) being loud LOL


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## jcottonl02 (Jun 16, 2010)

Oh God she is just so cute. I love how massive her ears are!



Jen


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## Elf Mommy (Jun 16, 2010)

Ruvy is gorgeous! I just love her ears and her brilliant color.


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## mistyjr (Jun 16, 2010)

She haves changed alot since then!! Shes cute though


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