What’s a rabbit?
Until the 18th century, rabbits were called coneys, based
on the French conil, shortened from the Latin cuniculus.
Rabbit first referred to the young of coneys until
eventually the word took over in popularity
.
French Lop
The French Lop is a breed of domestic rabbit developed
in France in the 19th century from the selective breeding
of English Lop and Flemish Giant stock. The French Lop
resembles the English Lop, but the French Lop is heavier
in stature and does not have the exaggerated ear length of
the English Lop.
Colors
French Lops can come in a variety of different colors both
solid and broken. These colors include white, brown,
blue, black, opal, fawn, chinchilla grey, steel and Siamese
cream and brown. They do not have any particular
markings that defines their breed from any other rabbit
breed.
Purpose
The French Lop rabbit was mainly developed as a meat
rabbit breed. And was a very popular meat rabbit breed
in the mid 19th century. The breed is very suitable for
commercial rabbit farming business for meat production.
The breed is also good as pets and show animal.
Weight
The French Lop is typically quite a large rabbit that can
reach an average weight of 5-6kg at adulthood. They have
a soft, dense coat.
Checkered Giant rabbit
The Checkered Giant, known as Géant Papillon in French,
is a breed of domestic rabbit that originated in France.
One of the largest rabbit breeds, the Checkered Giant is
recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association.
The Checkered Giant is one of the minority of rabbit
breeds with specific coat markings.
Color
The Checkered Giant is recognized in two colors: black
and blue
Purpose
Good for meat production. Good as pets. Today mainly
kept as show animal.
Weight
As the name implies, the Checkered Giant is a large rabbit
reaching weights of up to 12 pounds or more.
Angora
The Angora rabbit, which is one of the oldest types of
domestic rabbit, is bred for the long fibers of its coat,
known as Angora wool, which are gathered by shearing,
combing or plucking. Because rabbits do not possess the
same allergy-causing qualities as many other animals,
their wool is an important alternative.
Origin
The Angora is said to have originated in Ankara
(historically known as Angora), in present-day
Turkey, and is known to have been brought to France in
1723. The Angora rabbit became a popular pet of the
French royalty in the mid-18th century, and Angoras had
spread to other parts of Europe by the end of that century.
Color
Even though there is such variety in acceptable Angora
rabbit colours the wool from these rabbits and the yarn
made with the wool will always fall into one of 4
colours:white, fawn, Dark to light cool grey and dark to a
light warm grey.
Purpose
Angoras are really cute and make decent pets, but they're
generally bred for their fur. Once sheared off, it's used to
make clothes and other various products.
Weight
2 – 5.5 kg
Rex
The term rex rabbit refers informally to one of at least
nine breeds of domestic rabbit. One such breed is the Rex,
which is recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders
Association and by the British Rabbit Council. Other
modern-day rex rabbit breeds are listed below.
Origin
The breed originated in France in 1919. Its origin was a
litter of wild gray rabbits and has been developed over the
years by fanciers and the fur industry. The Rex Rabbit
was first shown publicly at the Paris International Rabbit
Show in 1924 and has been recognized as a standard
breed in parts of Europe since 1925.
Color
It usually consists of any of the recognized colors and
white. It can also be white with two color combinations,
including black and orange, blue and fawn, brown and
orange, grey and fawn.
Purpose
Rex Rabbit fur is an important breeding purpose for
Rexes, although most of them bred in the US are used for
meat.
Weight
The Rex rabbit is typically medium to large sized,
reaching an average weight of 3-3.5kg at adulthood. They
don't require traditional grooming; if necessary their coat
can be wiped over with a damp cloth to help keep it in top
condition.
Overgrown Teeth
Cause and clinical signs
A rabbit’s teeth continually grow throughout its life and if
a rabbit is not constantly grinding their teeth down by
eating fibre we start to see their molar teeth forming sharp
spikes that damage their cheeks and tongue. This causes
pain that makes them reluctant or unable to eat. The
incisors at the front of the mouth can, in severe cases
grow around in a curl meaning rabbits cannot close their
mouth or eat at all. Once a rabbit stops eating their gut
stops working and they can die.
Prevention
80-90% of your rabbit’s diet needs to be fibre in the form
of oaten or grass hay. The rest of the diet should be leafy
greens, with pellets and other treats being minimal to non-
existent.
Treatment
A general anaesthetic and burring the teeth flat is the only
treatment that can correct overgrown teeth.
Uterine Tumours
Cause and clinical signs
Entire female rabbits can develop a cancer called uterine
adenocarcinoma and it should be suspected anytime an un-
desexed female rabbit becomes sick. Some of the more common
clinical signs include blood stained vaginal discharge,
aggressive behaviour, mammary gland cysts and lethargy.
Prevention
Desexing early at 4-6 months of age.
Treatment
Desexing, hopefully prior to the cancer spreading through the
body.
Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (previously
known as Rabbit Calicivirus)
Cause and clinical signs
Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (previously known as
Rabbit Calicivirus) is spread by mosquitoes, flies and/or through
indirect contact or direct contact with an infected rabbit.
In most adult rabbits the disease progresses rapidly from fever
and lethargy to sudden death within 48-72 hours of infection.
The incubation period for the RHDV is between one to three
days. Most rabbits will show no signs of external symptoms of
RHDV.
The clinical signs include poor appetite, restlessness, lethargy
and fever. The disease causes acute liver damage with resultant
blood clotting abnormalities. This disease can be fatal due to the
obstruction of blood supply in vital organs and/or internal
haemorrhages. RHDV has a mortality rate of 70 to 90% in
susceptible rabbits.
Prevention
Vaccinating your rabbit will:
Provide protection against RHDV1
From the limited research carried out, it would indicate that it
does provide protection against RHDV1 K5.
May or may not provide protection against RHDVa and RHDV2
and not in every rabbit.
Vaccinations are administered every 6 months for adult rabbits.
Adult rabbits that are overdue for a vaccination or have not
previously been vaccinated will need to be given two
vaccinations, one month apart. Young rabbit kittens can be
vaccinated from four weeks of age repeated monthly until 12
weeks of age and then every six months.
We recommend along with vaccination:
Preventing direct and indirect contact between domestic and
wild rabbits.
Avoid cutting grass and feeding it to rabbits if there is the risk of
contamination from wild rabbits.
Wash hands, with warm soapy water between handling rabbits.
Good insect control is also important and will help reduce the
risks of introduction of both Calicivirus and Myxomatosis.
Insect control could include insect proofing the hutch and
keeping rabbits indoors. We also recommend a monthly
treatment with a topical biting insect preventative, but please
talk to your vet about the correct dosage regime.
Infected rabbits should be isolated with care taken to minimise
environmental contamination.
Treatment
There is no treatment available.
Often there are subtle changes in your rabbit’s behaviour that
may be a clue to a disease process occurring. If you have
noticed any changes or are concerned about something your
bunny has been doing then it is advised to get them checked by
your vet. The earlier problems are detected the better your
rabbit’s chances are of living a healthy life.
