Rabbits!

[User395221]

If I saw that rabbit somewhere, my first thought would be Flemish Giant; nothing about it suggests anything about any of the angoras of which I am aware.

then they need to be familiar with the standard,

Sure, but when you don't, you need to buy from somebody who really does know that the "angora" they are selling you isn't a monster giant "something else"..... Even a breeder might not be giving you what you think you're getting, but at least you have a fighting chance. Classifieds might include people who know what they are saying, but there's an awful lot of guessing and misinformation. It doesn't matter if you know that whatever is being told you is wrong, not so much when you have no clue.

 

[BirdsNRabbits]

Sure, but when you don't, you need to buy from somebody who really does know that the "angora" they are selling you isn't a monster giant "something else"..... Even a breeder might not be giving you what you think you're getting, but at least you have a fighting chance. Classifieds might include people who know what they are saying, but there's an awful lot of guessing and misinformation. It doesn't matter if you know that whatever is being told you is wrong, not so much when you have no clue.

It can definitely go both ways. Breeders not knowing what they're talking about and ads in the paper actually knowing what they're talking about. I guess it really depends on the person and the situation. Like, for instance, I consider myself pretty knowledgeable on some breeds, like Hollands, Netherland Dwarfs, Tans etc. but tell me to sell someone an Am. Chin. or a Palomino and I will probably get a lot of the info wrong. It's all in perspective.

 

[Bunnylady]

American Tan, Tan, same thing.

Ummm, not really, no. "Tan" is the name of a breed, "American Tan" is not the name of a breed; that's the difference. Either that, or there is a recognized breed called the Tan, and an unrecognized breed (that is virtually identical) called the American Tan, and how likely is that?

@potato chip - Hilda is a color that in other breeds we would call Chinchilla (Flemish have their own names for some of their colors). The gene that causes the Chinchilla color basically takes all of the yellow pigment out of the coat, and a little bit of the black pigment. The color Chinchilla is an Agouti-patterned color; which means that the hairs are banded just like in the wild-type coloration (just without the yellow in this case). Self-patterned rabbits are pretty much the same color from nose to tail. Agouti and Self happen at the same place in the rabbit genetic code, Chinchilla happens in a different place, so it is possible for a rabbit to have both Self and Chinchilla genes. A self-patterned Chin looks a lot like a self Black, but it has just a little less black pigment in the coat. Self=patterned Chins look black, just a bit less densely black than a true self Black - you might have to sit one of each side-by-side to really see the difference. Because they have a bit less black pigment in the coat, self Chins fade faster than true Blacks, and of course, they fade to a brownish color. Hilda's brother could be a Self Chin; that combination of genes could happen in a purebred Flemish (which he also might be). And you are quite right, even a faded self Chin looks nothing like a Chocolate. One thing that can give it away is eye color. Some Chinchillas have grey eyes - not all, but some. A true black always has brown eyes. If you are looking at a black rabbit with grey eyes, you can be pretty sure that it's really a Self Chin.

 

[User395221]

Thanks for the info bunnylady. Hilda's "brother" isn't related to her, that's why I'd put it in inverted commas. They just live together. He looks like a Netherland Dwarf to me and when I looked up the colours, he looked like the pictures of the colouring they called "black otter". I don't really know what he is, he could be cross-bred, but all I know is that he isn't brown..... He's black, with brown tips/edges and white patches, and he's got little white rings around his eyes.


EDIT: This is what he looks like. To me he's black....

 

[BirdsNRabbits]

Thanks for the info bunnylady. Hilda's "brother" isn't related to her, that's why I'd put it in inverted commas. They just live together. He looks like a Netherland Dwarf to me and when I looked up the colours, he looked like the pictures of the colouring they called "black otter". I don't really know what he is, he could be cross-bred, but all I know is that he isn't brown..... He's black, with brown tips/edges and white patches, and he's got little white rings around his eyes.


EDIT: This is what he looks like. To me he's black....

Not a Netherland Dwarf. How big is he or how much does he weigh? How active is he? He looks more like a Mini Rex maybe? Or a Polish. Or a mix. And for the color he is probably a Tri-Color, Although I've never personally worked with Tri's so I'm not 100% sure on that. A black otter is solid black along the back and hindquarters most of the head should be solid black too. The black color then "fades" into a lighter tan or brown color along the crown, jawline, and belly. Search up Netherland Dwarf Black Otter to see what I"m talking about. Sorry I'm not very good at explaining. He is cute by the way! Looks like he doesn't want to eat his greens today though!

 

[User395221]

Not a Netherland Dwarf.

Thanks, they got that wrong too, then. LOL I was just thinking he wasn't chocolate which is what they called him on his vaccination papers. I don't really care what he is, he's nice, whatever his ancestry. He's only little, it's hard to get an accurate idea of proportion in an up-close photo.

That's an old photo, he most certainly tucked into his salad tonight. I think that was when he first came here, so he was shy about getting his photo taken.

 

[BirdsNRabbits]

Thanks, they got that wrong too, then. LOL I was just thinking he wasn't chocolate which is what they called him on his vaccination papers. I don't really care what he is, he's nice, whatever his ancestry. He's only little, it's hard to get an accurate idea of proportion in an up-close photo.

That's an old photo, he most certainly tucked into his salad tonight. I think that was when he first came here, so he was shy about getting his photo taken.

And that's all that matters! If you don't plan on breeding him or showing him than really it doesn't matter at all what breed or ancestry he has. It's just nice to know in case someone asks.

 

[Bunnylady]

Not a tricolor - in rabbits, tri is a broken harlequin.

His coloring is that of a black otter. Otters are Tan-patterned rabbits; they have bodies that are colored like a Self, with the lighter "trim" of an Agouti. The white patches are a bit odd - he may have some Dutch in his background, or even something in a blue-eyed white. But he looks like a mix to me.




A Black Otter Netherland Dwarf - notice particularly how much shorter and rounder the head and ears appear.

 

[AxolotlLove]

Thanks for the info, I'm defiantly a newbie, I only got mine a week ago.
Anybody have some safe bunny treats? Mine love dry yogurt but they need some new treats, those are expensive.

 

[User395221]

His coloring is that of a black otter.

Anybody have some safe bunny treats? Mine love dry yogurt but they need some new treats, those are expensive.

My bunnies LOVE rosemary. If you've got it growing, it's no cost.