Rabbit Breed Question

[SternRose]

She was way sketchy and nervous at first kind of like a wild rabbit (we have grey ones in the area) so it made is wonder if they caught her and ended up not wanting her ?

That or she might her Cotten tail in her.

 

[Bunnylady]

No, that's a domestic rabbit; I'm 100% sure about that. She only slightly resembles a wild rabbit..

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: That is impossible. North American wild rabbits and European wild rabbits (the domestic rabbit's ancestors) are only distantly related, and can't interbreed.

 

[JaceAgain]

That bunny isnt remotely wild. Definitely domestic, a classic Heinz 57 (mutt).

 

[Lexi01]

That is impossible. North American wild rabbits and European wild rabbits (the domestic rabbit's ancestors) are only distantly related, and can't interbreed.

That's good to know thank you

 

[SternRose]

No, that's a domestic rabbit; I'm 100%  sure about that. She only slightly resembles a wild rabbit..

Cotten tails can breed with domestic rabbits. It happend to a friend of mine. She had one I think mini lop or French lop doe and she put her in her run and watched a wild buck breed her doe 4weeks later they had a litter of 9 all looked like Cotten tails, it was a first time mom and she lost the whole litter. I seen the video she had of the mating. Didn't get to see the baby's because they died at 5days old. She said 1 died at birth, 3 her dog ate, 1 mom ate, and 2 her dad culled. And the last 2 died cuz mom wouldn't feed them. That's what she told me but the doe was never breed to another buck. I think she sold her doe or ate it I don't remember it was 5-6 years ago.

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: Very convenient that she didn't have any babies grow up . . . .

That is only possible if it was a feral domestic. While it's true that most domestic rabbits that get dumped out wind up getting killed by a predator in short order, some manage to survive, particularly those that are chestnut in color. In urban settings, released rabbits have occasionally bred to such numbers as to become such nuisances, some municipalities have banned pet rabbit ownership within their city limits.

I sincerely doubt the identification of the rabbit in the video. Considering how bad some people are at ID'ing breeds on rabbits that are known to be domestic rabbits, it's highly likely that it wasn't a wild rabbit at all. Even if it was a wild cottontail, knowing male rabbits' tendencies to mount anything that doesn't try to eat them, even the breeding behavior is credible. But though people claim to have rabbits that are "part wild rabbit," I cannot find any case where someone has documented testing a domestic rabbit and finding that it had cottontail DNA. Everything I can find on the subject says that though breeding behavior between the species may have been observed, no live babies are produced. When this sort of cross is done in controlled conditions by people who know what they are dealing with, the embryos have been found to die within a few days of conception. Sorry, but until there is documented evidence from a credible source, I won't believe it is possible.

 

[SternRose]

Very convenient that she didn't have any babies grow up . . . .

That is only possible if it was a feral domestic. While it's true that most domestic rabbits that get dumped out wind up getting killed by a predator in short order, some manage to survive, particularly those that are chestnut in color. In urban settings, released rabbits have occasionally bred to such numbers as to become such nuisances, some municipalities have banned pet rabbit ownership within their city limits.

I sincerely doubt the identification of the rabbit in the video. Considering how bad some people are at ID'ing breeds on rabbits that are known to be domestic rabbits, it's highly likely that it wasn't a wild rabbit at all. Even if it was a wild cottontail, knowing male rabbits' tendencies to mount anything that doesn't try to eat them, even the breeding behavior is credible. But though people claim to have rabbits that are "part wild rabbit," I cannot find any case where someone has documented testing a domestic rabbit and finding that it had cottontail DNA. Everything I can find on the subject says that though breeding behavior between the species may have been observed, no live babies are produced. When this sort of cross is done in controlled conditions by people who know what they are dealing with, the embryos have been found to die within a few days of conception. Sorry, but until there is documented evidence from a credible source, I won't believe it is possible.

I could of been I had a bad friendship with her, she lied about everything, so I'm going with what you said on that.

 

[JaceAgain]

Just going to ditto Bunnylady, domestic and wild cannot reproduce here in the US.

European wild rabbits are a different case entirely, interestingly enough

 

[Lexi01]

You guys are awesome