What are these?

[ravencreek]

This is a rather long story but I must tell it so that everyone understands how we came to have these guys/girls. So bare with me here.

after my 6yr old sons 4yr old rabbit went missing from his outdoor pen which is fully enclosed with a locking door, he was devistated. Well my cousins daughter(she is 11) bought him a 8 month old LionHead rabbit for his birthday with her own money she had gotten for her birthday. Yes, she is sweet and they are pretty much like brother and sister since I have helped her mother raise her from the day she came home from the hospital. Well we had the 8 month old for 2 days and he got hung on a cage that was sitting inside the outdoor pen and broke his pelvis. So I take him to the vet and the bill was going to be around $2500 which I just couldn't afford. So they call a rabbit rehab lady and she agrees to take him(vet confirmed male) and I owe nothing to the vets office. Works out for both bunny and our family.

Well my son is STILL upset over losing 2 rabbits in the course of a few weeks. So my son went to bed praying every night that his bunny Jingles was not hurting somewhere and was safe. 4 days after taking the Lionhead to the vet Jingles reappears in the yard. Missing an eye but alive. Well my son was over joyed that his rabbit had returned and of course we shared the news with everyone who couldn't believe it. Jingles had been missing 5 weeks at this point. Well my brother and his soon to be wife we not in town so they didn't hear the great news about Jingles return. So for Easter they bought my sons each a baby rabbit. Now all I know about these rabbits is that the guy told her that they would be 6-8lbs when grown and that they tasted good. Also I had to teach them to use a water bottle and that the pellet rabbit food was infact food. So any idea on possible breed or breeds with these guys? Also age would help.

 

[pacetruckguy]

I don't know, but they're sure cute little wabbits. Happy Easter!

 

[ravencreek]

Oh yes they are VERY cute. Also they are just starting to be friendly and stop running like crazy everytime I open the cage door. The little white one will even come up to the door and wait to be held. The brown one is getting there. She still cowers if you reach toward her but doesn't take off anymore.

 

[Bunnylady]

They look like cute little mixed breeds to me. There are sixty-'leven different breeds of rabbit that could have been the source of the broken gene (causes the spotting pattern on the mostly white one), the same is true of the agouti pattern gene that gives them their base color (chestnut.) They look very young, maybe 4 to 5 weeks? (I'm being optimistic here.)

I'm glad to hear that they are eating for you. I only rarely buy or sell rabbits at 5 weeks, and only from/to people that I am sure really know what they are doing. Weaning is a big stress, but being removed from the only environment they have ever known, and thrust into an entirely new one, is exponentially more stress! A lot of bunnies will just give up and die, it sounds like yours are going to make it. With buns that young, I add plain dry oatmeal to their pellets. It is a good "baby food," and may help if they show any signs of loose stools. Some people might add a little Calf Manna as well.

6 to 8 pounds is medium sized, about the size of my Harlequins. I'm just waiting, someone (probably several "someones") will tell you that the spotted one looks like an ES, let me say right now that it doesn't look a bit like one to me. If the breeder (who says they taste good) is working on "eatin' rabbits," he's unlikely to have anything as lanky and rangy as an ES in his herd. My bet is that these two will end up with chunky commercial type. Any rabbit, from whatever breed(s) can be a good pet, and it sounds like these two are heading in the right direction!

 

[Chickiezz]

Looks like mixed breeds but the spotted one looks a bit like my Polish buck I have. Good luck with them!

 

[ravencreek]

Thanks. I kinda figured they were mixed. Just wondering if there was a way to know what mixes. What is an ES? Wow 4-5 weeks? Are they even old enough to be away from mom? Maybe rabbits aren't like puppies and kittens with the minimal 8wks time. When we first picked out Jingles he was 5 months old and the breeder also raised them for meat. He thought we were there to pick out dinner. Oh and these were sexed as female...How would I be able to tell? I KNEW Jingles was a male...He already had his umm...you knows visible.