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If this rabbit is as big as a 3-month-old New Zealand, either you have a serious problem with your NZ's or she's not a dwarf.So I got a doe today...white, red eyed...looks like the size of my 13 week old NZs but was told she's 6 months old. She's heavier than them but did notice her ears are shorter![]()
How does one tell a dwarf from a full size?
If this rabbit is as big as a 3-month-old New Zealand, either you have a serious problem with your NZ's or she's not a dwarf.Show size for Netherland Dwarfs tops out at 2 1/2 pounds; a Dwarf without the dwarfing gene might get up near 4 pounds. She could be something silly like a NZ/ND cross, if someone had a really determined little ND buck and a patient NZ doe. She might be a cross of a number of breeds (Mini Rex come in REW, but you couldn't miss that Rex coat). Probably the simplest answer to an animal that looks roughly like a NZ, is about half of its mature size, and has shortish ears, would be a Florida White:
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The rabbit with the blue ear mark is clearly a youngster, the one with the red mark has more mature proportions. Stay with rabbits, and you'll learn to recognize things like that even in mixed breeds. Definitely not a Dwarf, or even a Dwarf Cross. If I had to go with one breed, I'd say Florida White, for sure. Supposedly, they were originally bred to be lab animals; being only half the size of a NZ, they don't eat as much. But they make perfectly good meat rabbits, though with a mature weight of 4 to 6 pounds, it takes a little longer to get a fryer big enough to slaughter.
The rabbit with the blue ear mark is clearly a youngster, the one with the red mark has more mature proportions. Stay with rabbits, and you'll learn to recognize things like that even in mixed breeds. Definitely not a Dwarf, or even a Dwarf Cross. If I had to go with one breed, I'd say Florida White, for sure. Supposedly, they were originally bred to be lab animals; being only half the size of a NZ, they don't eat as much. But they make perfectly good meat rabbits, though with a mature weight of 4 to 6 pounds, it takes a little longer to get a fryer big enough to slaughter.
Friendly/likeable rabbits are always a plus!