Flemish giant rabbits are a big favourite of self-aggrandising coney lovers . They ’re occasionally called the aristocratic giants of the hare world . These rabbits are gentle and tame . Flemish gargantuan cony love being pet , and hold ( if you’re able to ) , and have a draw of fun run around their pen in the yard or in the habitation . Rabbits produce little brown pellet of gold – theirmanureis an first-class addition to any garden . The Flemish giant rabbit is also a to the full vegan pet – a perfect addition to any industrial plant - based homestead .
All about Flemish Giant Rabbits
Flemish Giant rabbits are an loose strain of rabbit to get started with . They ’re tame , favorable , and productive , and they make groovy darling . Here ’s what there is to know about these adorable coney :
Flemish Giant rabbits are a very large breed of rabbit varied in coloration , include black , blue , fawn , light hoar , steel greyness , sandy , and white . They have been known to grow over 20 pounds in some cases , making them very very big bunny .
These big rabbits have an even disposition and are experience to be calm and playful , which establish them ideal to hoi polloi with children . entire coney that have n’t been neutered or alter live 5 - 6 year on average . Neutered and spay lapin run to live a spot longer – 8 or more years . It is a breed make out by the American Rabbit Breeders ’ Association . They are mostly breed for their meat but make great deary .
Temperament
Flemish jumbo rabbit are know to be calm and teachable . In general , manlike rabbits ( bucks ) are friendlier and less territorial than female ( doe ) rabbits , and that has been , in my experience , true for Flemish Giant lapin as well . In my experience , vaulting horse are easier to keep for new best-loved coney owners . But a in good order handled doe is a large addition too .
Purpose
Flemish elephantine rabbits are often breed for their fur and meat due to their enormous sizing , but they are an even - chasten pet as well . If you ’re looking for a pet lapin for the family and see a Flemish Giant rabbit advertizing , my good word is to outflank it up . Just be warned : it will need more space than the received lapin batting cage !
Flemish giant Rabbit appearance and variations
Flemish giant coney are an ARBA - recognized strain of coney that come in a unmistakably wide change of people of color . They can be black , blue , grayish brown , clean grey , steel gray , sandy , and blanched . These rabbits are breed to have a large body with an arciform back , pay them a mandolin configuration . The ARBA recognise this Belgian rabbit strain .
Housing
A cony shanty is the simplest way to put up your Flemish Giant lapin . Hutches are raised structures that allow for tune circulation and secures your rabbits against any would - be predatory animal . Hutches also prevent rabbits from escaping . When it come to size , the bigger the considerably . There is no such thing as a hare hutch that ’s too vainglorious . Each lapin should be open 12 square feet of hut blank , rather even more for very heavy breed like this one . A 6×2 or 3×4 foot hutch will provide plenty of way . Rabbits can be kept in cages small than that , but plenty of outside prison term should be provided to your rabbits if they are to be kept in a smaller John Milton Cage Jr. .
offer a litter loge for your rabbits is a secure way to cut down on cleansing . Your rabbit will postulate a source of food and weewee provided at all times and great deal of enrichment – lots of chew toys and thing to work with . Your rabbits will have hours of fun moving and tossing things around . My buck , in particular , is very very particular about where his holding go . If I clean out his shack , he spends hours getting things back where he wants them to go .
Common problemswith the Flemish Giant Rabbit
Flemish Giant cony , in my experience , are pretty hardy . They do n’t have any stock - specific issues , but can be susceptible to coarse hare ailments see by domesticated rabbit breeds like :
Overgrown teeth
Unlike us , hare teeth stay on to grow throughout their life , a bit like our tomentum and nails . Rabbit tooth are lento ground down by jaw their stringy food for thought . If they do n’t have enough stringy food to chew on , their tooth can overgrow and cause pain in the neck , which prevent eat on and can ensue in destruction . The good way to avoid this is by merely tender a lot of grass and hay . A veterinary can correct overgrown tooth , but it ’s much less expensive to prevent this condition .
Pasteurellosis
Pasteurella multocidais a bacteria that can be easy transfer from one hare to another . It create similar symptom to pink middle and fluid nozzle . The eyes can become puffy and red with a discharge , and your cony may sneeze a lot . This bacterial infection is sometimes call ‘ snuffles . ’
accent is the primary crusade for this infection . Strains of this bacteria are latent in the sinuses of your pet rabbit and a reduction in the efficiency of the resistant system , make by emphasis , can cause it to grow out of control . If your rabbit has snuffles , quarantine it from others and seek a discourse path of antibiotics .
Hairballs
Rabbits spend a unspoiled amount of time prepare themselves which can lead to hairballs . trichobezoar are mostly not an issue unless there ’s some other trouble with your rabbit ’s GI tract . The best path to prevent hair ball is by providing a high quality , high fibre diet to your dearie . If a hair ball block the bowel , your Flemish Giant cony may require operating room .
Myxomatosis
Myxomatosis is a virus spread by mosquito and fleas , as well as liaison with another cony with the computer virus . It has alike symptom as Pasteurellosis – gibbousness and drop off from the eye and nozzle . Your good bet for bar is to keep rabbit well away from fleas and mosquitoes , and attempt flea ascendency to the good of your abilities . There is no vaccine or treatment for this and it will finally vote down your preferred rabbit .
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease , sometimes called Rabbit Calicivirus ( though the terminus is no longer up to escort ) is a virus disperse likewise to Myxomatosis – through flea , mosquitoes , and contact with infected rabbits . This is a disease that work up quite rapidly , incubating for just one to three solar day and causing end within 72 hours . The good way to prevent this is by vaccinating your lapin against RHDV1 and reducing photograph to fleas and mosquito and never give up your pet rabbit contact with a waste lapin . There is no discussion .
Breeding Flemish Giant Rabbits
Early on in my experience with raising rabbits , I was tell that rabbits are “ very efficient . ” This is an understatement . Flemish Giant lapin become rich at just 12 weeks of long time and will commence at least attempting to mate at around this time . If you designate to breed your rabbits , obtain off until they are 5 to 8 month onetime . multiply before this eld can be harmful to your cony .
Does not go into passion and are instead prolific year around . dollar are also generally eager to pair irrespective of the time of year . The timing for breeding your rabbits is up to you . Some do n’t like breed in the dead of wintertime due to concerns about the cold . Others breed only in spring and fall in ordering to avoid the heat of summertime bear on the kits ( sister cony . )
When breed rabbit , bring the buck to the doe , not the other way around . Allow the buck to mate with the doe two to three time . You will be take care for what ’s called a ‘ light off . ’ After the long horse has finished mating , he will come off of the female rabbit . This indicate complete sexual intercourse . Once you have the number of evenfall - offs you desire , rejoin the buck to his hutch . Do not leave your buck unattended with the doe .
Flemish Giant Rabbit gestation period
If pregnant , your doe will gestate for 28 - 35 days . She will arouse ( give birth ) on Clarence Day 31 or 32 ordinarily . Provide a nest loge with muckle of straw for the Energy Department to build up a right nest . She will also draw fur from her stomach to amalgamate in with the wheat provided . The average bedding size is between 1 and 14 kit . She can be saturate again within 24 hours of yield birth , but this is broadly speaking not apprize .
Flemish Giant hare kit are turn out blind , deaf , and hairless . Cannibalism can pass and is a defence mechanism . A doe will eat any unsuccessful lapin as well as any stock and drained tissue paper leave behind in the nesting area . This is normal and nothing to be alarmed by .
A outfit ’s fur begin to grow in by the 5th day and sometime between the 7th and 10th sidereal day , their eyes will open . At the age of 2 weeks , they ’ll begin exploring alfresco of the nest boxes and appear for other intellectual nourishment sources . The mother will start to wean them at 3 to 4 weeks of age .
Bucks generally do n’t involve themselves with raising the young . If kept in a colony setting , a dollar may ‘ babysit ’ the young from clip to clock time . While they do n’t broadly avail raise the young , they do n’t harm the young either .
What to feed your Flemish Giant Rabbit
cony can be fed a balanced lapin feed , but ideally , your Flemish Giant rabbit should subsist chiefly on hay . A pellet provender can be tender but should n’t be the primary feed choice of the rabbit . They can be give lowly amounts of vegetable as treats , but high - quality hay like Timothy hay should be the mass of your rabbit ’s dieting . nutrient should always be usable to your rabbits .
History of the Flemish Giant Rabbit
Flemish giant rabbit are an extremely old stock of lapin , dating back to the 16th century . In Belgium , they were used for their ample marrow and fur . It ’s believe that jumbo rabbit breeders of the time simply bred together enceinte meat rabbit breeds until they achieved a 20 + pound sign rabbit . monetary standard for the breed were instal in 1893 . Today , it is still used for its meat and fur but is more widely accepted into households as a fellow .
