Do any of you have these breeds of rabbits? We got ours this last weekend. We traded 5 chickens, and then got more rabbits than we expected. We ended up with 10 here, 5 does and 5 bucks, plus one comming who just had a litter. When the bunnies get old enough they will bring that one too.

I didn't get to talk to the owner, a friend is doing the trading, he is keeping the chickens. There is a pair of Flemish Giants, except they are marked up like a broken or rex rabbit, black and white. They really are nice looking. The rest are French Lops, all broken, and one doe just kindled yesterday. I was scrambling for a nest box. She had 5 and I do pray she takes care of them. I know it is her first, cuz she is not fully grown. I will have to watch the other does carefully.

Being these rabbits are so large, do you let yours out to exercise once in a while? I know not on the ground, but somewhere safe. I am just feeding pellets, cuz I have lost lots of babies with alfalfa in the past. I know I said we would not have rabbits again, but you know how that goes! Do you feed safe treats? Or should I just stick with pellets? We are only keeping 2 bucks, 1 Flemish, 1 French. The 3 extra are French.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), November 08, 2000

Answers

Sounds like you made a good trade! I don't have those breeds of rabbits but I have Angoras and some "mixed breeds." I do like to let mine out to "play" sometimes. (it just seems it would be boring sitting in a hutch all the time!) I have a big screened porch I let them play on sometimes but I am trying to fence in a little rabbit run near their rabbit "barn" so they could play safely one or two at a time.

Also I basically feed pellets but throughout the summer supplemented that with stuff from the garden such as Romaine lettuce, tomatoes (they loved the little cherry ones) and small branches with lots of leaves from our apple and pear trees. Now in winter I try to give some green grasses and they love a carrot a day. Remember with greens not to give too much at once or it really upsets their bunny tummies!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), November 08, 2000.

Mine get all kinds of stuff as long as it is not gas producing .They also sometimes get a piece of bread , all types of fruits and veggies .and wood branches to chew on.

-- Patty (fodfarms@slic.com), November 08, 2000.

The doe that kindled is taking care of the little ones! She seems calm now and knows me. I quess I will make them some kind of play area, but I don't think on the ground. I don't want them to pick up bugs or worms that way. I'll give them a little bit of carrots, the rest of the fruits are gone.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), November 08, 2000.

Have any of you tried a movable pen for your rabbits?

I thought about building one with wire mesh (to keep them from digging out) on the bottom. I don't like the idea of confining them all the time but we have coyotes, cats, hawks, owls and dogs (and more) which would eat them in an instant.

My understanding is that if they are moved to new pasture daily the cycle of disease and parasites is broken and they are healthier.

Amy

-- Amy Richards (tiggerwife@aol.com), November 08, 2000.

Cindy,

Do you have the does all together? If not, do not try to put them out for a run together or they will just fight. (and fight, and fight) I had sisters that I had to separate because one doe kept the others away from the nesting boxes. After the babies were gone, I tried to put them back together but they kept fighting even though they were exhusted. They had plenty of room and raised together but just would not accept each other.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), November 08, 2000.

We had rabbits up until last year. The two does we had produced more meat than we could use. (One kindled and raised all 14! The other always raised 7-8, and 1-3 died in each litter.) We have a wire mesh bottom pen that we put them in when they were weaned. Moved every couple of days. Didn't have much problem with loose stools. Fed pellets free choice. Apple twigs to munch on. The litters we raised in the cages grew out much faster on just a litle more feed. I had a one eyed buck that I couldn't let myself kill. Turned him loose in the yard. I still see him a couple times a week. He has made it this far on his own. I decided that when I raise rabbits again, it will be in a burried fence pen for the does to be able to exercise. I just hate seeing them in those cages, no matter how large they are. BTW, let your family and friends know you have rabbits. There is a pretty big demand for butchered rabbits.

-- Terri Perry (stuperry@stargate.net), November 08, 2000.

A friend gave me 3 NewZealands (?) I think that is what they are called. They are big and white. And mean! I went to take the hay out of their pens ( cages )just to clean it and replace it and they scratched me. ON PURPOSE! with their front claws. I have a real sweet little dwarf rex; a girl. I really like her but these white ones have got to go. Speaking of treats; can I feed them black oil sunflower seeds? I have often wondered about treats too. Mine like apples a lot.

-- Bonnie (josabo1@juno.com), November 09, 2000.

They are not together Dee. I made a stacked hutch sort of system in the garage, with all the dropping going to the back of the cages. The ones under the others are protected. I can open the big door and let sun and light in good. They are fairly large individual cages.

Steve and I tried 2 years ago to put 1 buck and 3 doe New Zealands together in a stall, like in the article. But it didn't work good at all. They fought too much, and it was a real mess. We have always had better luck when they live in their own cage by themselves. But I do agree they need to get out and stretch their legs and keep their muscles in shape.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), November 09, 2000.

I have been raising rabbits for about 7 years and also show rabbits at rabbit shows. I am familar with both of these breeds. These rabbits are very large and should not be kept on wire bottom cages as they are too heavy for that. As for as food is concerned. I would stick to the pellets as the primary diet. A good quality rabbit pellet provides everything you rabbit needs excpt for daily feeding of a good quality hay. Hay will keep your rabbit healthy as it cleans hair from the gut. As you may or may not know rabbits are always grooming themselves and can get fur block in their intestines leading to death. Rabbits cannot vomit and therefore unlike cats cannot bring up these hair balls. The hay will fix that problem. As for treats. A limited amount of carrot or apple is fine. I avoid greens of any kind except for a dandilion green or two in the season. Green feed is something that can cause young rabbits in particular to have problems and die. The adult rabbits on the other hand may be able to tolerate more green feed in their diet. I would suggest you have too many bucks. IF I were to have a breed like the ones you have I would suggest maybe 1 buck for every 10 does. Unless youare going to use rabbits for show purposes. Good luck with your rabbits

-- Gary Giles (ggiles@north.nsis.com), November 09, 2000.

Gary, I have 2 long 1x6's in each cage for them to sit on. What do I make the bottom of the cage out of if not wire? These cages are very heavy wire, and the does cages have the baby wire on the sides and bottom. I got about 50 of these cages 10 years ago from a rabbit breeder who had them hanging in long rows in a huge barn. He had New Zealands. What do you suggest I do to fix the bottoms? Thanks

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), November 09, 2000.

I forgot to say that one more French Lop kindled last night. I had just put the nest box in yesterday evening. She had 5, did perfect. And the other 5 are fine too. I made a box for each of the others, so we'll see if they are due too. What a suprise! I have only had them 5 days! You can tell one of the French Lop bucks was a pet, he gets up in the doorway of the cage and wants you to pet him.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), November 09, 2000.

Well most folks I know that raise the Giant breeds Flemish, French Lops and Checkered Giants raise them on solid bottom cages because of the weight of the adult rabbits. Flemish are real big rabbits. They tell me the wire bottoms will not stand up to the weight of these big guys. Most I know have built sort of pens on the floor of their barn for them. I am not saying they will not survive on wire bottom cages but the cages may not. With all other breeds of rabbits like New Zealands and Californians wire bottom is the way to go and is much more easy to keep clean. But those breeds only reach about 12 pounds. Not 20 + pounds as the Flemish will. You can see how it goes but do hope you have a good heavy wire bottom. I have seen cages with heavy wire bottoms but the spacing between the wire was also very small and that can cause a problem as the rabbit droppings may not drop through especially with the rather large dropings of the Flemish. Get a good wire brush and try and keep it clean and also a solution of bleach and water to disenfect the cage bottom. Flemish seem to be a delightful rabbit to own and I know they are also quite friendly as are the French Lops. I have found on the other hand that the checkered Giant Breed tend to be a bit on the nasty side. Hope this helps out

-- Gary (ggiles@north.nsis.com), November 09, 2000.

I talked to Steve and he said we could put 2x4's for bracing on the bottoms. We have the cages hanging between two very large motorcycle pallets on end, so it would be easy to tie them right in.

We got some nasty weather today, tornado warnings everywhere. All the bunnies and animals were ok, lots of stuff blown around though. Weird weather for November. I am glad the bunnies are inside the building, and not outside in cages.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), November 09, 2000.

Hello, I really want to purchase a Flemish giant. I have a soft heart for animals. I think a rabbit would be a great benefit to add to my family. I do not know where to go about getting one, I would really appreciate anyone that is willing to help. I live in Boise Idaho. So I do now know where to get one.

I thank you so much!

-- Corey Blaine (beeblaine@home.com), April 07, 2001.

Subject: Flemish Giants and French Lops

I raise Flemish Giants and will tell you that wire bottom cages will hurt their feet. Because they are such big rabbits, you need to be careful feeding them. Two of mine are such easy keepers, I have to restrict their diets. But the rest seem to have trouble keeping weight on, especially if they have bunnies. I give them free choicce at these times and let them eat all the pellets they want. As you probable know, Flemish Giants only come in solid colors. You obviously have a cross, unless you have a pair of checkered giants. I have had the sweetest natured Flemish Giants ever. Mine are docile and easy going with the kids. They have been to schools all winter and in petting zoos all summer. They love the attention and hardly ever scratch. I hope you love yours as much as I love mine.

Jill Glover

-- Jill Glover (jglover@siren k12.wi.us), May 11, 2001.

Jill,

After reading and looking at lots of pics, I think I have Speckled Giant crosses. They have heavier bodies than the reg. Speckled. But I sure do love them. I'm partial to the black/white colors, they are so pretty. I have gotten 3 beautiful baby does, 1/2 grown allready, from the big buck Badger and a doe Babs. She just had 7 more the other day. I am selling the Lops as they wean their little ones, I just like the big ones better. We have sold lots of bunnies allready, and I still have 5 Lop does and 1 buck to sell, and then I'll be down to just the big ones.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), May 12, 2001.

I have found that half inch wire mesh works great for the bottoms of my cages, even for the bigger rabbits I have, (12-15 pounds) the babies shouldnt be allowed much along the lines of greens and such, until they are several months old, (too many greens and such will cause severe diarreah) what people have to keep in mind when raising domestic rabbits is, that they have been domesticated for hundreds of years, they are not equipped for surviving on wild feeds, although I have two rabbits that I have let run loose for about a year, they supplement their wild feed by eating the pellets that spill from the hutches, and they are very territorial, the big black male has beat the crap out of all the cats in the area, and has no fear of smaller dogs, and has a tendency to chase them, I would like to acquire some Flemish Giants, but have had no luck, (I live in the upper peninsula of Michigan) does anyone know where I can get them? or where I could have them shipped from? if so please e-mail me at jimsea@up.net

-- Jim Seavoy (jimsea@up.net), June 07, 2001.

Anyone with Giant Chinchilla rabbits or Flemish Giants for sale in or near Ohio.

-- Randy Sauter (randysa@cimiddletown.oh.us), March 20, 2002.