Flemish Giant Rabbit

Facts about Flemish Giant Rabbits. The Flemish Giant Rabbit is a domestic rabbit breed that was developed during the sixteenth century in Flanders, which is the northern part of Belgium in Europe. The Flemish Giant Rabbit breed is famous for its big-size body. It is supposed to have descended from numerous fur and meat rabbit breeds, probably including the Stone Rabbit, one of the oldest Belgian rabbit breed and the Patagonian, a European rabbit breed, which is now extinct. The Flemish Giant Rabbit breed is an ancestor of several worldwide rabbit breeds and it was imported into England during the middle part of the nineteenth century. The Flemish Giant Rabbit was exported from Belgium and England to the United States during the early 1890s to assist in improving the size of meat producing rabbits during the grand "rabbit boom". This rabbit breed did not receive much attention pending 1910 where it started emerging at small domestic animal shows all through the country. Nowadays, the Flemish Giant Rabbit is one among the most popular rabbit breeds at rabbit shows, owing to its strangely big size and its different colors.

"Scientific name for Flemish Giant Rabbit is Oryctolagus cuniculus". "Fear of Rabbits Leporiphobia". All rabbit breeds are "lagomorphs" various plant-eating mammal of the order Lagomorpha ; a hare, rabbit, or pika.

Features of Flemish Giant Rabbit

The Flemish Giant Rabbit is one among the largest domestic rabbits such that the female rabbits are a little heavier than the male ones. A senior female Flemish Giant Rabbit will have a body weight of 14 lbs (6.4 kg), whereas the senior male Flemish Giant Rabbit will weigh 13 lbs (5.9 kg). It is quite common to see a Flemish Giant Rabbit with a body weight of 22 lbs (10 kg). The Flemish Giant Rabbit breed is a semi-arch type breed, with its back arch starting from the back part of its shoulders and extending up to the base of its tail, offering the body the shape of a mandolin.

Flemish Giant Rabbits as pets enjoy wet food, carrots, hay or lettuce, dark leaf lettuce is good. (Iceberg lettuce contains too much water and too little fiber to be suitable.) Limit giving them fruit with sugar in it. Alfalfa provides the high caloric content necessary for baby bunnies development. Once Flemish Giant Rabbits reach seven months of age, gradually switch them over to timothy hay, oat hay, or orchard grass. Avoid giving them yard clippings, since grass is often sprayed with fertilizer, insecticides, pesticides, and other chemicals rabbits should not be eating. The Flemish Giant Rabbit diet should consist of 70% of Hay and make sure they have fresh water every day.

The Flemish Giant Rabbit has a long and powerful body, with fairly wide hindquarters. Usually, the male Flemish Giant Rabbits have a wider and a more massive head than the females. The female Flemish Giant Rabbits may have a big, full, consistently carried dewlap, which is the skin fold beneath their chins. The fur of the Flemish Giant Rabbit breed is known to be shiny and thick, and it will roll back to the original position when stroked from its hindquarters to its head.

Usually, the female Flemish Giant Rabbit will attain its full maturity after one year of its birth, whereas the male Flemish Giant Rabbit will attain the maturity after 1 1/2 years of its birth. Due to their large size, the Flemish Giant Rabbit breeds require considerable living quarters that provide them sufficient opportunity for their physical movement. Usually, the Flemish Giant Rabbits are kept inside the house in an extremely large room or pen.

Bigger dog crates are often more suitable than conventional rabbit and petite-pet cages, which are inclined to be shorter and smaller. Usually, a typical Flemish Giant Rabbit that has a body weight of more than 12 lbs (5.5 kg) may need at least a five square feet (.46 square meters) of ground space. The size of suitable living quarters increases with the size of the rabbit.

Behavior of Flemish Giant Rabbit

Flemish Giant Rabbits are docile and liberal to handle, and frequent communication with humans is a necessity for this to happen. Similar to all rabbit breeds, the Flemish Giant Rabbit breed can turn out to be fearful, and sometimes violent, if handled irresponsibly or incorrectly. Their larger structure needs special attention, paid to their spine alignment while handling. The welfare of a Flemish Giant Rabbit depends upon how the owner takes care of the rabbit. However, the Flemish Giant Rabbits are not an ideal pet for younger or undeveloped caregivers.

The male Flemish Giant Rabbit is called a buck and a female Flemish Giant Rabbit is called a doe, also both known as a bunny. A young rabbit is called a kit "kitten" or baby bunny.

Flemish Giant Rabbits have an outstanding sense of vision, smell and hearing. Having eyes on the side of their head and being so big, gives them nearly 360 degrees vision, allowing them to see predators from all directions. The Flemish Giant Rabbit can see everything behind and in front of them and have just a small blind-spot in front of their nose.

Pet Flemish Giant Rabbits should be kept in pairs for Companionship, its important for a Flemish Giant Rabbits happiness and it can live longer with a companion. In the wild, rabbits are very social. Female rabbits can produce about 2 to 4 litters of bunnies per year with 8 to 12 babies and sometimes 15.

The average lifespan of a rabbit is around 5 to 8 years and in captivity can live up to 10 years. Flemish Giant Rabbits have 28 teeth and an incredible fact, a Flemish Giant Rabbits teeth never stop growing throughout its life.

Flemish Giant Rabbits are very clean animals and will groom themselves and also each other. Flemish Giant Rabbits are crepuscular-(meaning the are most active at morning and evening) and do most of there feeding in the evening. Flemish Giant Rabbits on average sleep about 8 hours.

For bedding, give Flemish Giant Rabbits wood pellets or aspen. You can use pelleted horse bedding. Do not give them pine or cedar. Clean the cage with either white vinegar or a cage safe cleaner; don’t use bathroom cleaner or other things that are toxic for the pet cage.
De-worming is a major concern and should be done in the spring and fall. A pea sized amount of de-worming paste in the rabbit's mouth is sufficient for the Flemish Giant Rabbit.

Flemish Giant Rabbits have long ears which can be as long as 8" (20cm). Flemish Giant Rabbits are herbivores (a herbivore, eats leaves, grass, hay and furns (plant eaters) and also mammal.

Flemish Giant Rabbits are born without fur and its eyes are closed. Half of the rabbits in the world live in North America. Rabbits are comfortable living in groups. European rabbits like to live in burrows underground. Warren is known as a group of burrows. Cottontail Rabbits are the only rabbit that does not live under ground.