Welcome to the first post of the series, covering an A-Z of rabbit breeds. This first post will cover breeds from A-C; including some basic titbits about the breed, a little bit of history surrounding the breed and some other interesting facts. As per my two previous A-Z series, for Dog breeds and Cat breeds, between 1-3 breeds will be covered per letter – accompanied by photo’s of the breed. In the follow up posts, continuing down the alphabet, I will be writing posts covering breeds from D-F, G-I, J-L, M-O, P-R, S-V, and W-Z.
A
Alaska
Origin: Despite the name, the Alaska rabbit does not actually originate in Alaska, but in Germany! Size: Medium Weight: 3-4 kg Lifespan: 7-10 years Colours: Black only – however they can go slightly brown around the neck and shoulders in the summer.
Alaska rabbits are friendly, good tempered and make great family pets as they are not known to be aggressive but are quite docile. They are also generally gentle and affectionate, and lovely as pets.
Argenté
Origin: France Size: Small, except the Champagne which is Medium Weight: 2.7-3 kg, except the Champagne which is 4.4-5.6 kg Lifespan: 5-8 years Colours: Top colour is always silver, it is the undercoat colours that vary and therefore (alongside weight differences) define the breed variants.
– Argenté de Champagne (slate blue/ white undercoat) – Argenté Crème (orange/ cream undercoat) – Argenté Brun (dark brown/ beige undercoat) – Argenté Clair (blue/ silver) – Argenté Bleu (lavender blue/ dark blue) – Argenté St Hubert (blue/ chestnut)
Argenté rabbits are known to be quite easy going and placid, and enjoy attention – providing they’re properly socialised as kits (young rabbits). Some compare the temperament of these rabbits as like a “well mannered cat”.
B
Belgian Hare
(don’t let the name fool you, it IS a rabbit!)
Origin: Belgium Size: Medium Weight: 2.7-4 kg Lifespan: 7-10 years Colours: Black and Tan, Black, Chestnut, Tan, Red – with black ticking. Black and Tan being the breed standard.
Some describe this breed as “highly-strung” as they are very active and can be easily startled and skittish. They are friendly and enjoy petting, however they are not recommended for beginners as they require a fair bit of maintenance and need someone who can handle their nervousness.
British Giant
Origin: United Kingdom Size: Giant Weight: 5.5-7 kg Lifespan: 4-6 years
Bred in the UK as a new breed, from varying colours of Flemish Giant stock from the US in the 1940’s, the British Giant is a friendly and calm rabbit; docile and laid back. They are not as active as smaller breeds of rabbit and are quite happy to chill and laze around. They are generally good-natured, and are good family pets.
C
Californian
Origin: California Size: Medium Weight: 3.4-5.8 kg Lifespan: 5-10 years Colours: In the US, the only accepted colour is white with black (only) points (ears, nose, tail and feet) and pink eyes. In the UK the points can be black, blue, chocolate or lilac.
Calm, friendly and playful! These good-natured rabbits make good family pets, and enjoy exploring – but can become skittish if not handled regularly.
There are more chickens than any other bird species in the world
Chickens have different alarm calls for different types of predators
Chickens have over 30 different calls
Chickens have full-colour vision
Baby chickens are called chicks
Female chickens are known as pullets until they’re old enough to lay
Laying females are known as hens
Male chickens are called roosters, cocks or cockerels
The part of a rooster that dangles under his beak is called a wattle
A chickens toenails and beak each have a blood supply
Heard the phrase “running around like a headless chicken”? – there is some truth in this, the longest time period recorded, of a chicken living without its head, was 18 months!
The fear of chickens is known asAlektorophobia
Chickens are afraid wide open spaces, this is known as Agoraphobia
Rooster
“Did You Know?” Easter bunnies
For more bunny information – including terminology – check out my “Bunny Basics!” post (http://wp.me/p4i7kX-7c)
The biggest rabbit is 50lbs (3.5 stone!) and is called Darius – he is 4ft 3″ in length
Darius lives in the UK and is also the most valuable rabbit – insured for over £950,000.00
The largest litter reported to date was 24 kits the litter
At a run, a rabbit can reach 35 mph!
Rabbits on average live 8-12 years, the oldest rabbit lived to be 16
Rabbits are crepulscular animals – meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk
Rabbits can jump 36″ high
Rabbits cannot vomit – like horses, they lack the reflex
In the UK, the rabbit is the 3rd most popular pet (after dogs and cats)
A rabbit can growl and/ or scream when threatened
Rabbits scent mark their territory with scent glands under their chin
The fear of rabbits is known as Leporiphobia
Bunny Rabbit
I hope that you found the random Easter animal facts a bit of fun – if you want any more information, or have any questions, please feel free to ask in the ‘thoughts’ box below or on the comments page, or via social media sites
– Facebook, Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Cross-breed means the animal is of mixed blood; the animal is often a mix of two different breeds, or a mix of several breeds. These are often referred to as mongrels for dogs, or moggies for cats, mules in sheep, or just known as a cross-breed with other species. Cross-breeds often display traits from all the breeds that make up the mix. Cross-breeds can reproduce, as they are just different types of the same species.
A cross-breed is different to what is referred to as a hybrid. Ahybrid is cross between different species, as with cross-breeds, hybrids often display both physical and personality traits from both parents species. However, hybrids tend to be infertile (they cannot reproduce their own young) and therefore the only way to get the particular hybrid is to cross the 2 original species. A few hybrid animal examples are:
Mule (female donkey x male horse)
Hinny (male donkey x female horse)
Liger (male lion x tigress)
Tigon (lioness x male tiger)
Leopon (lion x leopard)
Beefalo (buffalo x domestic cow)
Dzo (yak x domestic cow)
Cama (camel x llama)
Zorse (zebra x horse)
Donkra (zebra x donkey)
Tigon (lioness x male tiger)
Cross-Breed Dogs
It is important to think about this when acquiring a cross-breed as a pet; if the mix of breeds is known, you can research into them to see the likely physical characteristics, as well as the likely personality traits you may see in your pet.
Cross-breeds are becoming increasingly popular with dogs, and cross-bred dogs are being sold as designer breeds. Some of the more popular designer dog breeds are:
Labradoodle (Labrador x Poodle)
Cockapoo (Cocker Spaniel x Poodle)
Chorkie (Chihuahua x Yorkshire Terrier)
Puggle (Pug x Beagle)
As you may have noticed, these deisgner breeds have been given their own, new name that combines the 2 breeds they have been crossed with.
Chihuahua x Yorkie
Due to the fact that cross-breeds have ability to reproduce, there is dispute about designer breeds and what makes them up. Take the Labradoodle for example, most breeders will only accept a dog as being a Labradoodle if it is the first generation; i.e. one parent is a Poodle, the other parent is a Labrador. If 2 Labradoodles have offspring, most breeders do not class the puppies as Labradoodles, but rather as mongrels. If one parent is a Labradoodle, and the other is either a Poodle or a Labrador, the offspring is also termed as being mongrels along most breeders of the designer breed.
Labradoodle
Aside from the designer cross-breeds, most cross-breeds are not recognised as “breeds”, but rather just referred to as crosses. The crosses from just 2 different breeds that are not designer dogs are easily differentiated by the fact they are referred to as cross-breeds, and do not have their own “breed name”.
Often cross-breeds are similar breeds that have been mated, such as the Scottish Terrier and the West Highland Terrier. These are 2 similar looking breeds; similar height, coat, ears, face, as well as having a similar temperament.
Cross-breed dog (2 breeds crossed)
However, due to the ability to reproduce, cross-breeds become more and more diluted in breed terms and eventually just get termed as a mongrel. A lot of mongrels are so mixed with breeds that a similarity to any one breed is very hard to see, others have a distinct breed that stands out; such as the Alsatian mix and the Tibetan Terrier mix, pictured below.
Cross-breed dog (Mongrel)
Cross-breed dog (Mongrel)
All breeds, including the ones that are now classified as pedigree breeds, have come about from mixing different kinds of canines to get the desired appearance and/ or personality out of the animal that the breeder desired. The Bedlington Terrier for example, is thought to be a mix of; the Rothbury Terrier, Kerry Blue Terrier, Wheaten Terrier, Otterhound, Poodle and the Dandie Dinmont Terrier… so basically a mongrel with a lot of breeds mixed in! However, nowadays it is its own recognised breed, a pedigree.
Bedlington Terrier
Other Cross-Breed Animals
Dogs may be the most popular animals to mix breeds, but they are certainly not the only ones! Cats, birds, fish, rabbits, rodents, reptiles, sheep, cows, pigs, horses and ponies can all be cross bred; but some species cross-breeds are more common than others. For example, cross-breed rabbits are fairly common, often due to un-neutered pets having accidental litters!
Cats cross-breed often too, however in one litter there can be a different father for each kitten, so the crosses cannot always be determined and may not be known – unless the cross-breeding was intentional and artificially selected. Cats are usually bred via artificial selection for their pedigree, so in the way we get designer dog breeds, it is not the same with cats. Some cat crosses can be seen clearly, but most are unsure and just get termed as a moggie.
Cross-breed cat
Just to clarify – the terms horse and pony refers to the height of the same animal. They are measure in hands high (hh) – horses are 14.2hh+, whereas ponies are up to (and including) 14.1hh. Horses and ponies are usually selected for their pedigree too, due to needing pure bloodlines for race and show animals. However, there are a few recognised cross-breeds:
Welera (Welsh pony x Arabian horse)
National Show Horse (American Saddlebred x Arabian horse)
Morab (Morgan x Arabian horse)
Appendix Quarter Horse (Quarter horse x Thoroughbred)
Quarab (Quarter horse x Arabian horse)
Walkaloosa (Tennessee walking horse x Appaloosa)
Cross-breed horse
There is also a mongrel of horses – a mix breed of many breeds that has come to be recognised as a breed, the Pony of the Americas (POA).
Mix breed horse (POA)
A lot of people do not believe birds and fish can be cross bred, however this is just due to the occurrence of this being very low (lower in fish than birds). Birds can cross breed as long as they belong to the same sub-species; for example, 2 of the same type (such as 2 conures, or 2 cockatoos) of parrot can have offspring, 2 of the same type of aviary bird (such as a pair of different finch types) can have offspring, 2 different chicken types can have offspring… And the list goes on. It is just uncommon, but the ability is there.
So really… they’re all mongrels and moggies and mixed breeds, our pets! But whatever we have, we love them regardless!
Any questions or comments?
Please use either contact page, thoughts comment box below, or social media site (Facebook, Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn).
Last week I was round at a friends house to clip the nails of their 2 little guinea pigs – Smudge and Caspian. Lovely friendly guinea pigs, each with their own little personalities – and challenges!
Smudge is the slightly larger of the 2 and is a little wriggler! She dislikes sitting still for too long, making nail clipping a bit more of a challenge. To combat this, if she wanted to pull her paw away and have a little wriggle or move about, I let her. Simply. This way I could clip her nails without the risk of damage; whilst she was still I clipped, whilst she wriggled I left her to it. This meant that clipping her nails took a little longer than anticipated but it got done, and no harm was done!
Smudge, Guinea Pig
Caspian on the other hand is slightly smaller than Smudge; she is also a little more timid but less of a wriggler! I cooed and talked in a soothing voice more with Caspian as this helped her to relax (she knows my voice despite not being my pet) and she settled quite quickly. She was a little nervous about the nail clippers but allowed me to clip her nails, rarely pulling away. Again, if she pulled away I allowed her a moment before starting again. I got through clipping her nails quicker than with Smudge as she was quieter and kept still for longer.
Caspian, Guinea Pig
Both guinea pigs were pleasant to nail clip and received a lot of fussing, cuddling and even a little treat each when their nails were done – so that the experience is not seen as a negative one. For their first time having their nails clipped they were lovely – and the inspiration for this post!
Nail clipping is an important part of pet grooming that sometimes gets overlooked, due to being seen as quite a daunting task, that can cause both pet and owner to become anxious! Many people take their pet to the vets and pay to have their pets’ nails clipped – but when you know how to clip your pets’ nails it’s easy and simple enough to do yourself!
Whether you do it yourself or take your pet to the vets, nail clipping needs to be kept on top of as overgrown nails can cause pain and discomfort, irregular gait (walking), broken nails, and (if left long enough) can cause long-term skeletal problems.
Which Clippers?
Guillotine or scissor clippers?
There are 2 kinds of pet nail clippers – the standard scissor type pet nail clippers (image 1), and guillotine type pet nail clippers (image 2). The scissor type nail clippers are used for small animals, cats and dogs. The guillotine nail clippers are usually only found for, medium and larger, dog breeds.
image 1 – scissor image 2 – guillotine
When buying nail clippers buy the ones for your pet, if you use large dog nail clippers on a small animal (not only will the clippers be very large compared to the tiny nail but) they may be too strong and cause damage to the nail/ your pet. Similarly, small animal nail clippers will be too small and weak to cut your dogs’ nails.
If you are clipping nails for a dog, find which nail clippers you feel most comfortable and confident using and get some added to your grooming kit! Most nail clippers will say what animals they are suitable for use on, and often even have pictures. DO NOT use human nail clippers as these may split the nail of your pet.
Styptic Powder
This sterilised the nail and helps to stop the bleeding faster, if you do cut the nail too short – to the quick. Some nail clippers have this included inserted in the handle, however you can buy this as a separate product. The nail just needs to be dipped into the powder and left.
How Often?
Walking dogs on pavement, letting your cat out, putting your small animal(s) in a run on the patio (so they HAVE to stay on the pavement for a bit) will help naturally wear down nails and reduce the frequency in which nails need to be clipped – but watch out for dew claws, if they does not reach the ground they will not get worn down and will need trimming even when the other nails do not!
Dew Claw
You handle your pet often and this makes your pet comfortable with you – use this to your advantage to health check your pet and check out those nails! Some pets may need a little encouragement to allow you near their feet, this can be accomplished by distracting your pet with their favourite toy or a treat, and similarly rewarding them with a play or a treat after they have let you inspect their nails.
When checking out your pets’ nails during a handling or fussing time check the length and feel if you think the nails are becoming too long. If the nails are beginning to curl back on themselves it is probably quite likely that nail clipping ought to be done quite soon! Again, remember to check the dew claws if your pet has these, as these may need clipping more often. If it is just a routine nail clip, take approximately 2mm off end of claw, if the claws are very long a bit more may need taking off. Check your pets nails weekly to ensure you keep on top of nail clipping.
How?
Getting used to the clippers
First, your pet needs to be okay with the nail clippers and you using them. The same process for getting your pet to allow you to check out their feet, can be done to get the pet used to the nail clippers too:
– Put the clippers near your pets’ toes but do not use them, then reward your pet.
– Put the clippers (closed) on your pets’ nails, then reward your pet. (This can be done over a few days or a week at regular intervals)
Your pet will soon become accustomed to the clippers, and rewards can be given after nail clipping has been done too.
The Quick
The quick is the blood vessel in the nail. This can be seen very easily in white nails as the pink bit running part the way down from the foot, however black nails are a problem as the quick cannot be seen and is therefore harder to avoid with the nail clippers.
If your pet has both white an black claws on the same foot, the black claws can be clipped using the already clipped white claws as a guide as to where the quick ends. If, like my little Bedlington, your pet has no white claws, then clip only a little bit off the end (use your own judgement based on the length of the claw).
Black nails, cannot see quick
If bleeding occurs, it usually stops in around 5 minutes. Do not put small animals back into shavings (bedding) until bleeding has stopped so the substrate does not get stuck to the nail.
Nail Clipping
Using the proper nail clippers for your pet species, clip the nail approximately 2mm away from the quick. Clip at approximately a 45° angle, one nail at a time. Take your time and if your pet wants to have a wriggle, and pull its’ paw away from you, let it! A little break may be what is needed before continuing.
If you and your pet are calm enough then nail clipping can be accomplished just you and your pet. If you and/ or your pet feel better with a second person then nail clip with a trusted second.
Nail
A Few Tips
Talking to your pet in a soothing voice helps your pet to relax; they know your voice and are comforted by it
Put your pet on your lap or a non-slip floor for clipping
Tightly wrapping a wriggly or nervous animal, in a towel or blanket, with only the desired paw (and head) sticking out can help, as the tightness helps the animal feel secure
A towel or blanket can also be used as a non-slip area under your pet that will catch the nail clippings, so the clippings are not lost in your carpet
If necessary, get someone else to hold the animal for you, whilst you clip the nails
There is NO point fighting with a wriggly animal as it’ll be okay for clipping again once it has calmed back down
DO NOT tell off or punish your pet, this will make the experience of nail clipping a negative one and your pet may be more nervous or fearful the next time
Reward your pet after with a treat, fussing or a favourite toy – this way your pet will associate the experience as a positive one, and will be less nervous or fearful next time
