# What breed - Flemish or Giant Chinchilla?



## GypsyG (Aug 7, 2019)

Yesterday I did a thing.  I brought home two new rabbits.  I most definitely did not need two new rabbits, but they were so pretty I couldn't resist.  The lady told me that they are Flemish Giant, and the biggest one is bigger than the sandy Flemish doe I already have... But the ear size and head shape are different and I was thinking they might be giant chinchilla.  What do y'all think?




 

 

 

 
This is the "little" one (15.8 lbs).  Her name is Althea.




 

 

  The bigger one, Big Bertha, is 17.8 lbs... But obviously overweight.  Check out that crazy double dewlap action!  I've never seen a dewlap like that before.  

They are supposed to be litter mates and 19 months old.  They are unproven, but the price was low so I decided to take the gamble.

And I promise, the hutch they are in is temporary... As I type this I'm waiting on my dad to bring me more screws so I can finish their new hutch with proper wire flooring.

What do y'all think? Flemish or Giant Chin?  Worth the gamble?


----------



## AmberLops (Aug 7, 2019)

I would say Giant Chinchilla...


----------



## B&B Happy goats (Aug 7, 2019)

my guess is Giant Chinchilla also


----------



## Bunnylady (Aug 7, 2019)

They could very easily be "pet quality" Flemish Giants. There's a great deal of Flemish in the Giant Chin, so a resemblance is to be expected (shoot, they are even both "mandolin type," and there are only a few other breeds like that).

My question is, why would you think that  the person who sold them to you didn't know what they had? Giant Chins aren't very popular; they are on the "watch" list with the Livestock Conservancy. That being the case, I'd think that anyone breeding them would probably have had to seek them out and therefore know that's what they were breeding. Flemish are (relatively speaking) more common; a lot of people who never darken the showroom door breed Flemish, often randomly mixing colors and producing type that is all over the road.

Incidentally, people who breed Flemish have told me that you need to keep them in cages that have at least partial solid flooring, Even the sturdiest wire tends to sag under the weight of such huge animals, which makes them susceptible to sores on their feet.


----------



## GypsyG (Aug 7, 2019)

Bunnylady said:


> They could very easily be "pet quality" Flemish Giants. There's a great deal of Flemish in the Giant Chin, so a resemblance is to be expected (shoot, they are even both "mandolin type," and there are only a few other breeds like that).
> 
> My question is, why would you think that  the person who sold them to you didn't know what they had? Giant Chins aren't very popular; they are on the "watch" list with the Livestock Conservancy. That being the case, I'd think that anyone breeding them would probably have had to seek them out and therefore know that's what they were breeding. Flemish are (relatively speaking) more common; a lot of people who never darken the showroom door breed Flemish, often randomly mixing colors and producing type that is all over the road.
> 
> Incidentally, people who breed Flemish have told me that you need to keep them in cages that have at least partial solid flooring, Even the sturdiest wire tends to sag under the weight of such huge animals, which makes them susceptible to sores on their feet.


I was just assuming since all of the Flemish and Flemish crosses I've had before had longer ears and a more refined head, but you could well be right.  There are only two advertising breeders of giant chins locally around here, and quite a few advertising flemish.   The lady I got them from got them as kits off of a feedstores bulletin board advertisement.  She said the flyer simply said "giant rabbits" and asumed Flemish.

edit: ps - all my hutches have sections of solid flooring and all my cages have resting tiles or boards.


----------



## Rezchamp (Aug 14, 2019)

Hi
As for the breed, I can't really respond. Mine are Mutt that grow fast and have a good 5-9lb carcass on grasses and weeds and water.
I have had ears like that(kinda folded) in some of my FG's or at least I was told they were FG. That said now, where I live there are no Chinchilla.
As for hutches, mine are made with 2x2 frame, plywood floor, roof and 2 sides. The other 2 sides are 3/4" hardware cloth.
At one end there is a nestbox with an access on top. The passage to the nest box is on the "downhill".
All my hutches are placed so one corner the other end from the nestbox is downhill. Pee and poo rolls/trickles down and gathered in a screened bucket. The pee evaporates or is spilled into a bigger Paul, diluted into 10 parts water and sprayed on the lawn. The poo goes in the garden or the compost.
My grower hutches are 7'6"Lx23"Hx24"W and the brood doe hutches are 46"Lx23"Hx24"W. All are slope-roofed on hinges. The bucks are also kept in doe hutches. I still have my first hutch I built 17years ago. Till then I kept them in cages with 1/2" hardware cloth floor. That was hard on the feet hence the plywood floors.
Like I said though, my herd is Mutt. A mishmash of NZG, Rex, FG, Californian, Harlequin, FrenchLop, Angora, and even a huge 7lb lion head(???). All colors, coat type, sizes, ears....all taste the same.
Good luck in your endeavours.


----------

