Rabbits! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lop

One way to characterize rabbits is by ear-type, and really they'll fall into one of two types-- erect-eared and lop-eared. Most bunny breeds are erect-eared, meaning that their ears will stand straight up, but some, like the one in the image here, are lop-eared; his droop down.

The reason for this has to do with the muscles in a rabbit's cranium. If the rabbit's skull is shaped a certain way then the cartilage that develops in its first few weeks (or not) will determine its ear type. In many domestic rabbits, these ear types have been forced through selective breeding.

This said, newborn rabbits will generally be born with erect ears, only finding out they have lop ears after a month or two.

Answer: No

Although jackrabbits are in the same family as rabbits (specifically Leporidae), there is a bit of difference between the two; jackrabbits are actually considered hares. Hares are typically much larger and more distinguishable in their younger days. Hares are born and are almost immediately able to move around while rabbits take more than a week to develop. Additionally, hares are better-built for movement; they can run significantly faster than rabbits.

Answer: Fancy

This term spreads beyond just rabbits as it refers to the general tendency of domestic breeders and pet owners as being 'animal fanciers'. As such, fancy rabbits are rabbits intentionally bred as pets, an activity that commenced during the Victorian Era. Rabbits grew to be a top pet in the western world over time (generally ranking below cats and dogs).

Fancy breeds include the Angora rabbit and most Rex variations.

Answer: Belgian hare

The image here isn't quite a Belgian hare, but it is a wild European hare, and that might only complicate things a bit in this trickier breed question. Belgian hares, though named as such, are rabbits and not hares, bred for livestock originally but inevitably kept as pets.

It's far from a dwarf breed though; all the other answers are amongst the smallest breeds of domestic rabbit with the Netherlands dwarf occasionally weighing no more than two pounds.

Answer: One month

Generally, rabbit does will mate and give birth between thirty-one and thirty-three days, spending their time in pregnancy creating a nest and taking in as many nutrients as possible. As with many animals, pregnancy will come second-nature to a rabbit; the nesting process will begin as soon as the rabbit determines it is necessary. If you have a pet rabbit, your best course of action would be to provide comfortable materials and proper food. Rabbits can get pregnant, again, about a day after giving birth.

Answer: Kindling

The act of giving birth, for rabbits, is called kindling. Yes, that's the same word as firestarter; no there is no formal relation between the two. That actual kindling act doesn't take long. When the rabbit doe is in labour she'll take approximately fifteen minutes to give birth to all of her young.

When the process is complete, she'll often spend the next several days nursing the babies in her newly-made nest, ensuring they survive the early moments. Nursing occurs, generally, twice a day.

Answer: Kits

Kits! Look how adorable! Mother rabbits can have more than a dozen kits in one litter. After eight weeks, kits can leave their mother and her nursing and live on as mostway-to-full-grown bunnies, and this one of the reasons that people know rabbits to multiply quickly. Female rabbits can become pregnant after four months and have a new litter of kits almost every month. It's a lot!
Most rabbits and most kits are somewhat defenseless, however. Though a lot can be birthed, they are not fierce creatures and there is a risk to be had when they do not have protection.

Answer: Warren

In the wild, rabbits will generally dig nests underground large enough to fit groups of them. These rabbit warrens, dug near meadows, creeks, and streams, are built to protect rabbits from predators above ground; generally they're small enough and deep enough that larger creatures can't get in.

This being said, pregnant rabbits will leave the warren to create their own nest elsewhere, protecting them by covering them and keeping them hidden. Domestic rabbits are kept in a cage or, otherwise, a hutch.

Answer: White

A Californian white is normally white with black around the ears, feet, tail, and nose though this can vary a bit. Nevertheless, this rabbit, bred from New Zealand whites and chinchilla rabbits, was created in the 1920s and is regarded as pure if seen with colourings like the one in the provided photo. The colourings can actually be controlled as well; if the Californian is raised somewhere cooler, then it'll have darker markings.

Though the Californian can reach up to twelve pounds (five kilos) in weight, it's still nowhere near the largest. The Flemish giant can reach up to twenty (nine kg).

Answer: True

While the giant Fleming reaches as large as twenty pounds (nine kg), the Netherland dwarf hits a maximum of two and a half pounds, only one kg. Originating in (go figure) the Netherlands, they were purpose-bred and exported for domestic use, though, originally, they were a temperamental breed. Today, they're kept by owners who are able to dedicate a good deal of care and attention to their rabbits and by people aiming to create other dwarf rabbits-- you can breed a Netherland dwarf with another, larger breed to get a shorter result.