If you love rabbits and want to know more about them, keep reading about the Flanders Giant Rabbit! These rabbits are very special and are very different from other breeds of rabbits. Besides their exceptional size, they have many other peculiarities and without a doubt, many good qualities. Did you know that some of these rabbits can be larger than an average breed dog? On PlanèteAnimal we tell you all about the Giant of Flanders!
Origin
- Europe
- Belgium
Origin of the Giant of Flanders
The first specimen of Flanders Giant Rabbit probably dates from the 16th century, as evidenced by documents from the time. This is why this breed is considered one of the oldest current breeds of rabbits. However, the first official standard was not established until the 19th century, more precisely in 1890. Despite its long history, the Giant of Flanders only became popular outside Belgium (where it originated) in 1980, first arriving in England and then spreading to the rest of the world in a very short time. Today, the fan club for this breed is growing, as its imposing size has certainly not gone unnoticed.
Physical characteristics of the Giant of Flanders
According to the standard, the Flanders Giant weighs on average between 6 and 10 kilograms, but there are cases of rabbits weighing up to 18 kilograms, the size being similar to that of a poodle for example.The Flanders Giant Rabbit has a square body with an arched back, muscular and powerful extremities and a rounded tail. The head is large and broad, with visible thick dewlap. His ears are long and big and his eyes are dark.
The coat of these rabbits is dense and short, and retracts if brushed against the hair. The colors are very varied and we accept 10 in total, the most common being: black, beige, blue, steel gray, white gray and brown.
Character of the Giant of Flanders
They are calm rabbits, which many define as slow or lazy, because they like to spend their days lying down and enjoying the silence and tranquility. That is why they are not suitable for noisy and overly busy homes. The Flanders Giant is very sociable and gets along very well with other rabbits as well as with other pets if they are used to living together. However, they are introverted by nature which means a lot of effort needs to be put into early socialization for it to be successful.
How to take care of the Giant of Flanders?
In addition to the basic care that every rabbit needs, we must pay particular attention to the diet of our Flanders Giant. This is due to the fact that it is easy to fall into the error of thinking that due to its size, we must give it enormous amounts of food. Even if this rabbit consumes larger quantities of food daily than another smaller breed, you should not overdo it either, at the risk of making him gain a lot of weight in a very short time, which will cause him he alth problems related to overweight and obesity.
Another of the factors that differs the most in terms of care compared to other breeds, is the space of the Flanders Giant's cage. This space must be, logically, large, allowing him to move freely. This is something we must take into account before adopting one of these rabbits, because if we live in a small apartment, it will not be possible for us to welcome such an animal in good conditions.
He alth of the Giant of Flanders
One of the major he alth issues these large rabbits face is obesity, so it's normal to fall into the mistake of giving them excess food due to their large size. But we must take into account that they are very sedentary, so they should not eat disproportionately. This obesity is dangerous because it leads to consequences such as a greater likelihood of fractures, due to the additional weight that their fragile bones have to bear, joint and cardiovascular problems.
We also need to visit the veterinarian regularly, as this will allow us to keep informed of the general state of he alth of our animal, by carrying out tests and analyzes. We can take advantage of these visits to carry out specific treatments such as nail trimming, because if we want to trim a rabbit's nails at home, it can be a bit complicated.
It is also advisable to keep our rabbit vaccinated and dewormed both internally and externally, as this will prevent a large number of diseases, such as myxomatosis or viral haemorrhagic disease of rabbits, both of which are fatal in a very large proportion of cases.
Pictures of Giant of Flanders
