Netherland Dwarf Bunny Breed , Facts, Photos, Care Information

The Ultimate Guide to Netherland Dwarf Rabbit Care, Diet, Breeding, Babies, Pet Care & more

Netherland Dwarf Rabbit Facts:

White dwarf rabbits in Holland are known as “Pol” hence the term Polish rabbit. Netherland dwarf’s origin had been widely accepted as a result of an accidental breeding of a Polish rabbit and small breed wild rabbit in the early 1900 in the Netherlands. The breed was made popular by their small size, cute and cuddly bodies and fairly calm demeanor. Brits loved them back in the 1940s and over the next 25 years they made US their homes. American Rabbit Breeders Association “ARBA” accepted Netherland Dwarf Rabbit officially as a breed in 1969.

Netherland dwarfs have small, well-proportioned round bodies. They are compact with shoulders, midsection and hindquarters of almost equal width with round head and short neck. Erect, well furred short ears and bold bright round eyes. Fur is soft with natural rolling back flow. Average weight for buck and doe is 2-2.5 lbs.

Varieties:
Self – Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Blue-eyed White, Ruby-eyed White
Shaded – Sable Point, Siamese Sable, Siamese Smoke Pearl, Tortoise Shell
Agouti – Chestnut, Chinchilla, Lynx, Opal, Squirrel
Tan – Tans, Sable Martin, Silver Marten, Smoke Pearl Marten, Otter
Any Other Variety (AOV) – Fawn, Himalayan, Orange Steel

Colors = Black, Blue, Chocolate, Ruby Eye White, Blue Eyed White, Lilac, Siamese Sable, Siamese Smoke Pearl, Tortoise Shell, Chestnut, Chinchilla, Opal, Chocolate Otter, Black Otter, Blue Otter, Lilac Otter, Sable Marten, Black Silver Martin, Blue Silver Marten, Smoke Pearl Marten, Black Tan, Blue Tan, Chocolate Tan, Lilac Tan, Fawn

Netherland Dwarf Rabbits Make Great Pets – Here’s Why!

There might not be anyone out there who isn’t a fan of the Netherland dwarf rabbits. The reason behind this fact is their adorable appearance and the tiny size to begin with. The Netherland Dwarf rabbit is basically a different dwarf that sought its origins in the Netherlands initially. Weighing about 1.1-2.5 pounds, they are among the smallest breeds of rabbits. These are seen in Blue, Black, Red or Lilac variants. Despite such a small size of this rabbit, it is very playful and can handle great roughhousing. They still desire for tons of toys to play with and especially long for time with the owner so as to keep their minds active and emit their extra energy.

1.      Appearance and Habits:

Owning an adorable baby face, the Netherland rabbits can make anyone fall in love with them. Even when they’ve grown up entirely, these little fellows maintain a babyish look. Their compact bodies weigh just about 2 pounds and their strong body proves them as good pet rabbits for kids or adults.

This breed of rabbits is cute and curious and they need to exercise a lot. Therefore, for pet owners, it is a must to keep an area where they can simply hop and skip around safely at free will. Care must be taken that all the rooms must be made safe for the bunnies as well. In fact, this is also a great time for you to be more attached to your pet. When the rabbit is out discovering things, you may sit in the room to make sure he doesn’t get into any dangers and he will also get to know his owner better.

It has been recorded that these dwarf rabbits take their origins way back to England as long ago as the 1880. As a matter of fact, they were produced because of a cross between a Polish breed with a tiny wild rabbit. The first of these rabbits were quite similar to wild rabbits. They were appalling and even had an aggressive behavior sometimes. However, after the selective breeding over years, they are now rather gentle and friendly.

Popular for their cute look, they have short pointed ears, round faces and large eyes and this way, they retain their baby-like look even once they achieve their adulthood. This is one of the most popular reasons as to why they make great pets and show rabbits.

2.      Grooming:

The best thing about the Netherland Dwarf rabbits is that they don’t demand a lot of grooming by their owners. During the spring and fall when your pet would be having the heftiest shedding (molt), a nice wire brush (slicker) can help remove all the extra fur as well. Rabbits also need to be brushed to remove the loose fur so that when he cleans himself, he wouldn’t consume a lot of his fur which would otherwise result in hairballs.

Netherland rabbits also don’t require baths. In fact, they might not even find the idea very appealing. This way, these rabbits are quite similar to cats. Since they keep maintaining and grooming themselves, they don’t need to be bathed. Pet owners must also take precaution that they might stress their rabbit out if they try giving them a bath. A wet cloth to clean the dirty area would be just perfect to do the trick if owners feel that their rabbit is dirty.

However, rabbits do prefer to have their nails trimmed. In case the owners don’t feel safe while trimming their rabbit’s nails, an appointment to the vet can be made who would simply trim his nails. This isn’t a difficult task. The key is to be careful while trimming. Unless one is careful with this process, he might cut the vein of the nail and make it bleed. Medicines are available at the pharmacies to apply on to the damaged nail to make it stop bleeding.

3.      Care:

The Netherland dwarf rabbits do happen to have a more sensitive digestive system than many other breeds. Therefore, it is vital that owners feed their pet rabbits a well-balanced diet of fresh, top quality food in appropriate amounts. Their food pellets must be fresh and shouldn’t be more than 8 weeks old and they must not be contaminated.

These rabbits are healthiest when they are fed a diet that is high in fiber content (18-20%) and low in fat (2-3%) as well as protein (14-15%). Switching from one brand to another can end up in the rabbit’s digestive system being upset causing considerable digestive problems. Therefore, once you find the right pellet for your rabbit, you must stick to it. If there’s any possible reason to have to change the food pellet of your rabbit from the usual, it should be done gradually over a week. This way the rabbit’s digestive system can easily get habitual of the new pellet without digestive disturbances. The Netherland dwarf rabbits must not be overfed. They require just about 2-3 oz. of their food pellets each day. And this amount can be altered according to his adult weight.

Their snacks must be fed to them in minute quantities measured via teaspoons only. Their favorite form of snack is oatmeal, herbs or vegetables. While introducing any new treats, the owners must wait for about 24 hours after the first so as to observe the tolerance of your pet rabbit to it. Once it has been noticed that no signs of digestive issues or other problems have occurred, such as diarrhea or loose stools, this means they’ve tolerated the meal well.

Most of the dwarf rabbits available in the pet stores are of Netherland origins. They have a very pleasant nature and are curious creatures which can easily make anyone fall in love with them.  There are many different colors that a pure breed is available in such as Blue-Eyed White, Himalayan, Ruby-Eyed White Chocolate, Black, Lilac, Smoke, Sable Point, Pearl, Chestnut, Opal, Chinchilla, Otter etc. This breed of rabbits is just so lovable with their tiny baby-like features which can be a major crowd pleasure. Just look at how adorable these little creatures are!