These are basic answers to your questions. If you want full explanation and loads of details from the real breeders – invest in the book series, linked on the “welcome” page of this site.
HOW BIG ARE CONTINENTAL GIANTS?
The Continental Giant Rabbits, collectively, are known as the largest rabbits in the world. Their huge SIZE is what originally attracts rabbit enthusiasts to them. However, sorry to disappoint, but you will not be able to go out and buy a 50+ pound rabbit of any breed, let alone a 30+ pound one. It is not possible ! But, with very careful selection and very strict breeding practices, it is possible to get your hands on pure, healthy Conti’s that can grow to weigh in the ballpark of 15 – 23 pounds. With that said, lets take a step back. A rabbit this size would be in comparison to the size of a West Highland White Terrier or a Welsh Pembroke Corgi dog. Not too shabby, right!
WHEN WERE CONTI FIRST IMPORTED INTO THE USA?
The earliest known IMPORTED Continental Giants (of German decent) is recorded as being in the early 1900’s. Those were imported for the purpose of mix-breeding them with Flemish, though the exact names of those who imported is not known at this time. However, one of the earliest recorded names, dated in the 1970’s & 80’s, was Mr. Kurt Whit. Later, more Continental’s were brought in by Ray Damiani (‘Sugar Ray’). Those Giants made a huge splash in the rabbit-circuits as well as in various forms of public media in 2006. Mr. Damiani also imported for the intent and purpose of cross-breeding Conti into his Flemish Giant lines to increase ear, bone, and length. As of 2015, there are quite a few people in the US who have and actively are pursuing Conti importations.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BUY A CONTI?
The cost is dependent upon who the breeder is. On average, Buying a Conti generally costs between $350.00 to $600.00 per kit. *TAKE NOTE: PRICE DOES NOT ALWAYS EQUAL QUALITY. However, as previously addressed, due to supply and demand of these wonderful bunnies, patience is often required and long distance transportation is very commonly required. However, since the breed has increased exponentially in the past few years, it is now possible to find Conti much easier and with dramatically shorter waiting times involved.
HOW LONG DO CONTI LIVE?
The average life-span of a healthy Conti theoretically ranges from 5-7 years. However, the common reality of how long they live actually tends to be from 3-5 years, and although it is usually not the case, some may live to be 7-8 years old.
Why do Conti have to be 12wks old to wean?
Baby Conti need to be left with their mom for 12 weeks before weaning them. This is very important because Conti (and other such large breeds) takes longer to develop and grow so that they can be healthy adults. Even if you do not see or think that they are still being nursed at 8 or 10wks of age – ask yourself this: are you watching them 24 hours a day, consecutively? No. Its not possible! Yet many have witnessed it and it is not uncommon for 12wk old babies to still be nursing. Remember, these are massive rabbits with very complex structures and genetics. Weaning them early causes problems; even if you don’t see it on the physical outside of their bodies, you are robbing them of vital nutrients that they need! And if you know anything at all about breeding/raising rabbits, then common sense alone should tell you that they are going to *need* more than the smaller breeds simply because of their size. Additionally, this breed grows at a different rate. If you are in such a hurry to get rid of them that they are weaning early and sending them out the door – do not be surprised when you get a BAD reputation as a breeder because that is exactly what will happen. Otherwise, if you are weaning and selling before properly weaned because you “don’t have space” or “cant afford to keep them”, then the plain honest truth is that you should not be breeding them to begin with! Instead, get a small-breed that can be sent out the door at 6-8wks of age. ***It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that if someone is trying to sell you a baby Conti that is less than 10wks old – you should RUN the other way! Find a *reputable* breeder who knows better! You will never regret having a healthier, stronger, more viable bunny.
Can Conti live together, 24/7?
Conti and any other breed can live in a colony-style setting. If you are not going to spay/neuter them, you should prepare for fights between does and between bucks, as they will fight same-sex for dominance, regardless if they are altered or in-tact. However, if you have buck(s) in with your does, they WILL breed and unless you are standing there when it happens, you likely will not have a clue. This means in 31 days, when you walk out and find babies all over the place, you may be quiet surprised – in a not so great way; especially if those babies are scattered all over the place because mom failed to build a nest and have them in the nest. Another thing you need to prepare for is that does can get pregnant in BOTH horns (sides of uterus). This means that YES, you can have 2 different litters by 2 different bucks, within weeks apart. The problem with that is that its very common for a doe to attack and kill one litter, or for younger litter to not receive the colostrum they need to survive, and then there is the problem (not as common, but does happen) where the older babies will attack and kill the younger ones. Not to mention the fact of how hard this is on the mom to try to raise 2 full litters. And then there is the complication of the runts in the older litter getting confused as being the larger of the younger litter, and causing uncertainty on who the actual sire is. Then, lastly, allowing a doe to have a 2nd litter in this manner is a sure and fast way to also earn a bad reputation as a breeder. Beyond that, if a contagion (ie., mites, RHVD, Coccidia, Pasteurella, etc) enters your place, it will absolutely spread to all of your rabbits – quickly, because there will be no way to eliminate risks when they are all living communally.
WHEN WILL CONTI BE RECOGNIZED BY THE ARBA?
There are many people who are interested in applying for a Certificate of Development (COD) for breed recognition. However, the repeated reply to this inquiry since 2015, from of the ARBA Standards Committee, is that the Continental Giants far too closely resemble the American-known Flemish Giants. As such, breed acceptance will be denied without there being significant changes in the physical statute & appearance of the Contis.
WHAT IS A BRC RUNG CONTINENTAL GIANT?
Quite simply, a BRC Rung Conti is the same the equivalent as a Pedigreed American breed of rabbit. Otherwise, it is one that has been given a metal leg-band with an ID number engraved on it, as a means of identification. The purpose of this metal band is the exact same purpose as that of an ARBA Recognized breed of rabbit having a tattoo in their ear, with a written pedigree. More specifically, it is nothing more than a marking of original ownership. This metal band, or BRC Ring, is fitted onto the leg of the rabbit with intention of it being there permanently. Additionally, when you look at the BRC Breed Standards, you will see a notation that reads such as “Ring J” or “Ring H”. Those Ring-letters are the size of metal band that is to be worn on that specific breed of rabbits. Many people may be led to believe that this permanent means of ID is proof of high quality of the animal. That – alone and by itself – is no more true than it would be to say any rabbit with a tattooed ear means that it is definitely a high quality rabbit. While that may be the original purpose by even the most well-intended breeders, it is complete inaccuracy to state this denotes top or show quality. There are also a lot of people who would copy such a marking just to scam others into thinking they are getting a great, top of the line, high quality Conti. For this reason, we once again remind you – be very careful of what you buy and who you buy from.
WHY ARE PEDIGREES IMPORTANT?
The importance of having a pedigree gives you the information of that giants’ lineage. This is very important in regards to any intent of BREEDING. Because US bloodlines are currently so tight, it is almost certain that a person in California may have a liter-mate (or otherwise closely-related) to another person’s Conti, who lives in New York. Furthermore, while sibling-breeding’s with rabbits does happen, it is often advised that if that is what you are doing, be very mindful of what you are doing, and introduce new bloodlines at least every 3-4 generations. Due to excessive and heavily repeated proven breedings of the same lineage, without induction of new blood, you are invariably increasing risk of genetic defects in the offspring.
WHAT INFO SHOULD BE ON A PEDIGREE?
Any true pedigree needs to include information for every rabbit listed, for a minimum of 3 full generations, The noted info must include the rabbit being purchased, that rabbits parents, both sides of its paternal and maternal grandparents and like-wise with the paternal and maternal great and great-great grandparents. The information needed on any true pedigree will include: (1)The breeders names… (2)rabbit’s names….(3)ear/ID number….(4)weight….(5)color… and if possible, the date of birth of each listed.
WHY ARE PEDIGREE’S IMPORTANT?
The purpose of a pedigree is to provide the ability to find and/or contact previous breeders if questions arise in regard to the purity of those rabbits. If any information is missing from a pedigree that you receive, you should make an attempt to find that ‘correct’ information. However, before changing any information, do yourself a big favor and have that breeder to give you something in writing stating that they are aware and agree to you changing this pedigree. Additionally, if it was not born via rabbits you own and at your place, do not put *your* name/rabbitry name on that rabbit’s pedigree. Doing so is legally claiming that you are the breeder of that rabbit & that is false information. While that may seem harmless to some, trust me when I tell you that it is not! *any *responsible breeder* who sells any rabbit with a pedigree should be proud of what they are selling to you. As such, they should put their name on it, as well as all other pertinent information.
Common Conti Health Problems
Since the time of this breed being introduced into the United States, with the intent of creating a pure-blood lineage of the breed with a very limited gene-pool, genetic issues have been popping up – plus there are other typical health problems on top of those caused by severe inbreeding (note the difference between IN-breeding and LINE-breeding). The challenges include, but are not limited to:
- bad teeth / wolf teeth / malocclusion
- heart disease
- kidney disease
- enteritis
- coccidia
- GI stasis
- weak ear bases
- poor litter sizes
- low litter survival rates
- one or both testicles entirely missing
- severe stress factors
- abscesses
- … and more
While some of these problems can be worked with, and even improved and possibly even bred out of those particular lines which carry these faults and deficiencies, not all can be. For this reason, it is vital that you learn about the bloodlines affected, not ignore any indications of symptoms, and only use the healthiest rabbits in your breeding programs.
For those who do have the above listed problems, it is best that those rabbits only be kept or sold as pets without a pedigree, and they should be neutered/spayed to prevent even more spread of these poor genetics in future lines.
What is line-Breeding?
Line breeding is the term used to describe a breeding program which is based with a heavy portion of the rabbits being related to one another. More often than not, line-breedings are done by choosing two carefully selected rabbits and breeding them with a desired goal and at least minimal knowledge of genetic matching’s. Furthermore, each generation has is then produced by breeding parent to child, uncle to niece, grandparent to grandchild, and so on. Typically, with this practice, breeders will also “outcross” (explained below) every x-amount of generations. We will talk more about out-crossing later, though. In many circles, line breeding is and can be a valuable asset. Doing this causes desired strengths (& weaknesses) to become stronger and greatly increases the chances of those traits to be passed down thru various generations.
What is in-breeding?
In-breeding is a term that is very closely the same as line-breeding, however it goes a bit deeper, as it involves more brother/sister and parent/child breeding than line-breeding does. In some cases, this is done-so more out of the breeders’ personal desire to create more babies, rather than the use of knowledge and experience to understand and desire the creation of better quality offspring. Another instance this is done is when the breeder does not have another suitable mate, & yet desires to have more of these rabbits, and chooses to do so thru breeding anything and everything he has to do it with, regardless of the quality of those rabbits. While line-breeding will strengthen various traits, in-breeding can be considered as a “double-dose;” where the desired and the un-desired traits are actually locked-in to place in that gene pool. With this said, if you have a pair of parents with, for instance, a phenomenal hindquarter, head, ear, and crown and you breed them together you are essentially doubling the chance that the offspring will inherit these desired traits. Therefore, by taking a brother and sister from that liter and breeding them together, their kits would then have 75% or higher of a chance of also having phenomenal hindquarter, head, ear, and crown. However, assuming that paired breeding is done but they sir (aka brother) has good shoulders while the dam(aka sister) has very narrow, poor shoulders – by breeding those together, you are also increasing the odds by a rough 50% margin that their kits would also have the un-wanted shoulder qualities. And, like with the locking in of the better traits, you have also just locked in the poor traits as well.
What is out-crossing?
Now let’s go a step further and discuss out-crossing. This is a term used to describe a breeding program which was created, primarily, by line or in-breeding but also selectively introducing new rabbits, which are completely un-related into a bloodline, every so-many generations. While it is helpful to any breeding program to seal in the best qualities, it will also do the exact opposite of that – sealing in the bad qualities. The reason out-crossing is an important step to be done is because after x-amount of generations that have been bred solely to their own family members, regardless of how nice those lines turn out, problems will begin popping up. The only way to fix those problems is to remove the bad ones from your breeding program and add in un-related, new genes which counter-act against the current under-lying problems that are being passed down. In laymen’s terms, if you have a line of rabbits that have started to develop weak ear-bases, then remove those from your program and breed a rabbit that is not at all related to them, which has a thick, strong ear base.
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Go to the “home” page on this site and click the 3 book titles.
Knowledge is never wasted. You should always strive to learn all that you can, regardless of topic!
Eva Wells
Continental Giants 