Netherland Dwarf

Who it suits

Someone who wants a rabbit and does not have much space — but who accepts that even the smallest rabbit needs a run, not a cage.

The Netherland Dwarf is sharp and lively. It learns its name, knows when food is coming and will play if given room. Do not count on the placid temperament of a lop, though: the tiny breeds tend to be more easily startled and to dislike being lifted off the ground.

It is social and should not live alone. A rabbit is a herd animal; a neutered pair that has been properly bonded is the right arrangement.

It does not suit small children as a pet to carry around. It is a fragile animal — a kick while held can break its spine. You play with it on the floor.

What it looks like

• Weight: around 1–1.35 kg under the continental standard. The British Rabbit Council sets a maximum of about 1.1 kg, and the American ARBA standard is lower still, at roughly 0.9 kg.
• Ears: short and erect, 5–6 cm; 5.5 cm is the ideal. They are what gives the breed its baby face.
• Head: large in proportion to the body, round, with a short muzzle
• Body: short, cobby, with a broad back
• Eyes: large and prominent
• Colour: the breed is kept in some thirty colour varieties — agouti, havana, blue, silver-tipped and the Rhön pattern are among the most popular
• Lifespan: with good care 7–12 years

Small does not mean low-maintenance. Pet shops still sell tiny rabbits as animals for a child's bedroom. Their needs are the same as those of a rabbit twice the size.

Housing

A pet-shop cage is a bed for a rabbit, not a home. Even a dwarf rabbit needs room to break into a run and to sit up on its hind legs.

• At least 3 m² of free floor space for a pair, ideally a pen or a rabbit-proofed room.
• Several hours of free movement a day.
• Two hiding places — a small, easily startled rabbit needs somewhere to bolt to, and more than one option is better.
• Non-slip flooring. Smooth vinyl damages the joints.
• A litter tray with hay; rabbits learn to use one more easily than people expect.
• Protected cables. Anything within reach will be chewed.

An outdoor hutch has to be insulated, dry and above all shaded. Heat kills a rabbit faster than frost — above 25 °C it needs cooling.

Feeding

This is where most mistakes happen, and they show up in the teeth and in the gut.

• Hay is 80 % of the diet and must be available at all times. Chewing hay wears down teeth that grow for life.
• Fresh greens and herbs daily: dandelion, plantain, parsley, carrot tops, celery, leaf lettuce (not iceberg).
• Pellets only in a very small amount — about a tablespoon a day, good quality, without coloured pieces or cereal. In a small rabbit an excess of pellets leads straight to obesity.
• Water in a bowl, not only a bottle.
• Fruit only as a treat.
• Never: bread, maize, pulses, dairy, or treats with honey or yoghurt.

Any change of food is made gradually, over several days.

Routine care

• Coat — brush weekly, more often when moulting. A rabbit cannot vomit, so swallowed fur stays in the gut.
• Claws — trim roughly every 6–8 weeks.
• Rear end — check daily. In warm weather flies lay eggs on soiled fur and the maggots burrow into the animal within a day. It is life-threatening.
• Lifting — always with both hands, supporting the hindquarters, and never by the ears or by the scruff.

Common health problems

• Dental disease — the most common problem in this breed. A shortened head means little room for teeth that grow all life long; a bad bite leads to overgrowth and sharp spurs that injure the cheek and tongue. It shows as drooling, weight loss and refusing hard food. Plenty of hay helps, but it will not correct an inherited malocclusion.
• Gut stasis — the rabbit stops eating and stops passing droppings. This is an emergency: an animal that has not eaten for 12 hours needs a vet the same day.
• Myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease — both are fatal and both are vaccinated against, even in a rabbit that never goes outside. They are carried by biting insects and can be brought in on shoes.
• Encephalitozoon cuniculi — a parasite affecting brain and kidneys; it shows as a head tilt or paralysis.
• Uterine cancer — very common in later life in unspayed does.
• Coccidiosis — common in young rabbits, shows as diarrhoea.

What to ask the breeder: what the parents' bite looks like and whether anyone in the line has needed dental work. In a breed with a shortened head this is the single most important question — overgrown teeth mean procedures under anaesthetic every few months for the rest of the animal's life.

This is not a diagnostic guide. A rabbit that is not eating, not passing droppings, tilting its head or drooling needs a vet immediately — and preferably one who sees small mammals regularly.

Anything else to consider

Neutering is worth it. In does it greatly reduces the risk of uterine cancer; in bucks it reduces spraying and aggression — and it is what allows a pair to live together peacefully.

And one thing that gets underestimated with the smallest breed: this is an animal for seven to twelve years, and treatment usually costs more than for a cat, because not every vet works with rabbits. Find your nearest small-mammal practice before you need it.