my 6.5 yr old Holland Lop died suddenly

Question
I am wondering if 6.5 yrs is an average lifespan for my Holland Lop.  I heard they 7-12 yrs; however, imbred does live less (I got her from a pet store in Hawaii and I am pretty sure she was imbred).  She was fine the day before she past, she was eating, drinking, and her poo looked healthy.  There might have been issues with her ingestion of fur since I don't feed my bunnies fresh greens (just Oxbow pellets and timothy hay) which I know I should have since its better for ingestion.  However, since her poo was good sized I though this was ok.  Any ideas as to why she unexpectedly past?  She was a little overweight (very large double chin) and sometimes had asthma (she would make grunting sounds).  Her fur was beautiful (no mange or noticeable infections).

Answer
Hi,

I am sorry for the loss of your little gal.

Hay is much more important for getting fur through the gi tract than greens.  They can live without greens.  They are designed to eat hay - they need the high fiber to push hair through them.

Was she spayed?  The large dewlap (chin) you mention suggests to me that she was not spayed.  If not, there is a good chance this played a factor in it (uterine cancer).  The only conclusive way to know is to have your vet do a necropsy (animal autopsy) and determine a medical cause, if possible.

Being inbred may be a factor if it passes along a weakness.  Again you would not know without a necropsy.

The grunting is not asthma.  Grunting is their little protest sounds, they don't like what you're doing (ie moving stuff around in their house, hands inside their cage, etc).  Very mild and gentle form of protest.  Like a teenager going "tsk" at mom or dad.

Generally hutch rabbits (outdoors) do not live as long as indoor house rabbits.  Predators can kill a hutch rabbit without even touching them (they can be scared to death).  Generally rabbits that are intact do not live as long as rabbits that are fixed.  Their high levels of hormones, as they get older, are more favorable to cancer forming (very high in females, and moderately more so in males).

Lee