Understanding Rabbit Breeds in Choosing Your First Bunny

As rabbits come in a variety of breeds, colours and sizes, you should understand more about rabbit breeds in choosing your first bunny. It is not easy to correctly identify a rabbit breed. Even professionals make mistakes sometimes.

Note that not all pet stores sell pure breed rabbit. If you are really serious about getting a pure breed rabbit, then you should go to rabbit breeder. However, in view that there are so many rabbits in rabbit shelter that need a home, why not start there first.



Bigger rabbit breed actually makes better pet rabbit for smaller children. Rabbits have very fragile skeletal and an active child may easily injure the rabbit. On the other extreme, you would not want a giant rabbit breed as they may take up too much space.

There may be near to 100 rabbit breeds in the world but the American Rabbit Breeders Association only recognised about 45 rabbit breeds. Among some of the rabbit breeds recognised by the Association is presented below.

For the small rabbit breed weighing from 2 to 6 lbs, the Association recognised the following rabbit breeds: American Fuzzy Lop, Britannia Petite, Dutch, Dwarf Hotot, Florida White, Havana, Himilayan, Holland Lop, Jersey Wolly, Mini Lop, Mini Rex, Netherland Dwarf, Silver and Tan.

The descriptions of some of the more popular small rabbit breeds are as follows:

American Fuzzy Lop American Fuzzy Lop weighs from 3.5 to 4 lbs (1.6 to 1.8 kg). They have a variety of coat colours. They have compact muscular body, dense and coarse coat. Just like other lop-ear rabbit, their ears folded over to slightly below the jaw.

Dutch The Dutch rabbit breed is a fancy rabbit breeds weighing up to 5lbs. Breeders are always trying to breed perfectly marked examples. Miss-marked bunnies are always available and make excellent pet rabbits. The Dutch rabbit breeds come in various colours, black, blue, chocolate, yellow, tortoiseshell, steel grey, brown grey and pale grey.

Jersey Wolly The Jersey Wolly rabbit breed weighs under 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg). They come in a wide variety of colours and have long woolly coat. They are also known as the Dwarf Angora.

Netherland Dwarf This rabbit breed weighs under 2.5 lbs (1.1 kg). They were introduced into the UK in 1950. They are bad tempered, especially among bucks (male adult rabbits). However, the adult dwarf doe (female rabbits) are very docile and can make wonderful pet rabbits. They have short ears and are bred in a wide variety of colours and patterns.

For medium-size rabbit breeds that weigh from 6 to 9 lbs, the Association recognise the following rabbit breeds: Alaskan, Angora, Argente, Belgian Hare, English Spot, Harlequin, Lilac, Rex, Rhinelander, Satin Angora, Silver Marten and the Standard Chinchilla

The descriptions of some of the more popular medium rabbit breeds are as follows:

Angora

The Angora rabbit breed is one of the oldest breeds of rabbit. They are thought to have originated in Turkey hundreds of years ago and were initially breed for their wool. There are four types of Angora: English angora

5-7 lbs (2.3-3.2 kgs)

long silky hair; the French angora

7.5-10.5 lbs (3.4-4.8 kg); the Giant Angora

8.5 lbs (3.9 kg) and up

soft fine undercoat (wool), straight stiff guard hairs, and a wavy fluff with a guard tip in-between; and the Satin Angora

6.5-9.5 lbs (3-4.3 kg)

very fine wool.

The English Angora is adorned growths of wool on the tips of the ears and front feet that are known as "furnishings". They have rich ruby red eyes.



English Spot The English Spot breeds weigh from 5 to 8 lbs (2.3 to 3.6 kg). They come in white with black, blue, brown, gold, grey, lilac or tortoise colour. They have butterfly mark on the nose, colored ears, eye rings, spine marking (which is herringboned) and a spot on the cheek and a chain of spots along the body. They have long arched body like a hare.



Rex The Rex rabbit breeds weigh from 7.5 to 10.5 lbs (3.4 to 4.8 kg). All the Rex rabbit breeds are of the same type - a graceful rabbit gently sloping up to well rounded hindquarters. They are good nature rabbits and make excellent pets. They come in colours of black, black otter, blue, broken group, californian, castor, chinchilla, chocolate, lilac, lynx, opal, red, sable, seal or white.

For the large rabbit breed, the Association recognised the following rabbit breeds: American Sable, American Chinchilla, Chinchilla, Beveren, Californian, Cinnamon, English Lop, Hotot, New Zealand, Palomino, Satin and the Silver Fox.

For the giant-size rabbit breed weighing over 11 lbs, the Association recognised the following rabbit breeds: American Checkered Giant, Flemish Giant (Patagonian), French Lop, Giant Chinchilla and the Giant Papillon.





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The Plush Bunny and The Cottontail Rabbit

The plush bunny is a popular choice of soft toy next to the teddy bear. It's a terrific first-time stuffed animal for a young child and equally as good for someone a little older. For those that are partial to all things to do with rabbits, a plush bunny or two is a great way to begin a collection.

While there are more than one species of cottontail rabbit, the eastern cottontail is the one most people are familiar with. It can be found living in Canada right through to South America and in the United States from the East Coast to the Great Plains. The coloring of the cottontail rabbits ranges from reddish brown to gray with a white underpart but it's its white, short, fluffy tail that looks like a cotton ball tail for which it gets its name.



The cottontail breeds in March right through to early fall giving birth after 28 days to three to eight young. Females don't dig their own burrows, but instead, scratch out what is no more than a depression in the ground, usually in an area of dense grass so they can ensure to remain hidden; they then go on to line their nest with fur and dry grass. A female cottontail can have anywhere from two to four litters per year with babies born blind, naked, and totally helpless. They grow very quickly, however, and leave the nest after about two to three weeks. At four to five weeks, babies are totally independent and weaned from their mother. Only about 15 percent of baby rabbits will go on to survive their first year.

Unlike many animals which hibernate in winter, cottontails are active throughout the entire year. They come out mainly at night in search of food. During the day, they will stay hidden in dense brush where they can be protected from bad weather and predators. When the weather gets particularly harsh or to get away from a predator, cottontails will make use of burrows abandon by ground hogs.

Cottontail rabbits have great hearing and eyesight. When they sense danger, they will freeze in place until the danger has 'disappeared.' However, if getting too close, they will run immediately, usually moving in slow, short jumps or hops. When really frightened, they can reach speeds of up to 18 miles per hour over short distances and run in a zig-zag type pattern so as to confuse whatever is pursuing them. While they don't go in the water very often, cottontails are also very good swimmers.

When choosing your plush bunny, ensure it has a tail - while it doesn't have to be exactly like the cottontail rabbits', something similar would give the plush bunny a more authentic look. Like teddy bears, the plush rabbit comes in a variety of colors, including pink, purple, green, and blue, especially when close to the Easter holiday. If it's realism you're going for, stick to the same type of coloring found on the real thing.

Angeline Hope is a collector of giant stuffed plush animals. You can view a selection of giant stuffed plush animals including plush bunny toy animals at MyBigPlush.





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Rabbit Names - A to Z of the Best Bunny Names

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