Bunny breed advice for a potential first time rabbit owner

Hi there. Not sure where to post this but here goes...

My little sister (who's not so little anymore being almost 17) would like to get a new rabbit. The only bunnies I've handled in the past are domestic rabbits so I can't really give her any advice what to get since she wants a rabbit with a distinct breed.

The only breeds I know being sold in my area are the Lionhead, Lop, Mini Rex, and the Dwarf (not sure which variety of 'dwarf' but I posit it's the Netherland being the most common) so one of these breeds is the one she's considering on getting.


I've only ever had 2 bunnies and both are domestic. Levi was pretty headstrong and charged at my full-grown Labrador on the first meeting while Alice used to sit in a corner and preen herself for hours. Not sure if the differences are related to their gender but I was wondering which of the above breeds is generally regarded as more amenable to handling, more playful with humans, etc.

I Googled bunny breeds but most pages came up with breed description for fur types, fur colors and sizes...

PS

For some reason she'd prefer a breed that came in medium - dark brown fur + blue eyes.

Is this even possible for the breeds I mentioned?

I'd advise her to go along to wherever she is getting the rabbits from, and meet the bunnies. In my experience personality/ease of handling etc aren't related to breed. Rabbits, just like people, are all different and their temperament will depend on many things (environment they live in, how they have been treated by people etc).

What does make a difference is spaying/castrating. Whichever rabbits she gives a home to will need to be spayed/castrated, as this should calm their behaviour down as well as protecting their health (unspayed females for example are extremely likely to fall foul of uterine cancer).

Rabbits need to live in pairs (male/female pair is usually best - both neutered of course), so she would need to think about homing two rabbits rather than a single.

Is your sister in the Philippines also? I don't know if there are rabbit rescues there, but if there are it would be nice for her to look there and give a home to a rescued pair. If rescues are like they are in the UK, the rabbits may already be neutered and vaccinated, and personality will have been assessed

Maybe the RWAF website would help her out as well - there's lots of helpful advice on there: http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk

Thanks for the response.

Yes, my sister's in the Philippines as well and I don't think our rescues here have plenty of bunnies.

If they're not very different behavior wise, which of the breeds above will require the most/least amount of specialized care?

Blue eyes are quite rare I believe so I would think that would be hard to find.

Rabbits don't always conform to 'breed temperaments' but in my experience from having two lops and two lionhead mixes the lops are a lot more laid back and calm.

Lops tend to have teeth and ear problems, rex heart and hock problems, lionheads have a lot of fur so need grooming regularly and netherlands again are prone to teeth issues.

Most rabbits don't like to be picked up, although there are exceptions, but most love attention and cuddles if you sit with them on the floor or they jump up onto the couch. I guess it's like a cat, most of them don't like to be picked up but love to come to your for cuddles. I agree with going to see the rabbits and seeing what their personalities are like. I'm sure she will just fall in love with one. I would stay away from rexes as a first time owner as they do need special flooring because they're prone to sore hocks.

Thank you for bringing those up.

BTW, when you say teeth problems are they like congenital problems like malformed gums/teeth/jaws or something that develops but can be prevented?

BTW previous comment was a reply to Elena.


I have mentioned these to my sister and we're pretty much leaning towards the lionhead and the netherland.

@ jenova: Yes, thank you. We're actually looking to set a sched to visit those bunnies. I'm also kinda wary since she wasn't too helpful when I first brought my dog home as a pup but that was 8 years ago.

I'm only letting her keep one if she manages to do things for the already existing pets in the house - the dog and the hamster - like feeding, cleaning the cage (for the hamster) and handling them properly. If she gets fed up at any point, pets are a no-go at all.

For health and temperament a lot will depend on the individual rabbit (or the person breeding them).

For temperament you want rabbits that have been handled whilst growing up so are used to humans - look for babies that are inquisitive and not huddling at the back of the cage worried. Try holding them - do they settle in your arms and look around or try to jump down or freeze like they are scared?

Health wise - make sure they are 8 weeks old, younger rabbits are likely to have digestion issues from being separated too early. Check their bottoms underneath - they should be clean and dry. Check the nose/eyes for discharge and the front legs/paws for any matted fur (as this is where they'd wipe discharge off). Look in the ears. Also look at the front teeth - they should meet neatly and not be overgrown. However teeth problems often don't show up until rabbits are older.

@ Tamsin: Thanks. We'll be sure to look into those as well.

warlepus said:

Thank you for bringing those up.

BTW, when you say teeth problems are they like congenital problems like malformed gums/teeth/jaws or something that develops but can be prevented?

Click to expand...

Both really. A lot of teeth issues are caused by poor diet, almost always not enough hay but some are caused by misalignment which is usually worse in breeds with squashed faces, i.e. lops and nethies as there is less space in the mouth for their teeth.

Ah I see... So they're even more prone to teeth problems.


We'll probably settle on the lionhead then.