Which Rabbit is For You?

In this post I hope to give you a good idea of all the cute little (or big) rabbit varieties and which one is right for you!

California Meat Rabbit

Despite the fact that I have never farmed any animal for meat, this rabbit still wins as one of my favorites!

The California Meat Rabbits are large rabbits which makes them a favorite of mine to sell to families with small kids. I sold Harvey, one of my baby Californias, to my mandolin teacher in exchange for some free lessons.

After all, he had been looking for rabbits for a while but was worried that his toddlers might hug it too hard or something. But one time, when he came to our house to teach, he saw them and how big they were and we told him they now had babies, so he decided he wanted one!

(I gave him my favorite so I could visit him a lot).

They are good for meat, as well (hence the name).

Here are some pictures of our family having fun with Californias:

New Zealand

The other main meat rabbit is the New Zealand Rabbit.

The California is actually a cross between the larger New Zealand, the now very rare Himalayan rabbit (which looks like a small California), and Chinchilla rabbit, the biggest of them all.

However, the California Rabbit is now much more common than any of its ancestors.

The New Zealand are bigger so they are better for meat if you are trying to feed a bigger crowd.

In general, though, they are good for the same exact things as California Rabbits.

Chinchilla Rabbit

Originally used for meat, these giants were replaced by the two aforementioned white rabbits as primary meat rabbits.

They are now just huge cuddly pets usually. They, like California and New Zealands make great pets for families with small children.

Rex

Now, we will move on to the smaller breeds. They don’t do much as meat, but they can make money as the babies are just precious.

So, the Rexes and Mini Rexes ended up as a family favorite. They make wonderful pets and ours have always been very sweet and cuddly.

Dutch

I may have ended up with Snickers and Oreo by accident, but my two female Harlequins are some of the sweetest rabbits I’ve ever had!

Well, turns out they are a type of Dutch rabbit, which encompasses any pattern that goes in the bi color pattern shown below, and apparently harlequin color scheme.

Max here was a wonderful rabbit, who was very cuddly and always came up to us to be pet!

(He also lived for a long time with Cloe the Guinea Pig but that’s a different story).

Lion Head

If you’re looking for an adorable (but often more expensive) rabbit, then the Lion Head might just be the best for you.

However I find these to expensive and I just happened to have ended up with a mini rex who was partially lion headed. The gene hardly showed on him, but when he bred with my aforementioned purebred harlequin these were what the offspring looked like:

The lion-head gene is dominant so it comes out very well, especially considering harlequins are recessive.

The Dutch rabbit is an adorable mutation!

Lops

I have never myself had a lop, but I’ve sure always wished for one!

The lops are adorable rabbits that come in a variety of coats, colors, and sizes.

Really, the only defining characteristic is the recessive gene of their adorable lop ears!

Angora

Finally, I will talk about what I would consider the last breed that anybody who reads this blog is probably going to end up with.

The Angora are a great set of breeds that you can even sheer, as their wool makes great blankets or clothes!

Even the angoras divide into different breeds including giant, French, English, and satin.

Conclusion

So you can see all my personal favorite breeds.

If you are looking for a meat source, then New Zealands or Californias are probably what you’re looking for.

If you want something for small children to cuddle, try California, New Zealand, or Chinchilla.

Or do you want an easy to find pet with beautiful coats, the Rexes, Dutch, or Harlequins might be what you want.

Or possibly you’re looking for an adorable, smaller inside pet. You may be looking for a Lop or Lionhead (or a Lionhead-lop).

And finally, if you’re looking for an alternative source of wool, or just a really, really fluffy rabbit, then you probably want an angora!

And of course never forget that sometimes the mutts are the cutest!

So I hope this post has helped you decide what rabbits you’re going to get to add to your growing Backyard Hobby Farm! For their care check out A Care Guide to Rabbits!