Most popular rabbit breed for pet

[keforce]

When you do a google search for the most popular rabbit breed to sell for pets, here's what you get
"

• 1.Mini Rex. ...
• 2.The Holland Lop. ...
• 3.Dutch rabbit. ...
• 4.Mini lop. ...
• 5.Jersey wooly. ...
• 6.Florida white. ...
• 7.Himalayan rabbits. ...
• 8.The Havana.

I am wondering if your own experience differ? Any rabbit breeders out there care to comment on your own experience? Thanks

 

[majorv]

It can vary based on where you live. Around here lops are the most popular, then mini Rex. I don't see Florida Whites advertised much. Himmies can make good pets if they have a good temperament.

 

[Aki]

I'm really surprised by this. I think in France it would be : dwarf lops and Nethies for the first and second positions considering that you mainly find those in petshops... Even thought rabbits sold as netherland dwarfs are often giant mutts kept small by weaning them at 3 weeks old (they generally die or become enormous after you bring them home - I heard from several people complaining they ended up with 4 or 5 kg 'dwarves'). I've never even met someone who owned a mini rex in real life ^^.

 

[RavenousDragon]

That sounds fairly accurate to me (I'm not a breeder at all, though). We see tons of rabbits where I work, but most are mixed breed to be completely honest. I feel we see a lot of lion heads too and I would put mini lop above Holland lop for where I am.

 

[ravenmoore36]

Im not a breeder but i have found my dutch dwarf has a lovely temperament little bit neurotic. Our new girl is starting to show her temperament shes a english lop crossed with dwarf lop so we have been told.

 

[Yunaluna]

In Singapore the more popular breeds would be netherland dwarf, lionhead and holland lops. At least thats what im seeing in the market and through breeders. :bunny24

 

[ravenmoore36]

Im not sure the of the breed of my new bunny. On her adoption paperwork it says shes a lop crossbreed. Any ideas??

View attachment 1483973500427.jpg

 

[ravenmoore36]

Is she actually an english spot?? Shes roughly the size of a dutch dwarf rabbit.

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

That list looks pretty accurate to me. I think most people want to keep smaller rabbits. And here in America unfortunately many rabbits are given as presents on Easter. ( then abandoned after the holiday) White breeds are preferred for this I think. People even used to dye the rabbits cute colors. It's crazy and very sad. But that is when most rabbits are sold.

 

[MikeScone]

I'm really surprised by this. I think in France it would be : dwarf lops and Nethies for the first and second positions ... I've never even met someone who owned a mini rex in real life ^^.

The "Dwarf Lop" in France is the Mini Lop in the USA (number 4 on the list). Mini-Rexes are very popular over here.

 

[BlackRabbits]

When I look over the local rabbit for sale ads, I see a lot of misidentified breeds and crosses advertised as purebreds. Shelters are the worst offenders. The biggest shelter for rabbits in my area advertises ALL shorthaired, medium sized, erect eared rabbits as "Americans". Americans are a rare breed and it's highly unlikely that any shelter's rabbits would all be of that breed. I also see broken coloured rabbits advertised as "rare English Spot" by both private sellers and shelters. Any rabbit with agouti colouring and weighing 5 lb or more is advertised as "Flemish Giant". And of course, ads selling "Netherland Dwarfs" that don't even resemble Netherlands are extremely common.

I even see plain dwarf-medium sized lops (probably Holland crosses) advertised as English Lops (large breed, very short hair, very long ears) and French lops (basically a giant breed, largest lop breed).

I see a lot of ads for lionheads, they're popular because they're cute and fuzzy as babies. Sadly, many end up in shelters because of their grooming requirements, or because fuzzball babies grow up to be "not quite so fuzzy" and of course they shed all over the place. My Zelda is a lionhead cross, so even though her hair is a lot shorter than a standard lionhead coat, it's a constant battle to keep ahead of her shedding, both by grooming and cleaning up the balls of shed fur.

One trend that makes me uncomfortable is the extreme miniaturization of certain breeds. In my area there are a couple of breeders who brag about their (grossly overpriced) "fancy" "teacup" Netherlands and lionheads. This can't be good for either breed. I've always been opposed to the whole "teacup" nonsense, it causes horrific birth defects and suffering for the poor animals created by greedy people who think of living things as wind-up toys.

 

[RavenousDragon]

When I look over the local rabbit for sale ads, I see a lot of misidentified breeds and crosses advertised as purebreds. Shelters are the worst offenders.

To be fair, people are WAY more likely to adopt a 'rare purebred superspecial rabbit x' than a mixed breed rabbit. This is true of any animal (with the exception of a dog being labeled anything pit bull mix)- if the tag says something fancy, people are more likely to give the animal a chance. It's a 'marketing' strategy for the "harder to adopts" so to speak.

 

[BlackRabbits]

To be fair, people are WAY more likely to adopt a 'rare purebred superspecial rabbit x' than a mixed breed rabbit. This is true of any animal (with the exception of a dog being labeled anything pit bull mix)- if the tag says something fancy, people are more likely to give the animal a chance. It's a 'marketing' strategy for the "harder to adopts" so to speak.

I understand what you're saying. I know that shelters have to find homes for these rabbits, and that often the breed is misidentified, but not deliberately.

But deliberately misrepresenting the breed or characteristics of a pet up for adoption is just plain wrong. It's a recipe for a bounce back to the shelter when the new owner realizes they've been had. Especially if, for example, the adopter wanted a giant breed rabbit and the rabbit they adopt stops growing at 5 lb. Or they find out that the "rare English Spot" they adopted is actually a plain ordinary mixed breed rabbit, not "rare" at all. Or, the adopter wanted a shorthaired rabbit and ended up with a Lionhead or Angora who sheds all over the place and requires constant grooming.

People have a right to know (within reason) what to expect when they adopt. And the public often views rabbits and other smaller pets as disposable. So there's a very real risk that a rabbit who was "marketed" with false advertising could be dumped outdoors because the owner can't find a home for it and can't keep it. Not all shelters and rescues are willing to take animals back, or they charge a high fee to do so.

 

[ravenmoore36]

It doesnt matter to pure bred or a cross breed as long as i can give a loving secure home. I recently adopted a bunny and the breed the adoption centre said she was was no way in hell is that her breed. Rwaf and bunnyhugga helped me identify her

 

[Neena]

TBH for the large welfare organization I'm most familiar with, I suspect the "call everything American" may be a result of that being the first breed in a drop-down list that volunteers are choosing from. I really would prefer they be more accurate, though. Intentional or no, I agree that it can end up being quite deceptive. I'd rather they listed them by obvious characteristics, like size, ear type, coat type, etc. I volunteer with a small rabbit rescue and I'd say we do a better job of identifying rabbit breeds than the big organizations do. In my area, Lionheads, Mini Lops, and Netherland Dwarf are quite common breeds and you see almost nothing else except for some meat breeders advertising Flemish Giants and Harlequins and crosses.

 

[Lucky_2017]

I have a Holland lop

 

[Blue eyes]

That list looks pretty accurate to me. I think most people want to keep smaller rabbits. And here in America unfortunately many rabbits are given as presents on Easter. ( then abandoned after the holiday) White breeds are preferred for this I think. People even used to dye the rabbits cute colors. It's crazy and very sad. But that is when most rabbits are sold.

Yes. This seems to be the case. I don't understand it myself, this obsession with tiny rabbits -- and baby rabbits (meaning not fixed).

I happen to prefer larger rabbits... just more to love!! :apollo: