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Choosing a Rabbit

Click on a link below to find out more about choosing a rabbit:

• Are You Ready For A Furry Friend?
• Which Rabbit Is Best For You?
• Rabbit Breeds
• Bringing Your Rabbit Home

Are You Ready For a Furry Friend?

Before buying a pet you must make sure that you can care for it properly.

You MUST be able to:

provide the right housing
have room for it to exercise
feed and water it daily
handle it daily
exercise it daily
groom it regularly
clean out the cage daily to control germs
check for signs of illness or disease
take your pet to the vet for regular health checks and other procedures
know someone who will look after it for you when you are away

Once you are happy that you can provide everything that your new pet will need you can then choose the perfect rabbit for yourself.

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Which Rabbit Is Best For You?

It may be one that loves to be inside (they can be trained to be clean, just like a cat or dog) or one that you would like to keep outside?

House rabbits (that’s their official name) will love to run around the house, hiding behind furniture and playing. Be careful, though, they also like chewing electric wiring, and may decide that your favourite chair is now theirs!

Rabbits that live outside need you to socialise with them every day, even if they have a companion.

There are a wide variety of sizes, shapes, colours and coats (over 100 different breeds altogether!). Some rabbits have been bred for particular characteristics such as long ears (lops), long coats (angoras) and there are dwarf breeds who have shortened noses and faces.

The most common breeds kept as pets in the UK are the Dutch, Dwarf Lop and the Netherland Dwarf.

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Rabbit Breeds

The Dutch
The Dutch is highly suitable as a pet. It has a white upper body and white blaze on the face. The rest of the body and face is coloured (black, blue, chocolate and yellow are some examples).

Netherland Dwarf
Probably one of the best known breeds, Netherland Dwarfs have been bred to be extremely small and they weigh less than 1kg. They have short ears and faces and come in a variety of colours, such as white, black, blue, sealpoint and chinchilla. Netherland Dwarfs are an attractive pet for children, but their temperament can be uncertain.

Dwarf Lop
The dwarf lop is extremely popular. It is a small compact breed with floppy ears and makes very good pet. Dwarf lops come in a variety of colours – black, blue, agouti, chinchilla and butterfly are just a few. Lops also come in other varieties, such as mini lop, English lop and the giant breed, the French lop, which can weigh up to 5kg.

It is important to choose the right breed for you to be able to handle with confidence and safety. Some of the giant breeds may be too big.

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Bringing Your Rabbit Home

Make sure that you have everything ready for him before you collect him, so that you can pop him into his new home as soon as you arrive and he can spend the first 24hrs getting used to his new environment. Don’t forget that he will be missing his brothers and sisters and will like you to talk to him. We suggest you don’t handle him too much for the first day or two, but give him plenty of clean water and feed only hay for the first 24hrs to avoid digestive upset. Introduce his new diet gradually. You will soon know when he has settled in as he will begin to eat, drink and groom himself.

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