You have gotten a rabbit for yourself from a pet shop, something that looked good to your eyes. However, you forgot to question the owner about what the rabbit’s breed is. And after knowing how each type of rabbit’s needs and care differ from each other, you’re all confused now.
So, being a new owner of this pet, you may have a recurring question, “what breed is my rabbit?” There are many factors to take into consideration. But if we generalize them, there are five categories we can put these into.
This article discusses those determinants, which you can use to identify your rabbit’s breed and customize your rabbit’s care accordingly.
5 Determinants to Identify Your Bunny Breed
If you haven’t gotten your rabbit from a rabbit breeder, then here are the five ways you can know the breed your rabbit belongs to.
These will also answer your questions like how they should be held, what issues and concerns you may face, and how to look after their health as a new pet parent.
1. Size of the Rabbit Breeds
You may have overlooked the size of your rabbit thinking, “my bunny must have good genes!” Or, “my rabbit must have hyper-growth!” Chances are, it’s the breed that is responsible for the size and weight of your bunny. Let’s look at what sizes rabbit breeds come in.
(a) Dwarf
If your rabbit weighs below 5 pounds, then it’s a small rabbit or a dwarf. There are a few breeds that are naturally dwarfish – Polish rabbit, Lionhead, Netherland Dwarf, Dwarf Hotot, and Himalayan rabbit just to name a few.
Check their ears and markings to be more sure. However, if the rabbit falls under breeds of other sizes, then take it to the vet. It may be suffering from a condition that you didn’t know of.
(b) Standard
Most of the rabbits we see as pets are standard-sized rabbits. Therefore, there’s a high chance that your rabbit is a standard rabbit if it weighs between 5 and 8 pounds.
A few examples of standard-sized rabbit breeds are English Angora, English Spot rabbit, Harlequin rabbit, Lilac rabbit, Standard Chinchilla rabbit, and Silver Martin.
(c) Giant
These rabbits weigh typically 9 pounds and over. Usually, people keep them as showstopping pets. However, you should expect that they need a lot of care due to their giant size, so that you can save them from severe problems.
If your pet falls under this category, look at other features to determine the exact breed. However, if you think that your rabbit is overweight despite its breed, then take it to a vet for examination.
A few examples are Flemish Giant, American Chinchilla, Argente Brun, Bland de Hotot, and Checkered Giant.
An exceptional breed is the Satin Angora, which falls under both dwarf, or small, standard, and giant categories, as their weight varies widely.
2. The Fur on the Rabbit
The texture of the fur and its style is probably one of the clearest determinants of the breed of your rabbit. There are generally four types of fur on rabbits. Let’s have a look at them.
(a) Normal
Does your rabbit have soft, short, average-looking rabbit fur? Then that falls under the normal fur category. The majority of rabbit breeds have this fur, and we can see a lot of them as pets in households.
There are two categories under it. The flyback fur falls back in its position quickly after you stroke it, and the rollback fur will roll back slowly after stroking it.
Some common examples of flyback fur rabbits include the Dutch rabbit, Himalayan rabbit, English Lop, and Polish rabbit. Some examples of rollback fur rabbits are Flemish Giants, Holland Lop, and Dwarf Hotots.
(b) Wooly
If your rabbit has a long, fluffy, fuzzy coat that feels and looks very distinct from the average fur, then it has a wooly coat.
Typically, rabbits belonging to the Angora breed have this fluffy, wooly coat. Some other examples are the Jersey Wooly rabbit, Lionhead, and American Fuzzy Lop.
(c) Velvety
Touch your rabbit’s fur and examine it carefully. Does it feel thick, dense, and velvety like a stuffed animal? Then your rabbit has a velvety coat. It’ll also stand upright because of how thick it is.
Rabbits belonging to the breeds under the Rex family have velvet fur.
(d) Satin
If your pet bunny has a lustrous, soft, and shiny coat, then it has satin fur. Rabbits from only three breeds have this fur – Satin, Mini Satin, and Satin Angora rabbits.
The Satin Angora breed is an exception, as it has both wooly and satin qualities in its fur.
3. Ears of the Rabbit
You can tell a lot by the rabbit ears. Ears will clearly help you identify your rabbit breed along with the other factors in this list. There are generally three types of ears on rabbits. Use these to identify which breed your rabbit belongs to.
(a) Lopped
Rabbits belonging to the breeds under the Lop daily have lopped ears, Their ears are droopy, and fall by their head. The most noticeable rabbit is the English Lop, with long droopy ears. Other examples are the American Fuzzy Lop, Holland Lop, French Lop rabbit, and the Mini Lop rabbit.
Some have partially lop ears due to excess fur under the ears, and these rabbits typically belong to the Angora family. However, if the fur coat isn’t long and wooly, then it’s possibly a crossbreed of Lop rabbits.
(b) Short and Pointed
Is your bunny a dwarf? Then there’s a huge possibility that it’ll have short, pointy ears. These ears aren’t much mobile as well.
Some of the rabbit breeds with short ears are Dwarf Hotot, Netherland Dwarf rabbits, English Angora, Columbia Basin Pygmy, Polish rabbit, Lionhead, and the Britannia Petite rabbit.
(c) Tall and Upright
Most of the standard-sized rabbits that we see as pet rabbits, and giant rabbits, have standard tall and upright ears.
Some of the breeds with these ears are the Himalayan rabbit, English Spot rabbit, Standard Chinchilla rabbit, Harlequin rabbit, Flemish Giant, Checkered Giant rabbits, Giant Chinchilla rabbits, and the Belgian Hare.
4. Body Shape of the Rabbits
Body shape can sometimes be confusing. You may even find asking yourself, “is it natural for my pet rabbit to have long limbs?” or, “is my pet bunny naturally this long and stretchy?” Both are natural, and it all depends on the breed!
Here are the ways you can generally identify your rabbit’s breed using its body shape, along with other factors.
(a) Short, Full, Compact, and Round
Small, compact rabbits are usually round and full. You can widely see them as pets. Chances are, your rabbit has this body shape too.
Some of the breeds of rabbits with this shape are Dutch rabbits, Netherland Dwarf, and Holland Lops. Their shoulders will usually measure shorter than their hips.
(b) Commercial
Commercial rabbits are considered all-rounder rabbits. They are medium-sized muscular rabbits and have full hips, which is why they’re also referred to as the ‘meat rabbits.’
Commercial rabbit breeds include French Angora, the Harlequin rabbit, and French Lop.
(c) Long, Slender, and Cylindrical
The Himalayan rabbit is quite possibly the only breed that has a cylindrical shape. It means that when the rabbit sits rested, the rabbit’s shoulders and hip fall level on the ground. It’ll look long and slender.
(d) Arched Back, Tall Limbs
Rabbits can be either full arch or semi-arched depending on their breed.
Full arch rabbits are taller than they’re wide, and will mostly stay alert on their toes. You can see their underbelly as well. Some of the breeds of rabbits with full arch bodies are the Belgian Hare, the Britannia Petite rabbit, and the Rhinelander rabbit.
Rabbits with semi arch will have their front limbs rested on the ground, while their hips stay high and arched. A few bunny breeds that display semi-arch are English Lops, the Beveren rabbit, the American rabbit, and the Flemish Giant breed.
5. Color and Markings of the Rabbit Breed
Although there are ways to categorize the marking on your pet bunny, it’s still pretty wide-ranging and diverse. The color and patterns on the coat will either let you identify the rabbit breed easily or will confuse you a lot with other similar-looking breeds.
Let’s try to categorize them into colors and unique patterns.
(a) Fur Color
A lot of the rabbit breeds have solid-colored fur. Some breeds even have a few colors, which may or may not make things more confusing. Sometimes, the color itself is the name of the breed. The rabbits of the Lilac breed are grey-lavender in color. Tan rabbits have, well, tan fur with a red-orange underbelly. Silver rabbits can either be black-brown or fawn.
The American Chinchilla bunny has grey fur. The Flemish Giant rabbits come in white, black, and blue, but their most common fur color is a combination of grey and brown. Rabbits of the Thrianta breed have red fur, and Satin Angora can be white, grey, brown, or tan.
(b) Patterns and Markings
There are breeds with distinct patterns and marking on the rabbits.
The Checkered Giant rabbit has distinct black spots on its fur, resembling the checkered pattern quite a bit. The Himalayan rabbit has white fur with a black or brown nose, ears, and feet. The English Spot rabbit has white fur with dark spots on its cheeks, nose, and ears, and has a line on its back.
The Bland de Hotot breed rabbits have white fur with black ‘eyeliner’ around the eyes. Dutch rabbits have a black ‘mask’ around their mouth and have black ears, and they also have black ‘pants.’
(c) Miscellaneous
This category is for the breeds that you can’t categorize. Examples include the Harlequin rabbits, who don’t have one distinct pattern. They have various types of dark markings on their body and face.
A common breed, the New Zealand rabbits, can have both solid-colored furs and spotted fur.
Conclusion
Identifying your rabbit’s breed properly will help you maintain their health, understand if you can allow them near children, and how their bonding will be with you.
If you didn’t get your rabbits from a breeder, then determining the breed can be hard.
However, you can use these five categories and the factors under them to identify the breed of your rabbit. If you’re still confused, the last thing you can do is take them to someone who’s an expert with rabbits and inquire about your rabbit’s breed.