New Zealand Rabbit

The New Zealand babies in the picture above are just about 7 weeks old and are only about 2.2 pounds each. They are just as sweet and cuddly as any rabbit can be. They are munching on a green apple while they pose to have their pictures taken!


The New Zealand is a wonderful rabbit and makes a great beginner bunny. They are quite social and outgoing, and enjoy being part of the family. They like everybody and most household pets, and they are not biters.

One of their greatest features is that they usually love to be handled. Pick them up, set them down, or hold them in your lap! They are often likened to "big rag dolls" because they flop down kind of like a rag doll, accommodating any cuddly manner in which you wish to hold them. They can even be carried across your shoulder!

As with all good sized rabbits, the New Zealand will need a bigger area to move around in. They need regular excercise as they can gain weight easily. Keep treats to a minimum., even though your pet will beg you for them. The babies in our picture above will soon outgrow the cage we have them in!

Description:

A medium sized rabbit, the New Zealand adult will get up to 11 pounds.

Color differences: As you can see in the picture above, the New Zealand rabbits are generally pure white rabbits with red eyes and pinkish coloring in their ears, but they can also be brick red or black.

Lionhead Rabbit

The Lionhead Rabbit is the newest breed of rabbit, first imported into the United States in 1999. Along with the introduction of this adorable little rabbit with its erect ears, the cute little Lionhead Lop was developed!


A Lionhead Lop is a hybrid rabbit developed by crossing a Lionhead Rabbit with a Holland Lop. Lionheads crossed with the Mini-Rex are referred to as Velvet Lionheads. Their are many hybrids of the Lionhead and they are all very cute, very unique, and will make excellent pets!

The outstanding characteristic of the Lionhead Lop and the Lionhead Rabbit is that they have a 'mane'. These small rabbits are much easier to care for than longhaired or wooly rabbits like the Angoras, because their mane only needs to be combed out every couple of days. The mane on the Lionhead Lop does tend to mat a bit more than on the erect eared Lionhead Rabbit.

One thing to keep in mind when getting a young Lionhead is that this is a very new breed, and you won't know what your pet will look like until it grows up! There is no absolute certainty that it will keep its mane. The mane may molt and disappear for good or it may grow back even fuller than it was before.

Description:

The Lionhead Rabbit is a small bunny that has a 'mane'! The Lionhead Rabbit is unique to all other "new breeds" of rabbits. It has the first major mutation in rabbits since 'satin' fur first appeared in a litter of Havana's in the early 1900's. Unlike most fur mutations that are recessive genes, the Lionhead has what seems to be a dominant mutation that causes the 'mane'. So only one parent is required to have this gene to produce more Lionheads and it cannot be recreated using other breeds!

Color differences:

The Lionhead Rabbits come in many patterns and color varieties. Sixty colors are approved for showing in England!

Dutch Rabbit

Description:
The adult size is about 4 1/2 pounds. Medium sized and large sized rabbits can get much larger than that! Dutch rabbits can be identified by their distinctive markings, which include the white blaze on their faces and the white band around their upper bodies.


Color differences:
Black is the most popular color of the Dutch Rabbits but other nice colors include blue, chocolate, tortoise, steel gray, and gray.

Anggora Rabbit

Description:
There are four recognized breeds that are bred for showing. The English, French, and Satin Angora are medium in size while the Giant is considered a large.

English Angora:

This breed is probably the most distinctive since it has long heavy fur that covers it's body so that it is hard to tell the rabbit features like it's ears and face. (It is often mistaken for a small dog). Its body is rounded and so it literally looks like a ball of fluff. The fur on the face is fairly short and if you look closely you will see a doll baby face with large round eyes. There are fluffy tassels of wool lining the ears and the wool is silky and fine which makes it very soft.
Most English angoras are very calm having being bred for good disposition in order to properly groom them. The English may grow to about 8.5 lbs. but is better to show at about 6 lbs.

French Angora:

The first picture above shows two French Angoras. They have no wool on their head, face, ears, or front feet. The rest of the body has a slightly coarse wool which is easy to spin. The French Angora's wool is the easiest to care for. It can weigh up to 10.5 lbs, with 9.9 lbs being ideal.

Satin Angora:

The Satin Angora's wool looks like shimmering fibers. It does not have wool on the head, face, ears, or front feet. In this respect it is similar to the French Angora. The wool feels lighter and less dense than the other breeds because it is much finer.

Giant Angora:

This also is a very distinctive rabbit, mainly because of it's size! For showing they must be completely white. They have the densest wool of all the breeds, with a double undercoat which also gives them the most wool. They should weigh over 9 lbs.

Flemish Giant Rabbit Breed

Nothing is more awe inspiring in the bunny world than a Flemish Giant. Often referred to as gentle giants, these rabbits can grow larger than a dog, and can be quite the conversation stopper when they come casually hopping through someone's back yard!

The Flemish Giant first came to fame in America in the early 1900's , when people began to show off these giant beauties at county fairs and shows. Like the New Zealand White, they are highly prized for both their meat and their fur, and make excellent pets due to their docile and friendly natures.

As with all rabbits, it is important to get your Flemish Giant Rabbit used to being handled, and to associate you with positive things. Because these rabbits are relatively large, the bite or scratch you get from them will be much more painful than that of a mini lop or dwarf breed. Having said that, if you treat your bunny well, bites and scratches are more of a rarity than a rule.

A Flemish Giant may be a good choice if you are looking for something with a relaxed temperament that doesn't need to run around like a mad thing too much. Unlike their smaller counterparts, Flemish Giants are quite happy to lay around a fair bit, though be warned, they do consume a lot more feed than smaller rabbits.

If you're considering a Flemish Giant, also consider the cage you will need for these bunnies. 30 by 48 inches is considered to be the smallest acceptable floor space for a single Flemish Giant, though larger quarters are of course, encouraged.

Flemish Giants come in a range of colors, light greys, sandy tones, darker greys, fawns, whites, blacks, and blues are all possible colors for a Flemish Giant.

An average Flemish Giant generally weighs around 6.5 to 7 kgs, or 14 - 15.5 pounds. If you would like to show your Flemish Giant Rabbit, or would simply like to know what the breed's ideal standards are, here are a few things to look out for:

Head: The Flemish Giant has a large and well shaped head. The eyes should be bright and alert, and the ears should stand nicely erect.

Body: The body of a Flemish Giant Rabbit should be long and powerful. It should be in proportion throughout the entire body. The hindquarters should be nice and thick, and the flesh of the rabbit should be solid and well formed. The fur should be glossy and thick set.

Faults: Too much fat is considered a fault in Flemish Giant Rabbits, as is baggy skin. The coat should be even in color, so patchy colored coats are frowned upon. The rump should be nicely rounded, so square looking hindquarters are not good, neither are wedge shaped heads, or ears that are not carried nicely erect.

Tips When Choosing A Rabbit Cage

Choosing a rabbit cage for your bunnies isn’t so much of a challenge if you know what to provide for your pets. By giving them a lot of room to move around in, enough food and water, toys and chewable treats, your bunnies will be able to live happily and healthily with you. Sadly though. There are those who still don’t know the basics of taking care of a rabbit or how to choose a rabbit cage for their bunnies. They think that just because rabbits are small and light that they don’t need a cage that’s big and roomy, and that a rabbit cage that’s the “right size” is already enough to keep them happy.

Rabbit Cage

If you want to avoid making your bunnies unhappy, here are some tips when choosing a rabbit cage for them:

• Size is very important, especially when choosing a rabbit cage for indoors and outdoors. The indoor rabbit cage, for example, has to be large enough for your rabbit to move around in, which is usually within the range of 100 to 120 cm in length. Whether your rabbits are of a smaller breed or are normally heavy in weight, just remember that the bigger the hutch, the better.
• When it comes to specifically the height, a rabbit cage should allow the rabbit to sit up straight without the ears touching the roof of the cage. Most experts would usually suggest a height of 40 cm or more.
• Believe it or not, even the cage door should be large enough for your bunnies. It’s also a good idea to get a cage where the door can function as a ramp as well.
  

Basic Rules When Choosing a Rabbit Cage

It’s always exciting when there’s a new pet in the house, especially when they’re cute and fluffy rodents like rabbits. But no matter how small, quiet, or well-behaved rabbits are, you still need to know how to take care of it and what to provide it in order for him or her to live happily and healthily with you. Usually the first step is knowing how to choose or create a rabbit cage or hutch for it to live in, so if you just bought rabbits and are looking for ideas on how to build them a home, this article is going to help you.