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Breed Recommendations

22 11:12:45

Question
I want to buy or possibly adopt a rabbit, and I was hoping you could reccomend a breed that is friendly and relatively easy to care for. I've done a little research and from what I've found, the American Fuzzy Lop, Himalayan, Mini Rex, and Netherland Dwarf would be good choices. The Wikipedia entry wasn't very informative, so I was hoping you could offer some insight. Thank You.

Answer
    It really depends on what size of bunny you are looking for.  What kind of space accomidations you can or are willing to make for one. The rabbits you described are fairly small breeds, so I think you are looking at a smaller rabbit.
    American Fuzzy lops are a long haired breed, which reqires a bit more on your part as to keeping a cleaner cage, buying brushes and other grooming supplies, and the time it will take to keep the coat unmatted and nice.
On the good side they are relatively calm and like attention. Fairly easy to find.
    Mini Rex are also a good choice. Little grooming is expected of them. They do have two things i would like to fault them on. they have toenails that grow very rapidly and need trimmed very often. They also have a tendancy to get sore hocks, which is like a scabby sore on the bottoms of their hind feet. They do make good pets though. They are one of the most common breeds of rabbits so availablitly is probably the biggest plus to this breed. Price wise they tend to vary. But can always find pet stock very reasonable.
    I don't know a whole lot about the Himmalayan breed. I do know they are not that common of a breed, so finding them may be harder than what you want to search for. Prices will be higher than other listed breeds for this reason.
    Netherland Dwarfs! They are one of my main breeds. They have both positive and negitive aspects. Very small, usually no more than 2.5 lbs. Tiny ears and round heads and eyes make them one of the cutest breeds. They can be very loving and sociable. On the downside, they are not recomended around children because of their small size are seen as a more fragile breed.
Drawbacks to owning the Netherland dwarfs include: some tend to be biters. They can be a very agressive breed, and you will find many pet quality ones for sale for that reason. With them it is best to buy them young for this so you can train them against biting. Some tend to be very grouchy, and others the sweetest bunnies you will ever meet. Prices and availablility vary with location, but they are a common breed. Should be able to find them very resonable.
Breeds I would stay away from for pets would be those of the Angora Groups,and Britanna Petites- these are a very aggressive breed and are often faulted for this reason.
Some breeds that do make nice pets that you may want to do a little research on are the Holland Lops, Silver Fox, Mini Lops, and dutch.
Holland Lops are by far usually the best pet bunnies in my opinion. You hardly ever find one that is mean or aggressive. Found easily due to it being a common breed. And usually cheap for pet stock.
Larger breeds can make good pets too, Just keep in mind that some of the largest can weigh 20+ lbs.
Hope this helps. If you have anymore questions about any of the breeds, don't hesitate to ask.
Samantha